INSTINCT

AND

HEALTH

INSTINCT

AND

HEALTH

BY

WOODS

A.M., M.D.

HUTCHINSON,
LECTURER

ON

POLYCLINIC

PATHOLOGY

BUFFALO
LONDON

AND

MEDICINE

CLINICAL
LATE

LECTURER

MEDICAL

PROFESSOR

THE
OF

EMBRYOLOGY
ON

GRADUATES

NEW

YORK

COMPARATIVE
UNIVERSITY

COMPARATIVE

COLLEGE,

95797

OT
MEDICINX

ETC.,

ETC.

Copyright,

THE

Co.

SUCCESS

THE

S.

S.

HARPER

THE

1907,

THE

COMPANY

MAGAZINE

COMPANY

PUBLISHING

PUBLISHING

CURTIS

PHILLIPS

COMPANY

1908,

by

PUBLISHING

COMPANY

PUBLISHING

CURTIS

COMPANY

MAGAZINE

INTERNATIONAL

THE

Co.

PUBLISHING

Copyright,

THE

Co.

BROTHERS

PHILLIPS

CROWELL

THE

by

MCCLURE

S.

AND

INTERNATIONAL

THE

Co.

MCCLURE

S.

Copyright,

THE

by

190",

COMPANY

COMPANY

PUBLISHING

CROWELL.

Copyright,

DODD,

MEAD

Published,

1908,

AND

October,

by

COMPANY

1908

RA

form

the

various

to

bulk

magazines
his

express

of

editors

The

Monthly,

The

Magazine,

The

Post,
Success.

originally

written

THOUGH

The

of

the

and

for

have

chapters
reviews,

appreciation

of

and

the

Contemporary
American

Cosmopolitan,
Woman's

The
Home

in

appeared
the

author

begs
of

courtesy

the

Harper's

Review,
Magazine,

book

in

publication

McClure's

Saturday
Companion

ing
Evenand

CONTENTS
PAGE

ANCESTRY

THE

HEALTH.

OF

MACHINE

HUMAN

THE

How
VELOPED
DE-

HAS

II

DIET

DELUSIONS,

COALING

OR

THE

16

BODY-ENGINE
III

FOODS,

POISON

COALS

SOME

OR

THAT

CLINKER
IV
V
VI

57

EXERCISE
SLEEP

AND

THE

80

DANGERS

ITS

AND

SIGNIFICANCE

ITS

MYSTERIES

100

CURIOSITIES

AND

OF

nS

SLEEP
VII

ANGELS

REAL

THE

SUNSHINE
VIII
IX
X

BATHS

AND

GOOD
THE

XII

THE

SINS

OF

THE

MEANING

THE

PLEXION,
COMOF

A
202

OF

SHOEMAKER

THE

TO

GROW

NATURAL

217

TENDENCY

IRREPRESSIBLE

THE

185

COLOUR

BABIES
XIII

WOMAN

THE

OR

XI

168

COMPLEXITIES

THE

147

BATHERS

AND

CLOTHES

AIR

FRESH

AND

HOUSE,

THE

IN

OF

UP

247

GROWTH

OF

DREN'S
CHIL-

MINDS
XIV

CHILDREN
THE

XV

THE

XVI

THE

CANDY,

AND

OR

SWEETS

SWEET
SCHOOL
HEALTH

MAN

259
TO

272
PLAY

OF

OF

THE

287
MIDDLE-AGED

326

DR.

HUTCHINSON

INSTINCT

HEALTH

AND

CHAPTER

ANCESTRY

THE

HEALTH.

OF

isn't so

HOW

HAS

MACHINE

IT

reallythink it was,

hear

HUMAN

DEVELOPED

dangerous

very

THE

be

to

alive.

One

would

the

preacher moralise upon

the shortness and uncertaintyof human
life and the
doctor discourse on the everywherenessof germs.
In
the first place we
have
are
apt to forgethow long we
been at it. If any one
to ask us how
were
long we had
been alive,we
would
promptly give him the number
birth
of years which had elapsedsince the date of our
twelve, twenty-five,
or
sixty as the case might be.
to

"

"

But

we

all the
years.

been

Each

would
same

The

be wrong.
age

"

torch

quenched

and

As

of fact

matter

that is at least twelve

of life which

burns

in

since its first appearance

successive

generation has

us

on

kept

million

has
the

are

we

never

planet.

it alive

and

has
There never
to the next.
passed it on undimmed
been a singlebreak.
lost an ancestor
have never
We
is
If we
had we
There
wouldn't
be here.
by death.
thread of life,
which connects
an
absolutelyunbroken
earliest ancestor
this planet,the father
with our
us
on
of all livingthings. Just think what
have
must
we
been through in all that time, and particularly
what
it means
in resisting
to us
power.
the descendants
of the victors,the survivors
We
are

of countless

generations.We

have

been

in the habit

INSTINCT

AND

HEALTH

of

meetingdifficultiesand overcoming them for eons.

Are we
likelyto forgetthese proud triumphs and
If there is,by any possibility,
weaklysuccumb now?
of heat,
anythingwhich can come
upon us in the way
cold, or hunger, or wounds, or disease,which our
or
be
have not met
and conquered,it would
ancestors
hard to imagine it. Remember
then, we represent the
dominant
strains of millions of generations,
and that
it is the breath of our
nostrils to meet
dangers and
them.

overcome

It took

of years to make
her time.
Herein

lies one

the human
It is no
a

to

more
run

roads
with

carpet
modern

some

and she is not

us,

of the

machine.

nature

so

givento

ing
wast-

of
perfection
wonderfullyadaptable.
of the

secrets

It is

lions
thirteen mil-

knightor fair-weather sailor,

or, to use
and appropriate
simile,automobile,

justwhen
are
good

the weather
and

break

difficulties. It is

is favourable
the minute

down

and
it

the

meets

emergencies,and
if
will fightits way out of them in surprising
manner,
ful
we
onlygive it a fair chance. We are reallywonderselves,
beings,and have good rightto be proud of ourphysically.
In the second place,it is so easy to notice defects.
don't have
We
to
recognisethem, they introduce
themselves

and

ready for

insist upon

our

all

attention in the

most

When
we
annoyingmanner.
agree with the Psalmist
that we
and wonderfullymade, it is our
are
fearfully
fearful liability
and get out of order
down
to break
that we are thinkingof. This is onlynatural,for it is
alwaysthe evil in thingsthat most sharplyimpresses

THE

ANCESTRY

Comfort

us.

with

is a

OF

hazy
passive,

the clear-cut

there is littleneed

to

HEALTH

sort

much

pay

of

disease
itself,

to

pared
com-

Besides

the

good

hurt you.
"Well
Health
will take

be cured

must

pain.

attention

of things. They'llnever
qualities
enough" can be safelylet alone.
care

of sensation
of

acuteness

at

once.

"A

doesn't know
that he has such a
healthy man
that he
doesn't know
thingas a stomach, a dyspeptic
has anythingelse." Hence
the defects of the human
machine
bulk
hugely out of proportion in our
memories
and imaginations. I am
afraid that we
doctors are
tude
into this attiapt to drift unconsciously
machine.
toward
the human
We
are
kept so
and fixing
it that we
constantly
engaged in tinkering
look

to

come

sanitarians

on

we

it

as

bundle

to

seem

of defects.

Even

as

delightin populatingthe

heavens

above, the waters, the earth beneath,the dust

of

streets, and

our

that

the

food

our

upon

tables with

the human
tiny savages to whom
body is a helpless
pounced upon.
prey whenever
the laityand the profession
are
apt to forget
stances,
the human
body is not a pulpy victim of circumlously
marvelbut the toughest,
most
most
resisting,
ferocious organism that
adaptable and most
flourish where
shines on.
It can
sun
nothing

hosts and

Both

the

else
other

can,

swarms

and

of

kill, eat, and

living creature,

not

even

grow

fat

on

any

excepting disease

germs.

Another

thing which

probably misled us has

has avoided specialisation
speed of the deer, or the

has

been the way in which man

Because
he has not
the

INSTINCT

strengthof

AND

HEALTH

the

horse,or the si/e of the elephant,

or
the teeth and claws of a tiger,
have come
to regard
we
him

as

feeble and

inferior

could be farther from

of animal.

sort

consists and has

superiority
singularway in which he has, so
the middle

of the road

In fact man's

the truth.

chief

and

not

consisted

to

gone

all his

of

itselfin another.

teeth,all his

other animals

as

those that

are

have, in order

left.

power in and over

is possessedby

a
as

Man
is

is the best

not

its own
foot

bird
game,

or

or

sets

Viscayan will

stride that "eats up the

kill it with
a deer, and
Knife

camps

and

follows him

man

is a match

on

an

kept practically
instead
fingers,

two-thirds
to

as

direction

of them

develop
specially
them

retained

imaginablecircumstances

animal
fighting

if he

to

far

such

other animal.

no

beast

or

has

he has with

And
all

Man

in

extremes.

any

toes, all his

one-third

losingfrom

in the

speak,kept

to

By the law of compensation,just in so

in one
animal has acquiredgreat efficiency
it has weakened

ing
Noth-

in the world.

fish that he

himself about

There
beat

cannot

it. The

at

Black-

settle into his

long, springy
down
run
long miles like fire,"
low
his hunting knife. The Yel-

the trail of the wolf

in winter

fate,
as
day after day, relentlessly
The
until even
the grey leader of the pack succumbs.
negro of Mozambique will springrightinto the water
and kill the man-eatingshark in singlecombat
with
with
his crooked knife. The
Sikh will face a tiger,
his short, heavy cimeter.
in hand,
Club or sword
a

for the

most

and
fair,stand-upfight,

ferocious beast of prey in

the club or its descendant

ANCESTRY

THE
is

as

much

part of

HEALTH

OF
us

as

our

bones

or

skin.

It

was

only after acquiringit that we allowed our teeth and

claws to degenerateinto such feeble objects. Its use
has spehas made
us
right-handed;right-handedness
cialised
the brain-cortex to such a degree that speech
and speechmakes
thought possible.So
was
possible,
is an
mental
that our
outgrowth and a
superiority
part of our muscular superiority.
lad,
balAtkins in Kipling's
In the language of Tommy
homo
sapiens is,"a pore, benighted'eathen,but
a

first-classfitin'-man,"
and two-thirds of his virtues

"

the fruits thereof.

and mental
are
moral, physical,
talk of him professionally
if he were
And
as
yet we
"

clam without

This

shell.

middle-of-the-road
resistant

is

he

no
can.

known
No

to

organism

policy has

other mammal

of climate.

extremes

that

can

and

made

defy the
no

him

traordinar
ex-

There

elements

as

bird has half the

species.
year-roundgeographic range of the human
him almost
His best chum, the dog, will accompany
everywhere,but only by having his food, shelter,and
boots provided for him by his superior. We
snow
speak of being "as rugged as a bear," but it takes
three distinct species
of Ursus to keep pace with man
of
from the tropics
to the pole. Half
a dozen
species
deer are requiredfor the same
His domestic
match.
animals are far inferior to him in toughness,and one
of the chief obstacles to his progress
in many
regions
of finding
is the difficulty
any beast of burden, or milkgiver,that will live in the climate. Some of this
of defying the elements is,of course,
due to
power

man's

and

constructingshelter

of

power

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

making

clothing;but this many animals possess also.

wide range
Stillmore
depends upon his astonishingly
of food materials.
live on anythingthat is
He can
In contrast
animal.
digestible
by any other known
with almost any other animal
upon

which

that animal

he

would

can

starve

live
to

food

some

on

death.

Thus

beat him
while the pure carnivora,or flesh-eaters,
can
flesh foods, he can
live
and utilising
at both catching
on

diet of

herbs

and

roots

or

grubs and insects,or

On the
fruits,or fish,which they would starve on.
other hand, the herbivora will make
on
a better living
leaves and grass than he will ; but are, of course, totally
sects,
unable to either capture or utilise animals, birds,insurvive
can
fish,
nuts, etc., on any of which man
He
can
pick fruit and nuts with the
indefinitely.
monkey, catch fish with the seal,dig grubs or roots
with the wild pig, eat ants' eggs with the ant-eater,
and grasshoppers
with the snake.
As a food getter
and eater he has no equal. And
it is well for him to
both
keep up this wide range of food materials to-day,
because

it agrees

to

enable

best with him

him

to

changes in the future.

future may

have

made

such

and because

adjust himself
We

can

to

possible

tell what

the

wise,
otheror
dietetically,
and it is well to "keep all the pores open." It
is this capacity,
retained even
by the modern white
of living
and
rice and fruits in the tropics,
on
man,
seal oil and bear meat
in the arctic regionswhich has

him

fault any modern

in

store

for

never

it is necessary

us

wonderful
diet

can

have

colonizer.
is monotony.

The

worst

ANCESTRY

THE

toughnessis shown
he adjusts
himself to citylife.
into human
hives,deprivehim
The

same

water,

and

acclimate

green

himself

The
abominable
that

above

death

and

of

resist

rate

in
was

were,

in which
as

will

you

of air,sunlight,
pure
his

even

even

in the way
Crowd
him

grass, he will manage

they

as

HEALTH

OF

somehow
new

ings.
surround-

mediaeval

our

so

never

to

very

cities,
much

to-day,in our
imperfectvictory

and
districts,

country

the
with even
metropolises,
lower
in some
is actually
cases
won
by sanitarians,
than that of country villages.It is a singularfact
that the one
which has been subjected
race
incessantly
to this terrifictest of overcrowding for nearlyfifteenj^
(
of
attained
hundred
the
has
rate
a
Jewish
years
in its ghettos,far below that of the^-N
even
mortality,
surroundingGentile populationin the open country.
hatred to
The Jew, compelledby class and religious
and
become
a city
dweller,has risen to the emergency
racial triumphs.
scored another of his memorable
is going to become
need not fear that civilised man
We
degeneratefrom citydwelling or any of the
lief,
other strains of civilisation. Contrary to popular bethe white man
of to-dayhas a lower death rate,
a
higher average lengthof life,is taller,heavier,and
or
stronger than any of his predecessors,
any known
modern

"

of savages.

race

"

Almost

Englishsoldiers will
outwrestle,and outswim
and

any

of American

company

contain

who

men

can

outrun,

the best athletes of any

tive
na-

tribe.

Moreover
death

rate

his "net"

lower than

birth

rate

that of any

is

higher and

his

tribe.

In-

savage

INSTINCT

AND

fant

mortalityamong
compared with even
Adult

freer
slightly
but

most

savages

are

for the obvious

is something frightful,

savages

the

from

HEALTH

munities.
ignorantof white comperhaps,on an average,

certain defects than

white

men,

that all who

simple reason
possessed these defects perished in childhood, or
famine.
Now
that reports are
fairlywell in from
army

surgeons

and

that
superstition

the

civilised man,

and

medical

savages

has

have
been

missionaries, the
fewer

diseases

old
than

completely exploded.
Child-birth,
painsand dangers
even, has justas many
in savage
in civilised,
women
as
only nobody takes
the trouble to record them, until the explorer
sionary
misor
The
comes.
mother, as her time of
savage
trial approaches,retires into the depth of the forest,
or
jungle. If she returns alive with the baby, all is
If she doesn't,it isn't considered
well.
ners
good manabout her. Her husband
to inquire
simply buys
another wife, and the episodeis closed.
It has been
said that,savages livingin a state of nature, have no
idiot children; but this is readilyaccounted
for by
ing
their crude but not wholly irrational habit of knockthem on the head, or leaving
The
them to starve.
certain
are
only diseases peculiarto civilised man
come
contagionsand infections. Even to these he has betoughened to so great a degree that infections
down
which have graduallybeen worn
to what
we
"diseases of childhood," such as chicken-pox,
term
measles, whooping-cough,and scarlet fever,or even
influenza,will sweep like wildfire through a savage
tribe and kill two-thirds of those they attack.

INSTINCT

io

it neither horn-bosses

on

HEALTH

AND

like the

spikes

buffalo,nor

for the teeth

antelope,nor a biting-forceps,
and jaws don't projectenough to be seen.
A little
and there they are tucked in under that funny
nearer
bump over the eyes, but not bigenough to punishanything.
is the fightingend of the creature?
Where
Its feet look like flippers,
neither claws to scratch nor
hoofs to kick. It must
be its short fore legs,
hanging
like the

each

on

claspsin
at

side of its chest.

its paw

the end

throw

Now

broken

see

with

branch

sharp thorn

of it.

I'll keep my
distance,or
threw
like those old baboons

it at me,

piecesof rock the other day when I tried

couple of their babies !
And
Leo would be perfectly
right.
It is the hand, which

animals,which

keep
and

has

has made
from

his hand

marked

him

what

uses

to

the tool,that built up

Franklin

said

are

the hand

which

thought became

hind

was

other

It

to

was

of his

body

that he

stone

legs and acquiredthe

so
proud. It was the
put with the weapon,

the brain

so

speechand
old Benjamin

that

possible.As

shrewd

hundred

ago,

years

catch

to

he is.

the

leave it free for the club and

it may
broken

from

man

bearing the weight

his
rose
originally
up on
of which we
erect
position
new

of them

one

"Man

is

tool-

using animal."
Yet a largebody of respectable
taxpayers protest
against the introduction of manual traininginto our
! Train the hand,
schools as a waste
of publicmoney
then answer
half the questionsthat the brain which
it builds will ask

"

and you

have

education

at

its best.

THE
Look

ANCESTRY

HEALTH

OF

this fore paw

of ours.
itself the most
wonderful

Not

closelyat

tool user,
world.

but

It

only a

tool in the

grip and twist like a monkey-wrench,

cracker,
hang on like a grappling-hook,crack like a nutpick like a pair of tweezers, tear like jawforceps the Japanese dentist pulls teeth with his
fingers and grub like a gopher. It can twist and turn
like a snake, swim
like a seal,climb like a monkey,
can

"

"

strike like

hammer;

horse's hoof.

with

With

an
sharp flint,

it becomes

stone

with

jagged
with a thorn, a sewing-machine. No
a
one,
saw;
the anatomist
wonder
finds that it has some
thirty
muscles in and attaching
to it!
It is a tool that needs infinite varietyof use to bring
it to its highestpitch and keep it there, and while
givingit this you'redevelopingthe brain to
you are
similar degrees of complexityand perfection.The
brain most
tively
distincthing that marks off the human
that of any
or
a titmouse

from
A

swallow

Restrict the hand

and

arm

area

of the

other
has

axe;

animal

is

cortex

"

its size.

in tion.
proporand the hand

in its movements

fails to

not

largerbrain

the so-called Rolandic

"

develop;

or

central

narrow

gion
re-

it down

thingor one tool,and it becomes cramped and

work
unsymmetrical. Give children every kind of handthat their play-instincts
the deepestand most
to

one

"

useful in their

opment
for,and then brain develthem
the desk, the
Glue
will follow.
to
loom, the handle of any tool,and you dwarf them

both
worst

nature

"

call

and mentally.
physically
race

suicide.

Child

labour

is the

INSTINCT

12

No
done
for

the hand

wonder
much

to

HEALTH

AND

is "full of character."

build character.

the
distrusting
hand-shake.

man

Turn

We

with the
the hand

have

what

makes

from

starts

made
of

branch

to

the

them.

The

basis

good

nerveless,slipflabby,
pery
over

and look

palm. There are three lines,two transverse

longitudinal.Half close your hand and
once

It has

upper

cross

at

and
you

see

the
one

at

line which

kle
side,is the wrinulnar,or little-finger,

the remains
by bending the three outer fingers,
the climbing-hookby which we
from
swung
branch throughthe tree tops in our arboreal

days.
lower

The

cross

from
line,starting

the other side

of the

palm, is the wrinkle made by flexingthe two

inner fingers,
index and ring,to meet
the thumb, as
in pickingfat grubs out of a rotten
log or nuts out
of their shells,
in graspinga handle firmly. The
or
line is equallyobviously
the wrinkle made
lengthwise
the fingers.
to
meet
by the thumb in bending over
All three lines can
in perfection
in the paw
be seen
of a chimpanzee or a monkey.
Yet there is a widelypopular "science" of palmistry
which dubs these anthropoidwrinkles the "head,"
"heart,"and "life" lines,and proceedsto predictthe
whole

future life of the individual

of

from

their degrees

development. There could hardly be a more

humiliating
example of the incredible ignoranceof
the simplest
in which we
facts of our
structure
own
have been brought up.
These wrinkles have about
much to do with the head, heart,and life-chances
as
of their possessor as with the priceof soap.

HEALTH

OF

ANCESTRY

THE

13

through Leo's eyes again at the

knob at the upper end.
Big enough, but evidentlyno
Throw
the "featherless
good for fightingpurposes.
biped" out of a window, and its overweightwill pull
let

Now

us

look

that he lands
so
first,

it down

it and

on

cracks it seven

Why did it grow there in

absurdly exposed position,instead of in the
of the animal
say the pit of the stomach
that arms
and legsand trunk could all be used to
times

out

of

that

ten.

"

dle
midso

"

tect
pro-

it?
The
have

eyes
eyes

all round

end of their
a

mouth.

location,for jellyfish
their bodies,and starfish at the

didn't determine

But

arms.

That

look

settles it.

its

littlecloser.

The

first brain

There's
had

to

knots
by that. First a coupleof (motor) nerve
then
(ganglia)to control mouth and jaw movements,
a pair of
(sensory)smell buds, then a pair of (sensory)
eye lobes,next a pairof ear knots,then gullet,
body muscles (motor) gangliato match them. Then
from the nose-jaw eye knots began to sprout up an
and
upper-brain(cerebrum) to link their messages
movements
together. This grew and grew while the
basal masses
it comremained
until finally
pletely
stationary
"overflowed"
them, bulging forward until its
forehead-box
to
came
overhang the front of the
instead of lyingfar back of its angles,
mouth
pushing
the eyes down and forward until they lie far below the
level of the top of the head, crowding the nostrils
down
instead of straight
until they open downward
grow

"

forward.
This

overgrowth is

what

makes

the

jaws

look

so

small

and

in number
any

animal

your

every

had

ever

teeth.

Somewhat

kind of teeth that

is there

and

give them all something to do.

diet can
have, if it be sufficient in

Moral

duced
re-

ready

for

incisors,canines, premolars,molars.

business:

fault

or

at

size,but

and

has

they are

look

lipsand

your

open

forming three-fifths of
barelyone-fifth. But

of

Instead

weak.

of the head

the bulk

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

i4

Eat

monotony.

every

kind

of sound

The

worst

amount,

food

is

that you

of the year.

Flesh,fish,fowl,
and
"gude red herrin',"vegetables,fruits,grains,
all have their uses
and each its
nuts, fats,sugars
restricted diet for this
peculiaradvantage. No
can

get in every

season

"

mouthful

of

match.
much

teeth.

They

are

The

fit to

stomach
tackle

and

intestines

anythingexcept

too

grass.

Glance

the hind paws.

Nothing justlike them in
the fore paws.
the world, but not so wonderful
as
at

balanced,springyarches of jointed
bone,
Beautifully
braced and supportedby elastic muscles and steel-wire
tendons. Two
of them
as
support the body erect
than
and effectively
securelyand far more
gracefully
They have triple-spring
expansions,
any four paws.
and poise,lengthwisefrom heel to
to give elasticity
and broadly across
at spread
toe, crosswise at instep,
of toes. (What
follyto cramp the last by tightshoes,
break the firstby thrusting
or
a
high heel up into
the middle of it. Many a backache,many
a headache,
and

many

nervous

breakdown

comes

of this.i "A

son," says the inimitable

Mulvaney in "Soldiers Three," "is no betther than

soldier

on

the

march,

me

ANCESTRY

THE

his

or

feet."

housewife,

hands,
the

can

over

is

It

the

to

feet

the

equally
say

for

with

bog

the

with

goat,
the

frog.

any

HEALTH

laborers.

15

business

in

with

man

Like

the

They're

emergency.

runners

swim

many

of

nothing

ready

are

of

true

long-distance

toughest
climb

OF

the

world,

the

otter,

they
skate

CHAPTER

SOME

DIET

II

OR

DELUSIONS,

COALING

THE

BODY-ENGINE

How

can

of-fact

delusion

and

and

test

Every
what

of

of

highly men

"lightthat
the

pies that
find

never

mother

preferences

fact, if
still
the

we

to

more

to

realm.

doctors

of

is

the

certain
to

be

is

sure

their

that

that

food

is

animal

as

tried

"precious right
dietetics.

and

nowhere

every

of

is said, and

One

to

come

established

dispute

them,

of

In

arena.

diet-reformer,

nine-tenths

of

had

"the

evidence,

would

race

deadly poison.
food

what

for

else do

as

in this

to

any

The

of

memory

possibilityof

as

terms

still survives

printed, we

bad

striking

most

of

listen

human

what
a

been

shrewdly

fact, as

would-be

almost

are

have

widely accepted

so

what

Every

put

and

our

in the

us

absolutely nothing beyond

this

to

would

land"

or

make,"

to

that

conclusion

of

merely

read

things

Eliot

realm

sea,

matters

were

would

what

their

value

the

on

used

prejudicesas

and

in

was

yet

George

as

matter-of-fact

most

we

found

be

to

must

and

ago,

private haziness,"

it, are

matter-

One

of

upon

life

support

years

how

diet?

as

easiest

imaginable experiment
not

such

to

disprove promptly.

or

prove

thousands

of

it the

thought

would

proofs

regard

every-day subject

certainly have
to

exist in

and

in
we

is absolutely

humanity

find

philosopher

description,espe-

INSTINCT

i8

fluence here
"

as

that is

and

HEALTH

AND

theyhave
to

next

none

in other realms

conduct

over

all.

at

The

in the

man

God-given instincts and plodspeacefully

along to his three square meals a day, consisting
of anything he can
find in the market, and justas
much
with special
of it as he can afford,
preferencefor
rich meats, fats,and sugars.
Here, as everywhere,
instinct is far superiorto reason,
and a breakfast diet
of sausage and buckwheat
cakes with maple-syrupand
street

follows his

strong coffee has carried the white

the world; while
down

with

one

post-mortem

of salads

and

cereals,washed

would
subterfuge,

stranded, gasping,in the firstditch he

The

half round

man

leave him

came

to.

basal

problems of dietetics were, by the mercy

of Heaven, settled long ago, in the farmhouse kitchen,
in the commissarydepartmentof the army in the field,
in the cook's galleyamidships,and in the laboratory.
There
is littlemore
for difference of opinion
room
of engines.
them than there is about the coaling
upon
of size of boiler and fire-box,
the difference
Simply a matter
in heatingpower
and
and ash between Welsh
of work to be got out of
Australian,and the amount
the machine, multiplied
by the time in which it is to be
accomplished.
It is true that Professor Chittenden has recently
lished
pubthe results of experimentsupon
"starvation
a
squad" of soldiers which lead him to the conclusion
that weight,health,and vigorcan be maintained
upon
about

half the

diet-tables.
upon

so

narrow

of food

amount

But

this
a

laid down

in standard

gravely improbableconclusion

basis of fact

can

carry

but

little

SOME

DIET

DELUSIONS

19

weightuntil it has been confirmed by tests upon a far

From
the reports of
wider scale by other observers.
colleagueswho saw the soldiers at the close of their
so
fast,restless,
nervous,
eager to get back to regular
rations that they would say anything about their feelings
tend to bring the experimentto a
which would
ance
endurclose,it strikes me simplyas a test of human
like Dr. Tanner's famous
fast. We
are
merely
in human
automobiles
form, literally
"steam-engines
in breeches,"of only moderate
of power,
but
range
economical
in the matter
of fuel,and of
exceedingly
remarkable
adaptability.Given our age, sex, size,
and the work
to be done, the suitable
horse-power,
fuel is only a question
of cost and accessibility.
Every
particleof the energy which sparklesin our eyes,
which moves
muscles,which warms
our
our
tions,
imaginais sunlightcunninglywoven
into our
food by
the living
cell,whether vegetableor animal.
Every
tion,
movement,
every word, every thought,every aspiraof precisely
much
so
represents the expenditure
food.
derived from
Cut off our
supply of
energy
second-hand
sunlightand our human
lamps go out
the current
is broken. (_
when
like an arc-light
We
are
what we have eaten)
literally
Some

diet delusions

the "fush"

fad which

are

most

modern

date, like

devastatingour breakfast tables,

while others are of most
respectable
antiq- /
uity. Among the latter is that very ancient survival,
foods are "good" for par-W'/7the notion that particular
ticular thingsor effects. This is an almost direct de-c/
scendant

is

of
now

of the notion held with greater

or

less

una-

U^

INSTINCT

20

HEALT^

AND

that
nimityby nearlyall savage and barbarous tribes,
the flesh,
viscera of birds and animals possessing
or
will be likely
to producethe same
qualities
particular
in those who eat them.
Thus Nero used to
qualities
proving
banquet on nightingales'
tongues in the hope of imvoured
his voice, and the Ojibwa cut out and dethe heart of the bear,the liver of the buffalo,
that the strengthand courage of these
etc., believing
animals would therebybe transferred to himself. It
is probable
that the
cannibalism

although,of
would

man

course,

have

no

after he had

enemy

bear

or

has

at

belief,

same

days primitive
about eatinghis
hesitancy

more

than he would

killed him
In

deer.

as

in devouring

fact,the earlyconverts
Sea Islands referred

"long pig." Every

time been

some

the

in Neanderthal

their favourite dish

race

"

to

of the missionaries in the South

to

of ancestral rites

gruesome

largelydue

was

"

most

known

cannibal.

and naivete
a childlike logicality
was
certainly
about the conceptionof the Maori
warrior who
rounded and completedhis conquest of his enemy
by
eating him afterward and thus acquiringall the
There

vigourand
him.

The

which

energy

had

been

wont

story told of the old Maori

his last hour, when

favourite wife

to

urged by
a

the

death-bed

to

oppose

chief who, in

missionaryand

repentance, and

his
told

beginby forgivinghis enemies, proudly

lifted his head and exclaimed,"I have no enemies; I
have eaten them all,"appealsto a slumberingchord
in us even
intelligent
people
yet. While certain most
resent the accusation of reto-daywould indignantly

that he

must

SOME

DELUSIONS

DIET

vertingto

such

the

orthodox

21

days and ideas,they will vigorously

the eatingof pork as an unholy thing,on
denounce
the ground that "he who eats pork thinks pork," and
more

while

of

them

records
Scripture

swine, we

have

that the

that

assurance

no

will

declare

that

devils entered

into

even

they ever

out

came

of them.
The
and

prohibition
by
valuable

Moses

meat-food

by Mohammed

of this second

that

we

possess

most

and

useful
its echo

purely ceremonial grounds, /^

and had littleto do with dietetics,
or
hygiene. Most /**
of these primitiveprejudicesagainstthe use
of the
flesh of a particular
animal are traceable to the belief
that the animal is the totem, or guardian spirit,
or
of the tribe. It is obvious that the
primitiveancestor
table of unclean meats
in Deuteronomy is purelyceremonial
and constructed with the purpose
of excluding
pork; though whether upon grounds of totemism or
to say.
impossible
pure taboo it is,of course,
Another
survival of the same
idea
amusing modern
is to be found on almost every hand
in the popular
ture
impression,
gravelyrepeated in works upon voice culwithin the last twenty years, that dates and figs
jurious
are
peculiarly
good for the voice,while nuts are into it. The
only basis whatever for this impression
ness
being a sort of crude analogy between the sweetwere

on

of the fruits mentioned

the

voice,and between

skins of the

nuts

and

the
the

and

that of the

roughnessof
coarser

and

tones

of

the shells and

more

strident

tones.

It will also be recalled that the classicalwolf in "Red

INSTINCT

22

Riding Hood"
and

softened

HEALTH

his voice

by eatingchalk;
other similar fairytales could be

of

score

AND

quoted.
Nor

need

we

delve

of such belief.

into folk-lore

antiquityfor

stance
in-

onlya few months ago

that the writer,duringa political
campaign,heard one
of the speakers,
who had an unusuallymelodious
and
penetratingvoice, approached by a very intelligent
gentleman,a lawyer of eminence in the community,
with the remark

It

"That's

was

very

remarkable

voice of

Major. Do you take anything for it?"

An equallyimposingspectre which stilloccasionally
stalks through the pages of the popularmagazines is
the notion that in some
good
way fish diet is peculiarly
for brain development. This, though of quite respectable
another ancient fiction,
like many
antiquity,
has been false-buttressed by "scientific" arguments
of
late years, namely: that as the principal
constituents
of brain tissue,
neurin and lecithin,
are
usuallyrich
in phosphorus,and as fish contains a largeamount
of
phosphorus,therefore fish makes brains.
It has also received a historical bolstering
up by the
citation of the Church's use of fish on fast-days
and
of the fact that Christ selected His apostles
from
yours,

fishermen.

among

An

even

better

citation would

of

landingthem, or

of the

This

been

the

traordinar
ex-

tion
impartedto the imaginacatch fish,merely by the contact
them out
that of half pulling
even

vigour which
of those who

have

is

water.

lovelyscientificfairytale

about the

phosphorus

SOME

DIET

has,like the Irishman's

wounds

in it. The

DELUSIONS
corpse,

23

less than three fatal

no

firstis that while

the brain tissue

than
is,it is true, rich in phosphorus,it is no more
so
the nuclei of all the cells scattered throughout the
body. The ordinarywhite blood cell,or leucocyte,
contains as much
cell of
phosphorus as does the nerve
the same
cell could be imagsize,and unless the nerve
ined
gence
to have
a
bigger appetiteor a superiorintelliit would

of the phosphoruscontained
get no more
in the food than would
its healthful inferiors.

In the second
of food

or

kind
notion that any particular
element in the food goes to any particular

placethe

any

tissue is

without foundation,and is as
utterly
logicalas the belief of littleMary in Holland's "Bay
Path," who, adoringthe beautiful wavy hair of her
mistress,every morning at breakfast took special
young
pains to push each mouthful of bread and milk
before swallowing
up againstthe roof of her mouth
it,in the hopes that it would soak upward and make
her hair grow.
Every bit of food

going into

into its simplest

molecules
cell
particular
words

and

the

body

and then

built into its

the cells do their

own

is broken

absorbed

structure.

eating,and

are

down

by

each

In other
not

mere

blottingpaper to soak up what happens to be

is widest
brought to them. The third mortal wound
and most
gaping of all;and this is,that fish contains
no
more
phosphorus than meat, eggs, or any other
proteidfood. How, then, did it get the reputation
it? Simply from the fact that dead fish
of containing
the decks of fishing
smacks,
allowed to decay upon
bits of

INSTINCT

24
or

the

upon

sea

AND

HEALTH

frequentlya

beach, displayvery

of decomposition.
in the process
greenishphosphorescence
This phosphorescent
however, is due
light,
of bacteria which
but to a group
to the fish at all,
not
So the whole fish-phosits remains.
is feasting
phorus-brai
upon
an
ignisfatuus,or
theory is literally
will-o'-the-wisp.
as
a
study in
Equally whimsical and interesting
the numerous
impressions abroad,
credulityare
that
in "intense" and intellectual circles,
especially
particularkinds of food are "bad for" particular
things.
These are easily
ous
traceable to that broad and omnivorlogicwhich, as Tyler
type of primitivehuman
likeness
pointedout, enables the Samoyed to see a striking
between
and a comet, in that they both
cow
a
have tails. To take one
of the crudest forms, all
Europe there is a firm belief
through Northeastern
that nursingmothers
should never
be allowed to eat

fish or
power

To

because

eggs,

of

come

since these

their
speech,

littlenearer

children

foods

have

might be

dumb

have

the

home,

I am
fancy,carefully
reproduced,

we

the

not

in

sequence.
con-

of
flight

sorry to say, in many

that spices
are
dietetics,
to be interdicted in feverish,
or
inflammatory
bilious,
conditions because they are supposed to be "heating
Here the childlike analogy between
to the blood."
sensations of warmth
producedin the mouth by these

so-called scientificworks

upon

rise of temperature
of
be self-evident,
and is precisely
substances

and

is so

clear

piecewith

as

to

the

INSTINCT

26

HEALTH

AND

and
the hands for surgicaloperations,
sterilising
powdered cinnamon has been proposed as a dressing
ing
for septicwounds.
Their universal use for embalmdue to
was
as in the Egyptianmummies,
purposes,
I had occasion some
their antiseptic
years
powers.
the dietarybest suited to
ago to studyrather carefully
soldiers
white men
illustrated by our
in the tropics
as
in the Philippines
and English civilians in India, and
after consultation with a number
of Army surgeons,
in

fats
was

the conclusion

to

came

"too

heatingfor
apparentlyas baseless

were

and

that those

their full Northern

and

meats

the blood"

in the

ration

then

tropics,
sion,
deluthe spice-heating
as
and regimentswhich took

messes

army

skilled native cooks

to

over

and

that the notion that

to

and

it

turned

spice,
pepper,

curry,

bedevil

generallyat their own sweet will,enjoyed

not
only better general health and greater working
but a freedom
and kindred
from dysenteries
power,
ailments,which was
as
reallystriking
compared with
other troops who
In fact, I do
toward
we

used
not

such condiments.

no

confessinga rapid drift

mind

the heretical conclusion that the food

take into

first and

our

bodies

does

not

go

to

which

produce heat

method

then energy
from
that, after the wasteful
of the steam-engine,
but rather, after the

method

of the

and

heat

gasolineengine,produces energy
waste
as
incidentally
a
product in
"

words, that

our

vital heat

may

be

produced by the activities of

not

to

necessary

thingsthan

we

life.

Plants

in the way

can

do

a
our
more

first
other

frictional
bodies

mainder
re-

and

wonderful

of construction,
work, and

SOME

DIET

DELUSIONS

27

of appreciable
givingoff a particle
heat.
We
probablydo our life work by a series of
which generate little or no
intra-cellularexplosions,
friction product,as in an
or
heat, except as a waste
electric lightor fan.
As Loeb's brilliant studies on

growth

the

without

of

role

oxygen

in cold-blooded

animals

have

is chiefly
to burn up the poisonous
respiration
waste
productsof the life-activitiesof our cells,
to produce energy
not
by combustion. (Thefood of a
at work
should, in my judgment,have
healthyman
Look
the same
value the year roundJ
at
practically
of meat, butter, and starchy
the enormous
amounts
foods requiredby the harvest hand in sweltering
July.
should eat less in the tropicsis
The
we
only reason

shown,

our

that the heat will

not

allow

us

to

do

so

much

work.

economical
always a puzzle,is a far more
machine
than man,
capable of doing as much and
much
less fuel,though it is true
enduringmore
upon
she is often underfed.
She is twenty-five
per cent,

Woman,

nearer

the cold-*blooded animals

as

Under

shown

this same

by

of
in economy
her lessened CO2 output.

category

comes

the

bolism,
meta-

against
prejudice

pork. Because the pig is an unclean feeder,fond of

wallowing in the dirt,and apt to make his sty and
offence in the nostrils of the neighbourenvironment
an
hood,
there has grown
againstthe use
up a prejudice
minds of all ages and
of his flesh in the more
ladylike
received this prejudice
communities.
Having once
they have proceeded to brace it from all possible
First of all by harping back to the ancient
sources.
taboo placed upon the flesh of swine by both Jewish

and

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

28

Mohammedan

ceremonial

law.

This, as

we

have

intelligent
by the more
Rabbis and all the reformed
nial
Jews, is purely ceremoand has littleor no hygienicbasis. The remarkable
comparativelongevityand low mortalityof the
Jews are proudlypointedto as a result of abstinence
that there are a
from the forbidden meat, forgetting
of other interdictions in the Jewish law which
score
have more
to do with the record of which
they are so
the
justlyproud, and utterlyleavingout of account
for two-thirds of it,and
factor which is responsible
herent
and inthat is the magnificent,
unconquerablevitality
of the
racial vigour,both mental and physical,
Jewish people. It is as rational to ascribe, as is
stilldone in strict evangelical
the extraordinary
circles,
of the Jewish race under every imaginable
persistence
favour of the
and hardshipto the special
persecution
them for final conversion,as it
Almighty in preserving
is to abstinence from pork.
Deprived of pork, our Jewish brethren have made
fat
up for it bv eatingevery other kind of digestible
that they could secure
butter,suet, fat fish,oil,the
fat of geese, etc., so that their dietaryis probably
seen,

and

as

is

admitted

now

"

richer in fat than

that of any

populationsurroundingthem.
will confirm the
is one
Jewish patients
most

of
Any physician

rience
expe-

that the diet of his

of the richest in fats and sugars,

attractively
quantityand most

abundant

in

of any

of his

cooked

statement

class of the Gentile

families,in proportionto their

income.

Having deftlysupportedtheir prejudicefrom

the

DELUSIONS

DIET

SOME

29

tress
hand, they proceed to butit up on the other by pseudo-science.
gestio
firstcrude and childish experimentsupon diIn our
of the human
the digestivepowers
and
bility
stomach, the firstand most obvious test of the digestithe lengthof time which
of a food appliedwas
With nai've simplicity
it took to leave the stomach.
took it for granted that food could only leave the
we
stomach by way of absorptioninto the blood vessels,

itselfon the
Scripture

that the whole

and

one

of

process

But the stomach

enduring organ.
than a place of depositfor the food,
churned and partially
solved
disbe sufficiently

in that much

out

is little more
it may

where

with the assistance of weak

in water,

pepsinbefore being passed on

of the body, the small
organ

intestine.

connection

the ultimate

necessary

of

food

the

and

the stomach.

the

rice

of

at

came

substances

the head

in the
liquefied
or
so
nearlyso

can

stomach

passed on

the

small

time which

is

no

digestibility
it remains

in

which
digestibility
text-books were
arranged

swiftness with which

be acidulated

of mastication

and

ticular
par-

passed

are

the

by

comparativelyshort stay
allow them

to

either

saliva,
in the

be acidulated

for the serious process of digestion

in
intestine. Next
it will be remembered,
came,

oysters, soups, and the

and

digestive

There

of the list,
for these

is sufficient to

and

into the real

Eggs, milk,sweetbreads, and

process

that

our

and

ease

of the stomach.

out

acid and

old tables of

some

chiefly
upon
food

between

lengthof

The

stillencumber

on

carried

digestionwas

bread, and

meats
lighter

fat and

fried meats;

then beefsteak
and

last

INSTINCT

30

AND

HEALTH

fats.

of all pure

late in this
Naturally,pork comes
it contains largequantities
of fat,and

series because

if
(Moreover,

its fibres.
that fat is distributed among
takes placein the stomach
any fermentation
and starches,gases

sugars

in the
been

mouth, and the

only a

and
faste""

harmless

blamed

more

to

the

formed, eructations

are

cur
oc-

pork,which may have

spectator of the disturbance,is
poor

for the

tfioughit takes pork four

and six

from

whole

hours

to

Even
trouble!)
leave the

be dissolved and absorbed

stomach,

in the small

what
intestine,

does that

ed
long as it is cornpletelyassimilated by the end of that time, as it is in
It is the
ninety per cent, of all digestivecanals?

slowest,but also

one

matter

of the

surest

so

foods that

we

have

ness
give off all its energy to the body. Its very slowis what givesit its splendidstaying
of digestion
for hard work, whether
muscular
mental.
or
powers
of fact I have seen
~As
of dysa matter
more
cases
pepsia
of breakfast-bacon
than by
cured by the use
kind of drug or restricted diet.
.any
canal which cannot
An adult alimentary
digestbacon
ham
is not to be regarded as healthy,and instead
or
of humouring and giving in to a weak
it
digestion,
should be braced up and under skilled supervision
fuss.
educated to take what is given it and make
no
Stomachs
little to
be spoiledby giving them
too
can
do almost as easilyas by givingthem
much.
A
too
healthystom;ich. fit to cope with the emergencies of
life must
gestibl
be able to digestnot only that which is diand
but much
that is difficultof digestion,
to

this is the standard

which

should be aimed

at

in die-

DIET

SOME

DELUSIONS

As Professor Max
tetictherapeutics.
diet in health should

31
Einhorn

puts it:

always comprise the

For by doing so we
substances.
most
easilydigestible
weaken our digestive
system." Besides, a largebulk
residue is absolutely
of indigestible
late
necessary to stimu"The

the

lower

bowel

to

not

proper

action.

We

need

ham
and
"hay" justas horses do. Pork, including
second most
valuable meat
bacon, is easily
our
food,
and

has

laid the

literal foundation

civilisation. What
railroad gang,
field be without bacon?

party,

of

Most

the

as

he

does

an

lumber

army,
camp,

an
or

our

on

ern
West-

exploring
a

"hygienic"diets on
themselves are chiefly
notable

patients
put
fact that they are
lives

restricted

our

whoever

would

of

harvest-

which
for the

deficient in proper
food value,and
them will be dyspepticjustas long

so.

lusion
deprevalentform of the same
is that known
as
vegetarianism.This cult,for
it is a religious
cult and not a dietetic or hygienic
school,starts out with the foregone conclusion that
animal food of every sort is and must
be injurious.
Having once cleared their minds upon this point its
devotees then proceededto bolster it up to the best of
their ability
allegedscientificgrounds. But this
upon
should never
be allowed
for a moment
to
disguise
of the contention,which is that the
the real nature
their
When
eatingof animal food is morally wrong.
attention is firmlybut politely
called to the fact that
their dietaryconsists very largelyof two
products
which are usually
regardedas animal in their nature
A

subtler and

less

INSTINCT

32

milk, with

"

AND

HEALTH

its derivatives,butter

and

cheese,and

they promptly reveal the real character of

0"ytheirpositionby statingthat it is only those animal
foods which involve the takingof lifethat are injurious.
This is purelya matter
of creed and belief,
not
f/*u*ofany sort of reason
or
logic,and argument can conhas a perfect
right
jsequently
go no farther. Any man
to believe anythingthat he pleases,
providingthat he
prepared to take the consequences.
Jiyis
Hear
Gleizes,one of their earliest prophets in his
r*'s"These2 : "Que le meurtre
des animaux
est la prinde notres
et de notres
crimes,"
erreures
e source
their latest,
animal eats vegeKellogg: "When
table
there is no pain,no sorrow,
sadness
no
no
made
to
eyes forever shut to the sunlightthey were
melodies
closed to the sweet
ears
they were
see, no
'tt eggs

"

'

...

made

this

hear," etc., etc.,etc.,ad

to

picturesquenonsense

be

admirable, but

as

argument
Some

may

As poetry,

nauseam.

years

session of

ago

of

one

I had
the

the

of attendinga
privilege

International

held in London.

One

gresses
Con-

Women's

afternoon

was

devoted

to
alluringsubjectof "Kindness
Animals," Sir Edward
Grey, Sir Herbert Maxwell,
duced
inand myself being the three rash males who
were
to

the

sweet

to

and

thrust

our

heads

into the lioness's den.

We

the pursuit
audacityto defend, respectively,
and vivisection,
and killing
of animals for sport, fishing,
and were
hissed several times before
all cordially
we
got throughour speeches.The feature which was
Antithat all these Anti-sport,
chiefly
interesting
was,
had

the

INSTINCT

34

Both

such.

are

AND

HEALTH

places,and the best

ably
morally,have invariand
by an intelligent

excellent in their

and
results,
physically,
mentally,
been, and are yet, attained

thetically
Parenmixture of the two
classes of food.
judicious
ism
speaking,it may be stated that vegetarianis the diet of the enslaved,stagnant, and conquered
races,

and

diet rich in

is that of the

meat

strains
the dominant, and the conquering
progressive,
(Virchow). The rise of any nation in civilisationis
invariably
accompanied by an increased abundance in
both vegetable
food supplyfrom all possible
sources,
and animal.
There
are
no
purely and exclusively
vegetarianraces known, and the degree of vegetarianism
of its
of a race, or class,is simply the measure

poverty.
If any

individual

prefersto restrict himself to a

milk, butter,cheese,
purelyvegetablediet,including
and eggs, he is perfectly
at liberty
to do so ; but that
he will gain any advantage whatever
from his abstention
from meat
are
we
utterlyunable to confirm.
the extremist is absolutely
Whoever
sure
may be right,
and the pure vegetarianand the pure
to be wrong,
"animalian," if such an one exist,alike occupy positions
which

in the eye of science irrational and

There
is no valid or necessary
ground
are

individual
able

far
so
idiosyncrasies,

as

we

have

discover,for the exclusion of any known

of food, whether vegetable
animal, from
or

tenable.
uncept
ex-

been
article

to

our

diet

listin health.
No

food

be

or
mentioned, however indigestible
innutritious,
which, in the proper time and place,and
can

DELUSIONS

DIET

SOME

35

but useful.
properlyprepared,is not onlypermissible,
of
is simply a sense
Here as everywhereelse wisdom
ture
proportion.So far as we can judge from the strucof man's teeth and alimentarycanal his diet in
been a mixed one
the past has unquestionably
with a
considerable leaningtoward the carnivorous side. A
close look at his large "eye" or canine teeth,his full
and the clearlycusped edges of his
set of incisors,
molars would indicate that animal food had playeda
largepart in his diet in the past. He stillshows his
canine tooth when angry, in the sneer, justlike a dog
a
or
gorilla.His stomach is barely distinguishable
his
from that of a dog or great cat of somewhere
near
weight,while it is separatedby a thousand leaguesof
distance from
the pouched and ballooned
biological
one

of the pure

only about

five times his

If

ten

to

is to become

man

vegetarianin the future,his

canal will have
of structure

to

intestinal canal

twenty
a

less
and blame-

pure

and

stomach

supportedby

tary
alimenfacts

These

be reconstructed.

are, of course,

is

in the pure
times,as in

body length,as

carnivora,instead of from
the herbivora.

His

herbivora.

all

we

know

of the

and his immediate

ancestors.
historyof man
lished
Contrary to generalimpressionand frequentlypubthe anthropoidapes, while subsisting
statement
ing
largelyupon fruit,
nuts, and roots, have a strong likfor animal
At

one

these

time

food.
I had

occasion

cousins

ours

in

observe

number

of

and was
sured
ascaptivity,
werp,
by the keepers,both in London, Berlin,Antand Hamburg, that they requiredconsiderable

near

of

to

INSTINCT

36

AND

HEALTH

of beef-juice,
milk, eggs, insects,
or
quantities
worms,
and even
small birds in order to be kept in healthy
In fact for years no great ape in captivcondition.
ity
cause
lived to anythinglike maturity,
ever
largelybefed exclusively
on
they were
vegetablefood
is true of monkeys.
(Beddard). The same
World
The New
monkeys simply will not live in
of
captivityat all without considerable amounts
and
and insects,
freshlykilled
chopped meat
eggs
culosis.
birds,and theyhave a very low death rate from tuberThe
Old World
monkeys in cages side by
the
side with them, in the same
house, fed on precisely

diet,with much

same

die

the

at

smaller

of from

rate

amounts

of animal

thirtyto fortyper

food,

cent,

per

of tuberculosis.

annum

but I cannot
tioning
helpmenonly a coincidence,
in this connection the surprisingly
ber
largenumtuberculous patients
of our
givinga historyof
The
individual suffering
having a dislike for meat.
from
consumption who givesa historyof a strong
for eatinglarge amounts
is decidedly
of meat
taste
It may

be

rare.

In the animal
sweeps

culosis
world, both bird and mammal, tuberlike a pestilence
throughthe grass-andchickens,pheasants,
cattle,antelopes,

grain eaters"
meat-eaters
turkeys,but is decidedlyrare among
lions,civets,
dogs,cats, tigers,
badgers,hawks, eagles,
"

crows.

is of course
appeal,our instincts,
overwhelminglyagainstany exclusive diet. The one
barbarous, and civilised man
thing that primitive,
The

final court

of

DIET

SOME

alike long for is an

Egypt."

The

DELUSIONS

abundance

very firstuse

kinds
expensive

of

meat.

in reference

see

to

of
"flesh-pots

of his increased

buy new, rare, and

shall further
Here again,
as we
his preference
for white bread
is to

both rational and sound.

brown, his instinctsare

over

of the

he makes

and financialresources

power

37

of these delusions is the breakfast-food

Last

fad.

it
as its present attitude is,
pestiferous
born of humble and highlyrespectable
was
parentage,
Its birth and conception
namely, Scotch oatmeal.

Pompous

would
"The

has

error

has

and

appear

to

have

been

in this wise:

somewhat

cipal
people;oatmeal is their prinIt
oatmeal is a great food."
food; therefore,
cidentall
nothingto do with our argument, but it may inbe remarked in passing
that there is a fatal
in this syllogism,
that the most
vincing
convidelicit,
proofthe Scotch have givenof their greatness
been their ability
oatmeal at all. The
to live on

secret

Scots

are

great

of their wonderful

both

success,

mental

and

lies in
physical,
survive

the fact that any nation trained to

diet of oatmeal and the shorter catechism

could survive
Oatmeal

has

anythingand
value

flourish

anywhere.

offsetthis ^/
isitscapacity
as a stirrerup of acid fermentations and
intestinaldisturbances.
The
the

some

seductive

oat

was

firstof
earlysixties,

as

food, but

introduced
all as

into

to

England

in

food for children and

invalids. For the firstof these classes it presented

a
threefold benefit

it was

and there was

cheap,filling,
exorbitant taste for
no
an
dangerof their developing
it. The littlefellows had a natural liking
for cream,
"

-v

Srr
0- 4

f\

IM

AND

INSTINCT

38

HEALTH

butter,sugar, and meat, therefore there was

danger
of their eatingtoo much
of these,but there was
no
danger of their becoming unduly addicted to oatmeal.
vantage
it presentedthe adAs a pabulum for the sick-room
ing
of the absence of any particular
flavour,be-

having a looseningeffect
believed to be
the bowels.
Moreover, it was
upon
strengthening.The ground for this last conclusion
that because a husky hind could do a
was
chiefly
heavy day'swork on a big bowl of oatmeal "parritch,"so stiffthat the spoon would stand up in it,
of
with a quart of milk, therefore a few teaspoonfuls
dilution of the same
would give strength
to
a watery
easilyswallowed

and

the enfeebled.
Most

of

us

the stuff upon

the first appearance

of
this Continent.
I can well recall going

can

remember

farmingcommunity in the Middle West in my

earlyboyhood, and going to the grocery for oatmeal,
the only
to be thence referred to the drug-store
as
placein town where a few pounds of it was kept for
the purpose
of making gruel. And this littletrickling
into

thread of

has swollen within twenty years

flood dimensions of the present

streamlet

the

Johnstown
breakfast-food deluge.
to

Now

these be the virtues of the cereals:

they

are

cheap,easilyswallowed, and of moderate nutritive

value.
from Scotland with a
Moreover, they came
There
consequent flavour of orthodoxyabout them.
is an

the

element

tanic,
in the average
human
mind, half Purihalf stingy,
which is inclined to count as a virtue

of
ingestion

any

kind

of food which

is not

espe-

SOME

but
dailyattractive,
to

that which

eat

petty vices.
instinct.

is

These

Now

the

are

In fact,

and

is
filling

of the

promptly

to

which
qualities

one

transcendental,a mild

of these blameless
from

the

Everywhere
finds
way

sort

the

for their

cereals

horrors

of

the doctor

of vague

of the

form

seized upon the virtues

of saving the
a
means

as

chronic

goes

bloodthirstiness.
his

among

impressionthat

patientshe

cereals in

some

coolingboth to the blood and to the impulses

;
from that
they are as far as possibleremoved
diabolical quality
ness;"
"richwhich a food can have
that they "thin the blood," stimulate the liver,

are

that
most

and

give

the short handle

and

vegetarianpropaganda, which
race

defiance of

conspiredto lengthen
purchase? As usual two spring
which are
already familiar faces in
transcendental,the other pseudo-

aid

scientific. The

it is

one

forces have

what

enormous

field:

be nutritious.

I call it vice,because

it to such

this

cheap

39

to

believed

cereals their fulcrum

lever.

DELUSIONS

DIET

"

act

form

upon

of them

of vicarious
may

the bowels; and

for

one

atonement

be committed

meal

that

day

for all the

in the other

fast upon
will act as

some

sins
fleshly

two.

All

kind

which

of which

the
with the exceptionof the "actingupon
beliefs,
bowels"
part, are pure delusions and easilytraceable
cussed.
which have alreadybeen disto ancient superstitions
Of course,
Scripturehas again been quoted
which
in their behalf and the pulse and water
upon
Daniel and his three companions outshone the other
captiveprinceshave been triumphantlycited.
Then

came

most

powerful and

unsolicited boost

INSTINCT

40

AND

from

the side of

noted

that from

had
and

exhibited

psuedo-science.It

the earliest dawn

decided

whitest bread

and bakers

bread

when

HEALTH

could

preferencefor

that the combined

produce.

No

of

long

been

of civilisationmen
the cleanest

efforts of millers
ever

race

it could

get white; nor

other mulatto tint,until of

or

had

yet

ate

black

brown, yellow,

even

recent

years.

of

Liebig'sand Pettenkofer's earliest

of food stuffs happened to fall into the hands
analysis
of one Sylvester
Graham, a dyspepticNew Englander
and temperance reformer, about 1830. Finding that
nitrogen and nitrogenoussubstances were
given a
higher rank in the dietarythan starches and other
and that white bread contained less
carbohydrates,
tuitio
nitrogenin proportionthan brown, with the swift inof the child and the savage he leaped to the
staff of life and
bread being the principal
conclusion,
gen
white bread containinga lower proportionof nitrocopy

some

than brown, that brown

of the

two.

of

It

was

the better food

farther in that mar

gramthe Bible of the true reformer

only a step

was

logicwhich

bread

has been

began, that whereas humanity

suffers from many
dyspepsiasand other diseases of
the digestive
bread,
system, and lives chiefly
upon
since the world

therefore bread

must

conditions.

be the chief
He

the world

of these distressin

therefore

againstwhite bread
with which

cause

and

paign
inaugurateda camin favour of brown,

yet echoes.

umphal
keystone of the chief triof a cheap,
arch of vegetarians,
the discovery
edible vegetable
utter
an
proteid
; and as it rests upon
This

view

of

his is the

42

which

amount

is available

the

for

body,

While

in its interior.
words, digestible

in other

there

is

of nitrogenin whole wheat flour than

largeramount
is in the form
in white flour,the whole of this excess
in
indigestible
of branny husks, which are as utterly
the food-tube as so much sawdust or cocoanut
matting.
steak"
It is precisely
parallelwith the "vegetablebeef-

of the mushroom

delusion
years ago

told that while

were

we

Not

faddist.

ten

ing
had been strain-

we

indigestible
pork, beef, and mutton, we had been overlooking
that "meat"
which grows
at our
very doors, the most
delicate and nutritious food imaginable mushrooms,
"the poor
termed.
man's
beefsteak," as they were
The firstexaminations
of nitrogen
abundance
showed
every

to

nerve

unwholesome

secure

and

"

be

present, but when

second test of how much
to

be

bubble

at

in

was

for it

once,

submitted

was
a

was

to

the

form

useful

made

digestedor

burst

this

that could sibly

posin the body, the

found

to

consist of

compounds more
nearly resemblingdead leaves in
their compositionand nutritive value than anything
else. As nitrogenousfoods and flesh-formers the
whole
value

'

of the

cereals

coarser

are

far inferior in

plain,
every-daywhite bread. Instead of
white flour being deficient in nitrogen,
it is precisely
the opposite. Its very richness in digestible
and soluole proteid (gluten) has given it its colossal rank
among

'/I

group

wheat

to

the

the world's
bread

long or

stuffs. This

is what

makes

covered.
singlevegetablefood yet disvigourcannot be sustained upon

the best

Life

it so

food

so

and
well

as

upon

meat

alone,but it is far

SOME

DIET

cheaper and

hence

DELUSIONS
used.

more

43

Potatoes, cassava,

maize, sago, rice,all contain abundance of starch and

in a more
soluble form, but are fatally
deficient in digestibl
nitrogenoussubstance,or proteid.

Humanity

knew

well

on

which side itsbread

when

it insisted upon
that bread
be added, in passing,
that while

It may
ago the mills

was

tered
but-

being white.
twenty years

valuable elements ("midrejected

some
dlings")
in flour,on
of their imparting a
account
slightly
yellowishtingeto it,in the new processes these
very elements after being steamed, parched,and reground are relied upon as the chief element in the
"X XX"
brands, so that no flour need be avoided
because

it is too

that

white.

good

no

It

must

flour is a pure

ever,
be understood, how-

white,but

delicate

colour.

cream

superior nutritive value of whole

grain and cereals is absolutelywithout foundation.
They are
good foods in their place, but that
place is a long way down the column from white
bread.
To
give the devil his due, however, we
The

boasted

hasten

to

state

that

it is this

very

presence

of

residue
large percentage of utterlyindigestible
of their greatest values,
which givesthese foods one
their laxative effect upon
This is purely
the bowels.

mechanical

and

the

coat

due

to

stimulation

of the intestines

the

irritation of

sharp,horny,
of bran which are present, particularly
husky particles
meal.
in graham meal, oatmeal, and corn
They are,
that
in fact,valued chiefly
for the element in them
will not
digest,but passes unchanged through the
mucous

by

and

INSTINCT

44

AND

HEALTH

of
the propulsive
body, actively
stimulating
powers
the alimentary
canal in the process.
this
But even
feature is not altogether
devoid of danger. It was
found out, many
and
experience,
years ago by practical
within the last fifteenyears by laboratory
experiments,
that any attempt to eat brown bread three times daily
without intermission very quicklyresulted in setting
up

diarrhoea,with well-marked

stomach.

This

was

disturbance

of the many

one

science of Sir Lauder

to

the

to

gave

"Brown-Bread

resultant

Gastritis."

tributions
con-

lished
estab-

and
effect,
irritating

irritation the

By

he also discovered

valuable

Brunton, who

the fact of this cumulative

even

of the

the

title of

series
parallel

of

periments
ex-

of the
indigestibllity

elements in brown
It
bread and oatmeal.
nitrogenous
is now
an
acceptedrule in scientificdieteticsthat brown
bread must
be eaten
in bulk amounting to more
never
than two-fifths of the total bread consumption,as
otherwise irritating
and unpleasant
effects are certain
to

follow.

Yet
and

form

another

danger lurks

in these harmless

that is the starches which

which

so

readilylends

whether
fermentation,

they contain
itself

lactic-acid or

to

any

cereals,
form

of

barley,or

corn

fermentation

which

are

used

into either malt

of

This

alcoholic.

is well illustrated in the fact that it is almost

rye,

in

are

ably
invari-

for the purpose

or

spirituous

liquors,
rarelyor seldom wheat. All of these mush
be
of sugar
if a certain amount
foods, especially
bed
added, furnish a magnificentfermentation
"mash,"

as

the brewer

calls it,and any

one

who

has

SOME

DELUSIONS

DIET

4^

tendencyto acidityor gas formation in

slightest
Mush
to be injuredby them.
the stomach is likely
mash"
in a weak stomach.
In
makes
a superb "sour
of the
fact it is a melancholy truth that the tortures
chronic dyspeptic
are
aggravated,and in many cases
caused by the very foods which he takes for
chiefly
A large majorityof those who
their cure.
depend
and will remain so as
upon health foods are dyspeptics
long as theyclingto this diet.
the

of these foods lies not so

the greatest drawback
Of
in what they are, but in what they are not.

But

much

it is obvious

course,

flatulent claims

and

the

that the boastful

intelligent
of peerless
virtue and nutritive
of these products are
utterly

to

value made

for

baseless and

absurd.

most

these inflated statements,

altogether
of the greed of the exploiter,
born evidently
it must
be franklyrecognisedthat the cereal foods are enormously
overrated in point of nutritive value. Their
principaldanger is the power of producing a feeling
of fulness and satiety
longbefore an adequateamount
To

aside

sweep

of nutrition has been

taken

their virtues

properlyto
some

nourish

the

withstand
Not-

they are utterly

inadequate
But
body by themselves.

the tables taken

will say at once : "Here
are
authorities on dieteticsand published
recognised

one

from

in various

Health

and

Food

the nutritive value of white

flour is per
as

into the stomach.

that of

The

meat

citation is

Journals,showing that
corn
flour,
meal, and graham

and per ounce

almost as great
sugar and onlybelow that of fat."

pound
or

perfectly
correct,

but the inference

is misleading. The

therefrom

drawn

the mush

breakfast

or

table consists of

food
than

more

discrepancyis

substance

dry flour

in the table is the

to

the

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

46

as

meal, and

or

it appears

eightyper

ferred
re-

as

as

the

upon

of water,

cent,

will simply
If any one
watch the dish of oatmeal,

obvious.

step into the kitchen and

graham being prepared for the table,

he will be astonished to see what
a
huge panful of
few
handfuls
of the dry product
thick mush
a
will make.
As a matter
of fact,a largebowl of mush
other cereal is inferior in heatingand building-up
or
small rasher of bacon, a singleegg, or a
to one
power
pieceof beefsteak half the size of one finger. The
meal,

corn

or

chief nutritive value

the milk

normal

no

bribe of either milk

would

"taste

sugar.

human
or

is nature's

good"

Again

could

of his

stamp

of

instinct is justified
the

it without

eat

Nobody

sugar.

it "neat"

eat

resides in

umush-and-milk"

(or cream) and

for

hare

of

but

Belgian
To

accord.

own

approval upon

food.
You
comes

cannot

something for nothing,and one

buying one cent's worth of actual

get

nearer

value
time

in the market
believed.

pricethan
found

to

some

the world

If you
other

get

over

food

than

which

we

cent

food

at

is lower

one

in

food, it is almost

be either lower in nutritive

invariably
value, less digestible

cannot
appetising. We
support life on
mushes, salads,and fruit;it will injureour health in
the long run
if we
dicted
try. My only advice to those adtake
to the breakfast-food habit is,by all means
ante-mortem
serial,germicide,near-food, or
your
or

less

what

SOME

DIET

not, at

breakfast

DELUSIONS

breakfastfirst.Mush,
close of the meal
to

but

"

like

be

it is

and

sure

should
fruit,

instead of the

live upon

47
eat

at

come

beginning.

slow form

your

To

the
tempt
at-

of starvation.

nihil fit.You can't get somethingout of

nihilo,
on
nothing:no steadyhead of steam
shavingsin the
human
than in a locomotive.
engine,any more
Yet this is the trick that man's reason
is alwaystrying
his instinct. His instinct,
of course,
to play upon
knows better. It hasn't been crystallising
five million
was
only hatched yesyears for nothing. His reason
terday,
and has the boundless self-confidence of youth.
It is always tryingto improve upon
times
somenature
sometimes
not.
successfully;
One
of its favourite "improvement" fads is to try
to concentrate
food, so that we won't waste so
our
of the result are to be
much
time in eatingit. Tons
condensed,
hand, in the innumerable
seen
on
every
prepared and patent foods, which stare at us from
and roadside fence.
They are
every magazine cover
all failures,
because they won't support life alone,except
frauds.
for brief periods. Many of them
are
Ex

"

Most

We

are

made

have
that

now
no

to

sell rather than to

learned

food

can

by

eat.

bitter and

be condensed

expensiveexperience
below

certain

correspondingloss of
In fact,it might be roughlystated that
fuel value.
food as it comes
reduce the weight of our
you cannot
tables without reducingits food value, either
on
our
in calories or in digestibility.

very

But

moderate

what

limits without

of dried

foods?

asks

some

one.

Foods

INSTINCT

48

HEALTH

AND

They nearlyall have

to be "wetted"
again to about their originalbulk,by
fit to eat, or by
before they are
soaking or boiling,
do not

the

With

come

on

saliva

in

very

few

the table dried.

their

and

slow

the
exceptions,

difficult mastication.
dried meat,

fish,beans,

apples,etc., when soaked to their originalbulk are

never
equal in nutritive value to the fresh product,
and often far inferior to it. Drying is simply for
in keeping, and rather
in shipment or
convenience
detrimental than otherwise from a dietetic point of
view. Never use dried foods when you can get fresh,
has become
sariat
an
aphorism with hard-headed commisAnd
the man
in
departmentsthe world over.
the street, to say nothingof the small boy, will toss
If
up his hat and cry "Hooray" to that sentiment.
there's anythinghe hates it's dried applesand beans
and codfish. He
doesn't know
why, but he's right.
If a food ready to eat has lost weight or bulk, it
has generally
lost calories,
fuel value.
Many of our
so-called "extracts" and
"creams"
of things are
simply laughablein their emptinessof food-value.
All our beef extracts
of the famous
"Liebig"type, for
without food-value,and are
instance,are practically
Their
chief
stimulants,flavouringextracts.
pure
value lies in the cracker or toast
which the patient
be induced

can

The

renowned

to

eat

"Ox

with
in

them.

Tea-cup" has

lost everything

of the animal
made
so

from

much
The

same

except the smell,and the solution

it has about the same
nutritive value as

urine.

It is

is true

an

aid to

of soups,

littlemore.
appetite,
broths, and bouillons,

INSTINCT

50
the

and

and

case,

day. Two
by their

every

the other

'C/C0

get
such

We
the
for

HEALTH

comfortably drunk
have

related

been

to

me

one
physicians,
prominentsociety
woman,

of whom

had

them

on

attendant

neither

what

AND

sonally
per-

man,
clergy-

both

hibitioni
pro-

the least idea of

theywere takingthat "made them feel so good."

are
ready to chorus with Kipling'sMcAndrew,
"Auld
Scots Engineer,"speaking of the "food"
his darlingengines:

"There's

bricks that I

might

recommend

an' clink

"

the fire-bars cruel.

No!

Wangarti1 at the worst

patent fuel!"
Welsh

"

"

an' damn

all

vertise
strengthof patent foods lies in the adand eatingthe printedpage is the safest
flour and sirloin
and cheapest way to get it. White
steak men
buy and eat without urging. It is
only the bran and the canned offal that have to be

chief

The

"

"

advertised.
The

virtue of

all

fat and

"Infant-Foods," whose

stodgy"specimenbabies"

gaze

at

from

us

the

photographs
good old-

of the prospectus, lies chiefly

in the
fashioned cow's milk in which they are administered.
Taken

alone,babies will

starve

them,

on

get the

or

scurvy.

To

sum

foods
natural

up,

"bad

are

foods
;
1

An

as

class the

medicine."
in nutrient

contain

and

patent

They
value

usuallyabout

are

as

ten

as

they

prepared
far below
are

per cent,

Australian coal of fine steamingquality.

in attractive
of the

DELUSIONS

DIET

SOME

51

they claim; will not support life; easily

and calorie for
destroythe appetite,
upset digestion,
calorie are exceedingly
expensive. The whole brood
of
"Fierce," "Foodie," "Gripe Nits," "Push,"
"Shredded
Doormats," "Eata"Grapo-gripo-grits,"
like
etc., are
heapa-hay,""Uneeda-paira-blinkers,"
Hancock's
"for revenue
tariff,
only." If they could
be swept off the earth,few would be a pin the worse,
value

food

except the manufacturers.

The

material

raw

Brans," for instance,

are
half to three

cents

which

of

out

made

from

costs

finished

The

pound.

"Breakfast

the

one

and

product in

sellsfor fifteen
and decorated cartons
beautifullytinted
to twenty
cents
a
pound, includingthe pasteboard.
Not
one
particleof fuel value per pound has been
be added by any conceivable "process,"
or
can
possibly

miraculous.

however

Claims

to

the

contrary

sell the goods.

to
misrepresentations
credulous
consumer
only pays the maker, or
profitof about
accurately,faker, a trifling

are

The

brazen

per

more

1,000

cent.

that stock in the

Is it any wonder
of these
of the best known
some

companies making
productsis said to
be quoted at $1,000 per original
$10 share,and none
? Nearly every so-called
at that price
to be had even
"Health
Journal" is engaged in exploitingone or
of them.
Several have been started solelyfor
more
Health
this purpose.
Bogus "State" and "National"
of genuine
Associations,closely
imitatingthe names
scientificor

official bodies, have

for the sole purpose

of

been

formed

endorsingthem.

or

vented
in-

INSTINCT

52

leadingchemists

Our

time

one

have

to

HEALTH

AND

been

and

are
physiologists

flooded

with

said at

offers of

huge

of these
$500, $ 1,000, $5,000 to make analyses
of pubfor purposes
licati
products and sign their names
ashamed
A few, I am
to say, acceptedthem,
fees

on

"

both

sides of

the

Atlantic.

There

is

no

direct

analyses. The superb list of

the glutens,
the
valuable food substances,the proteids,
the polysaccharids,
the
the hydrocarbons,
globulins,
priceless
organicsalts,the iron and the zymases, are
all present in the sample. But so they are
in any
flourtaken from the bin of
scoop ful of unscreened
handful
of "shorts" from a
a
or
country grist-mill,
deceptionabout

these

sack of cow-feed.
This

the dear

publicdoes not know, but the scientist

and his purchaserdo.
Such analyses and they were
few years ago, until the profession
and the
a
common
who
scientific societies began ostracising
the men
signed them
though honest in form, are dishonest
in fact,because of the inevitable interpretation
which
the publicwill place upon
them, and is expectedto
placeupon them.
These statements
apply also to nearly all the prepared,
condensed, and predigestedmeat, milk, egg,
and fat or oil products,
of
that the original
cost
save
the materials used is higherand the margin of profit
not
so
huge. The analysesare equallymisleading,
more
complex, and could be duplicatedupon any egg
from the breakfast table,slice of beef, bacon, or
and peptonisedfoods
pat of butter. The predigested
because some
of their original
nutriare
even
worse,
"

"

DIET

SOME

53

"digested"past the stage

utilised in the body and turned into

has been

ment
can

DELUSIONS

be

which

have

to

be excreted

at

at

which

waste

it

ucts
prod-

once.

to the
enormously expensivein proportion
nutriment per ounce
they contain as to be littlebetter
economic
than frauds from
an
point of view.
Get the best qualityand widest varietyof good,

All

are

so

sound, toothsome
and

let the

old-fashioned

near-foods

and

foods

patent

that you

can,

"improvements"

severelyalone. You'll save in both health,comfort,

and pocket-book.
/
The
last delusion,and not the least dangerous, is
^.
who
that our
diet needs to be "regulated." A man
J^
considers the kind of food
and anxiously
continuously
he eats
whether
it is going to agree with him or not
and will always rewhen he eats it is a dyspeptic,
main
In the language of a modern
ing
writer, "nothso.
survives being thought of," and the digestionis
in point. The
vast
a striking
case
majorityof men
led by their instincts to a reasonablynutritious
are
and sensible dietary,
and the more
completelywe can
and the "chemical"
keep our minds off our digestions
choice of our
It is not
food, the better it is for us.
well for us to consider too nicelythe amount
of
even
food taken, or whether it is digestible
water
not.
or
or
The really
healthystomach ought to be and is capable
of disposing
of not only the digestible
and the difficult
of digestion,
but the indigestible.
Any other kind of
is not worth having,and that is the standard
a stomach
to which
we
physiciansare now
trainingour dyspeptic
patients.The stomach which will melt down
"

"

INSTINCT

54

AND

utiliseanythingin

and

HEALTH
that is given to it is the

reason

onlyone fittedto survive. Stomachs can be "pampered"

of
them
from the necessity
justas easilyby relieving
sonally
Pertaking difficult foods as by overloadingthem.
I have met
with almost as many
dyspepsias
due

to

the former

as

to

the latter. The

other instrument,should

any

It should

pitch.

or

is by

no

to

be allowed

not

be humoured
to

means

be

too

stomach, like

kept up

concert

to

shirk its responsibilities

to

This, of

much.

course,

discrimination
discourageintelligent

in the choice of food.

Some
to

foods

wholesome
perfectly

certain stomachs, and

those

are

which

literal poisons
after

repeated

trials

steadilydisagreehad better be avoided.

Our aim should be to keep our
food range as
to eat and thrive upon
possible.Man's ability
has gone far to make
where others would
living

him

the dominant

wide

as

thing
every-

animal,

starve.

The

sharpestlookout should be kept for any trace

of "spoiling"or putrefaction.
Nature has provided
instinct and a special
for this very purpose.
an
sense
If we would onlyuse it and follow our noses
would
we
Mrs.
a
ptomaine-poisoning.But
escape
many
Grundy says it's rude to "sniff" at table!
The conviction is steadily
growing in the profession
that disturbances of digestion
due in eight cases
are
out

of ten,

not

much

so

or
quantity,
quality,

under
rush and

to

method

which

the
of

food

used, either in

cooking,as

it is eaten

hurry with which business

has had
before the digestion

"

the

to

the circumstan

disgraceful
or
sumed
pleasureis retime to get fairly

under

and

way,

DELUSIONS

DIET

SOME

the utter

lack of

the open air to enable proper

than that we
Further
are

the exclusive and

whatever, with
Even

where

55

adequate exercise in

combustion

of the food.

reactingdecidedlyfrom

rigiddiet for any diseased

the partialexception of

these

exclusive

diets may

.condition
diabetes.

relieve the

to meet,
they are designedspecially
such as obesity,
or
glycosuria,
gout, they are very apt
of nutrition and impair
to upset the generalbalance
the vitality,
frequentlyin the long run aggravating
the symptoms
of the disease which theywere
even
scribed
pre-

symptoms

which

betic's
starch-free diet may
clear a diaurine of sugar and yet shorten his life,if he
to

cure.

in it exclusively.
persist
It is also realised that

no

other factor has had

so

much

the loweringof the

longevity,
death rate, and the generalimprovement of health and
tions,
comfort, which is takingplace under civilised condithe more
as
abundant, richer,and varied food
have made possible.
supplywhich steam 'and electricity
diet
Anything which tends to limit and monotonise
exercises an injurious
effect upon
the generalvigour
of the system.
Nearly all patent foods sin against
these requirements.They are not attractive in taste
stimulate the "appetite-juice"
and hence cannot
of the
stomach, which Pavloff has shown to be so indispensable
dictum of the grocer
to good digestion.The
health food to a cuswho, on recommending a new
tomer,
it must
said he was
be exceedingly
ble,
valuasure
because it "looked like dog-biscuit
and tasted like
of them.
sawdust," would apply to most
to

do with the increase of

INSTINCT

56

AND

HEALTH

both in flavour
exceedinglymonotonous
and in composition,
of them are
as the great majority
based upon
wretched superstition
to the insome
as
of animal
foods.
and wickedness
juriousness
Any
one
livingupon these foods will usuallyget a large
of the carbohydrateelements and the marked
excess
of proteids,
deficiency
fats,and salts. Nature is not
a
fool, and the natural articles of diet are
altogether
found by chemical analysis,
careful
and a more
now
and intelligent
gestio
study of the preciseprocesses of dito contain not
only the actual fuel content, or
in better proportionthan any "Health-food"
calories,
which has yet been invented; but also,what is usually
utterlylackingor deficient in the latter,a number of
ters,
elements, salts,alkalies,flavouringmataccessory
and acids,which, though not used as body-fuel,
found to be absolutely
to the
are
now
indispensable

They

proper

are

combustion

"Without
motto,

and

of the latter.

appetiteno
foods

surelydefective

as

that

our
healthydigestion"is now
pallon the appetiteare justas

foods

as

those that

are

deficient in

nutritive value.

Though it must be noted that by a curious paradox

"appetitecomes
by eating"sometimes and those who
underfeed,the tuberculous,the pretubercuhabitually
lous,and a largeclass of anxious,busy house-mothers,
often

must

force themselves

to

eat

more

to

restore

their lost appetite.

So many
varied elements and substances are needed
in the "perfectdiet," that an
omnivorintelligent
ousness

is our

onlysafeguard.

INSTINCT

58

HEALTH

AND

painfullyevident

dency more
the realm

of dietetics. How

than
distressing

and

of times is

scores

many

in

physicianasked in perfectgood faith and childlike

confidence,"Doctor, what is reallythe best food?"
he
with
and
looked
pained surprisewhen
upon
that there is no such thing if,
endeavours
to explain
not
are
regarded
indeed,his well-meant explanations
and evasions designedto keep his
as
merely shufflings
patientsfrom arrivingtoo quicklyat the true secret
a

"

of health.

only is there no "best food," but, in the very

of things,there cannot
No
be.
nature
singlefood
beingsin peryet discovered will alone sustain human
fect
health and vigour for any considerable period.
On the other hand, no food ever
yet invented by the
resorted to under the bitterest necessity
wit of man
or
Not

but
and

has
uses

certain, it
of its own.

the way

of

the milk

of three

may

The

be

very

utmost

modest, virtues

that

can

be said in

is that certain great food

generalisation
stapleshave proved themselves within the age-long
of
experienceof humanity to possess a largeramount
nutritive value, digestibility,
and other beneficial qualities,
and a smaller proportionof undesirable properties,
than any others.
These, through an exceedingly
slow and gradualprocess of the survival of the fittest,
have come
of food in common
to form the staples
use
It is really
all over
the world.
by the human
race
how comparatively
few of them there are,
astonishing
when we come
to consider them
broadly: the flesh and

flesh of three

or

or

four

domesticated

four, and the

eggs

of

animals; the
one

of
species

FOODS

POISON

birds; three great grains wheat, rice,

domesticated
and

maize

"

and

"

frequentones;
shell-fish;

the

two

and

roots

twenty

half-dozen

hundred

one

sugars

; a

smaller
so
or

much

less

of fishes and
species
so
starch-containing

of which

thirtyfruits; forty or

or

and

"

the potato and

of real international

are

"

or

dozen

tubers,only two

manioc

59

two-thirds of the

these make

up

inhabitants

of the world.

importance;
fiftyvegetables
food supplyof the
"

wondering at the varietyand profuseness

clined
is rather infood supply,the biologist
of the human
talised
immorfootman
with the London
to ejaculate
by John Leech, who, when told by the cook
that there would be mutton-chopsfor dinner and roast
but beef, mutbeef for supper, exclaimed, "Nothink
ton,
Hin
and pork
pork, mutton, and beef!
my
hanimal
inwas
new
opinion,hit's 'igh time some
Instead

of

"

wented!"
On

the matter

looking into
standard

various

further,one

finds these

arranged in a sort
comparative importance which
comestibles

of

is
rough order of
the world.
First come
singularlyuniform all over
the staples,
which
includes the mammalian
group
meats, maize, wheat, or rice,butter or oil,sugar, and
salt.

It is safe

expended
barbaric

to

for food

ones

goes

say

by
to

of the money
and most
civilised race

that two-thirds
every

purchase some

combination

of

these great staples.Science has, of course,

long ago
of humanity'sselection by
vindicated the good sense

showing that they contain the highestdegree of fuel

from
and freedom
injuriousrevalue, digestibility,

INSTINCT

60

suits that is

indeed,at

AND

be had

to

for the

HEALTH

price
"

in most

cases,

price.
largegroup

any

of accessory foods whose

function it is to fillthe gaps between the great staples,
ter,
be present in the latto supplydefects which
or
may
Next

comes

of a diet consisting
the monotony
too
Such are the green vegetables,
of these.
exclusively
or

break

to

and less
salads of every sort, the rarer
fish,
nourishingkinds of meat, such as fowl, game, shellthe fruits and

etc.,

cheese,milk, butter,and certain spicesand

condiments.

Lastly,another rough group of largelyornamental

stimulants to the appetite,
foods, luxuries,relishes,
of taste or
of pure enjoymentto the sense
or
sources
and aromatics, tea, coffee,
smell,such as flavourings
sweet
herbs, cordials,
tobacco, alcohol,sweetmeats,
delicacies generally.
and rare
foods in the
The subsidiary
and accessory flavouring
second

class

while

"

thousand

times

more

ous
numer-

staples,and often commanding

merce
largepricesand becoming important articles of comrelied upon
as
an
are
tant
imporyet almost never
except in periodsof necessity
part of the dietary,
substantial viands.
or
famine, in the absence of more
than

For

the

the

part, the

most

majorityof

solid

these

reason

is obvious.

subsidiaryand

accessory

The
foods

vast

do

(calories)
in proportion to their bulk to
seriously
valuable as fuel for the body engine. Others, again,
restricted in their seasonal ocare
so
currence,
so
or
expensive,
in sufficientquantidifficultto procure
or
so
not

contain

sufficientamount

of energy
make
them

POISON

FOODS

excluded
practically

that theyare
ties,
dietary.

these limitations

But

61

by

the

apply to

means

no

from

daily

all the

still remain
of this great class. There
a
foods which
of accessory
ingly
exceedare
large number

members

and

rich in nutritive content,

the

than

has been

staples
"

food

accessory

failure

less so;

and

it

one

of these nutritive and

pensive
inex-

ibly
proceedto "boost" it forcstaplefoods. Hitherto we

foods and

into the ranks

been

even

expensive

objectsof enthusiasm with

reformer,both scientificand pseudo-

to discover
scientific,

have

cases

some

more

of the chief

one

the modern

in

no

littleat

of the
a

loss to

account

for their curious

the range
of substantial foods embraced
within the firstclass. This, however, has been

widen

to

the fact that

earliest scientific
our
naturally
studies have been chiefly
confined to the positive
side of a food's qualities,
namely,its nutritive value
and its digestibility.
Does such and such a food contain
calories per ounce?
Is it digestible
in
so
many
the human
stomach?
asks the laboratoryscientist.
If so, it is a good food. Upon this basis the most
termine
deefforts have been made by well-meaning
food
reformers
the staplearticles of
to introduce
among
diet a considerable number
of subsidiary
foods which
have high nutritive value at relatively
small cost, particularl
such as peas, beans, pulses,chestnuts,peanuts,

largelydue

and

to

other so-called nuts, brown

and
cheese,milk, olive-oil,

which

rise in the memory.

made

from

another

Of

pointof

score

bread, bananas,
of other

late,however,

things
studies

view in the laboratories

are

AND

INSTINCT

62

beginningto

throw

for the failure of these

favour

on

the part of

fact that many

HEALTH

flood of

lighton the reason

with
foods promptly to meet
the public,revealingthe surprising
a

articles of food

contain,combined

high percentage of nutritive value,

substances which are irritating
to the stomach, disturb
behave as active poisons.
or
even
digestion,
may
These so-called poison foods fall roughlyinto three
those which contain such a large
main
first,
groups:
that they
of poisonous or irritating
matter
amount
unfit for ordinaryhuman
jected
are
entirely
use, unless subto some
specialtreatment, or unless the race
of stern
has become
habituated to them by generations
second,a largeand importantclass of foods
necessity;
possessinghigh nutritive value,but containingat the
of poisonousor irritating
time a small amount
same
element,so that,while they can be taken in moderate
without injuryby the majorityof mankind,
amounts
theycan be taken only in such moderate amounts
; and,
foods
third,a great group of so-called "ornamental"
with

of low

their

fuel-value,which

possess

the odd

and

bizarre

qualityof actingas acute poisonsto a certain number

of susceptible
individuals,
usuallynot exceedingfrom
five to ten per cent, of the race, though perfectly
less,
harmin ordinaryamounts,
to the remainingninetyto
ever,
ninety-five
Nearly all of this group, howper cent.
easilybecome poisonousto the great majority
of individuals if taken
The

in

excess.

facts about this classification are,

interesting
that not a single
is
first,
staplefood of civilised man
to be found in any one
of these three categories;
and,

FOODS

POISON

63

second, that nearly every secondary food which, on

of its high nutritive value and low expense,
account
have attempted to list in the ranks of
the reformers
lies in the second class of poison foods.
the staples,
of "poison
The firstand comparativelysmall group
foods"

those

"

which

combine

valuable

nutritive

poison in one and the same

is strikingly
substance
exemplified
by the manioc or
This forms the staplefood of hundreds
cassava-root.
of thousands
of human
beings in the tropics,
yet its
has
juiceis so intensely
poisonousthat every particle
be driven out by crushingunder
to
great pressure
and by heat before the remainingstarchypart is safe
food. Some of the most
for human
distressing
dies
tragewith tropicalexplorations
have been
connected
due to ignoranceof this fact and the attempt to live
crushed manioceither uncrushed
or
imperfectly
upon
Another
still nearer
home.
roots.
example comes
and
qualities

virulent

"

The

leaves, and

stems,

harmless

those

second
accessory

majority

the

potato, that

and

"

even

highlypoisonous,
only portionwhich is safe
this under

certain circumstances

become

may

The

being the

root

food

for human

of

beneficent tuber, are

and

the so-called

berries

of

poisonous.
great class of poison foods, containing
articles of diet which
mankind

when

agree

taken

in

with

the

moderate

but, owing to their small percentage of

taken
in moderate
poisonous element, only when
amounts,

is of the

amounts,

utmost

interest and

for it is this class which

importanc
practical

furnishes the great

majorityof secondaryfoods from which the reformers
;

INSTINCT

64

AND

HEALTH

have

unavailingly
attempted to recruit new
staplesof
the case
of the bean.
diet. Take, for instance,
We
to be told
regard it as an affront to our intelligence

that

"don't

we

in the

kinks

legumes which
of

One

these

beans," but there

know

several

are

physiologyof these innocent-looking

we
are
only justbeginningto unravel.
is

that, coiled amid

its rich

store

of

proteidand fat,like guardiandragons,lie an aromatic

oil and a bitter alkaloid,
both poisonousto the susceptible
stomach

in small

the average
explainthe well-known unpopularity
to

larger.These
of beans as a stapleon the boarding-housetable,
in the lumber-camp,
the march.
on
Nothing will goad
to mutiny quicker
a
mess
grading gang or company
of beans.
than an excess
They will take bread, bacon,
"salt-horse,"
apple-sauce,
potatoes, oatmeal, rice three
times a day for weeks at a stretch without a murmur;
but let beans be served as the principal
dish at a meal
one

in

and

amounts,

than

more

two

or

three

times

hear the

week, and

"roar."

Every boarding-houseknows that beans are

the cheapest
food to be had in the
and most
"filling"
and treacle"
market, equal to the classic "brimstone
of Dotheboys Hall; but is also keenlyand regretfully
that the boarders

aware

than

once

Boston

or

twice

"won't

week.

is only consumed

by

stand

Even

for them"

more

the sacred bean

the elect

on

of

Saturdaysor

Sundays.
This

toxic

is reallylittleshort
principle

of

dietetic

dance
calamity,for beans, peas, and lentils contain an abunof the cheapest
proteidor nitrogenousfood to
be had.
All our text-books inform us that one shilling

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

66

while it has the energy to get

As an occasional element
their

uses,

but

as

constant

meat

is

able.
highlyimprob-

of the diet beans

of

source

have

proteidthey're

nasty,"describes them precisely,

if to nasty you add "and poisonous."
of "vegetable"promuch-vaunted
Another
source
teid
is cheese,and it does seem
strange at firstthought
that this should so rarelyhave succeeded in getting
of
the great group
itself adopted by the race
among
staples.As a proteidfood it is decidedlycheap and
than twice as much
givesmore
proteidfor a shilling
It
beef and nearlyfour times as much
as
as
eggs.
is also pleasantto the taste and, in moderate
amounts,
fairlydigestible.And yet the average man
persists
of coaxin takingit,in the country, chiefly
ing
as
a means
down
huge hunks of bread, or, in the city,as a
relish at the end or beginningof a meal.
A little
study of the effects of cheese on the human stomach
for this
that the ferments
quicklyshows the reason
which develop in
extracts
(zymases) and flavouring
cheese in the process of ripening
irritate the stomach,
and constipate
the bowels, whenever
upset the digestion,
a

failure.

"Cheap,

but

"

it is taken

Even

with

in

excess

of very

moderate

amounts.

in the mildest and

stances
greenest of cheeses these subare
present in sufficient quantityto interfere
their use
serious article of diet,while the
as
a

cheeses, like Stilton,

highly ripened and odorous
Roquefort,Brie, Camembert, and Limburger, are
stillmore
and can
acutelyirritating
only be taken in
stillsmaller quantities,
tically,
Pracextracts.
as
flavouring
indeed,the chief nutritive value of cheese re-

POISON
sides in the bread

FOODS
crackers which

or

67
can

be relished

with it.
Next

as

the

darlingsof

the would-be

These

food

reformer

urged upon us with

specialfervour and enthusiasm by those who regard
smirche
all foods of animal originas "tainted money," beHere, we are
by the foul crime of murder.
Brazil
told, are food-stuffs walnuts, hickory-nuts,
of a high degreeof toothsomenuts, pecans, peanuts
and attractiveness,
excessive in expense, and
not
ness
of both proteid
and fat.
a largepercentage
containing
Analyses made in the laboratoryabsolutelyconfirm
the truth of the statement
: fats and
proteidsare both
and in readilydigestible
present in large amounts
form; and yet practically
no
"unemancipated"specimen
come

nuts

of all sorts.

are

"

"

of the human

race

"

except the Shawnee

Indian

will attempt to make

time
on
a meal
hickory-nut
nuts.
They are stillcommonly regarded simply as a
bonne bouche, to be taken after the serious business of
The
classic
the meal is over, merely as a dessert.
phrase of "the walnuts and the wine" expresses precisely
where they stand in the scale of the normal diet
in

"

list.
Now

we

all had

justbeginningto

are

more

or

find out

why

less violent attacks of colic

or

have
ache
head-

candy in our
tent
usuallyconboyhood days attacks which we were
of the young
to put down
to the sheer piggishness
human
An
animal.
irritating
principlehas been
found present in all nuts, partlyin the kernel itself
and partlyin the skin which surrounds
the kernel,
after

gorgeous
"

spree

on

nuts

and

we

AND

INSTINCT

68

which,

in

even

decided

cases

irritant

which, of

course,

to
are

HEALTH

of very moderate
is
amounts,
the digestivecanal.
Peanuts

"

not

nuts

at

all,but the seeds of

of pea which is artificially

caused to develop
species
underground are particularly
ous
strong in these poisoningly
extracts.
Physiciansnow
regard them as exceeda

"

undesirable articles of diet for children,on

the

ground that they frequently

produce attacks of colic,
All
and even, it is asserted,of appendicitis.
diarrhoea,
attempts

to

use

nuts

in considerable

amounts

as

staplearticle of diet for any length of time, except

by a few enthusiasts who are committed in advance to
have proved unsatisfactory.
belief in their superiority,
a
A

somewhat
to

similar situation confronts

the banana, that

great

with

us

food-fruit of

gard
re-

the

tropics.While rich in both sugar and starch and

to be
capableof beingingestedin sufficient amounts
a real food, it is excluded by three serious drawbacks
that the
from admission to the rank of a staple
: first,
starch is swallowed

raw,

and

thence

is difficult of

it is as indigestisecond, if a littleunderripe
ble
digestion;
and if overripeis exceedingly
as
salt-cucumbers,

apt

to

set up

fermentations

in the stomach

is very difficultto secure

golden mean
shippedNorthern fruit;third,even when
essences
condition,its delicate flavouring
irritantto
many

have
"don't

fair percentage of stomachs.

rheumatics or
people,especially
a

found

and

"

in

far-

our

in
act

the

perfect
as

an

I find that

asthmatics,

that bananas
by repeatedexperiences
agree"with them. If the banana stood alone

FOODS

POISON
in this respect,

might perhaps dismiss

we

the

plaint
com-

lusion
shrug of the shoulders and a pityingalpersonalfancies or individual whim or even

with
to
mere

69

the contrary, it stands in

esting
interfair sample of the third and most

coincidence.

this aspect as a
class of

But,

on

poisonfoods.
of this class,
Comestibles
which, though harmless to
the multitude, are
acutelytoxic to an unfortunate
few, might be called the eccentric poison foods, or
the casual criminals

they lack

even

our

court

"

attention

believe,how

has had

one
i

to

"

them,

numerous

they

occasion
"

What

of dietetics.

in consistent viciousness

numbers, and until

continued

of

j-/v

it is dimcult

they are.

make
to
to

up

in

some;

pay
i-

realise,or

I have

been

seven
studyingthese foods for some
years past, and
am
already inclined to the conclusion that a large
of
proportion of human
beings have one or more
these pet antipathies.
The
peculiarcharacteristic of this class of poison
foods is that while readilycapableof producing fermentative
toxic symptoms
viduals
in the majorityof indior

if taken

they are

in

excess

of rather moderate

rule

amounts,

comparativelyharmless and useful

of the species,
but are
to, say, ninety-five
per cent
and irritating
acute
poisonsto the remaining luckless
five per cent.
Depending as they do upon individual
for the productionof
peculiarities
or
idiosyncrasies
their poisonouseffects,
ous.
they are naturally
very numerBut, world-widely various as they are, they
all have one
feature in common
that it is practically
and with
impossibleto use them in amounts
as

"

INSTINCT

70

HEALTH

AND

sufficientfrequency
to obtain any
of nutrition from them, on
with

which

they lend

themselves

considerable
account

to,

toxic processes in the

become
much
can
more

or

or

ties
quanti-

of the
set

up,

ease

mentati
fer-

alimentarycanal.

than luxuries,
They never
breakers
of the menu,
elements,ornaments
flavouring
of monotony
of diet. This, it can easily
be seen
at a
the role which is assignedto them
glance,is precisely
the average
dinner-table.
Numerous
on
as
they are,
glimpse of their fascinating
lery
only a mere
rogues'galbe given.
can
One of the most
widelyknown members of the group,
and one
lustra
which will serve
a
as
excellently
typicalilis the strawberry. That delicious fruit has
the extraordinaryvagary
of acting as
irritant
an
in the neighbourhood
poison to probably somewhere
of one
of twenty of the human
out
mon,
species.So comin fact,is this action,that probablyevery one
has

known

of from

one

to

do/en

instances in his

experience.The

of the effect lies in

singularity
the fact
and this is typical
of all this group
of the
that it is entirely
poison foods
independentboth of
the generalcondition of health or vigour of digestion
of the individual affected,
ness,
freshand of the ripeness,
own

"

"

and

soundness

Mental

of the berries.

suggestionand anticipation
may
for the victims

smallest

trace

etc., when

will be

of strawberries

in

also be

cluded,
ex-

the
by even
preserves, puddings,

affected

of the presence
unaware
entirely
of the fruit. Not only will the digestion
be disturbed,
rashes and erupbut,in the more
sufferers,
susceptible

they are

POISON

FOODS

71

tions upon the skin,pain in the joints,

of the
swelling
lipsand tongue, will also be produced. Nor can this
result be attributed,as
contamination

to

in the soil,or
of

moulds

upon

or

Metchnikoff

recentlysuggested,

of the berries with fertilisers

the presence
bacteria which

to

the berries

has

of insect

parasitesor
have
developed

may

duringshipmentor

exposure

in the

shops.
It will

with

equalprominence and certainty

in susceptible
from
the eatingof jams and
persons
in which the berries have been thoroughly
preserves
sterilised by prolonged boiling,from
eatingberries
which
have been carefully
washed
and cleansed,or
even

occur

taken

from

vines known

to

be

free from

tamination,
con-

The
plucked wild in the meadows.
fault is not in the berry,but in the make-up of the
unfortunate
berry-marked,"
"strawindividual eating it and once
a rule.
as
alwaysstrawberry-marked,
this for a type or sample, a roll-callof our
With
remaining casual criminals can
rapidly be made.
or

"

More

of them

lie in the fruit class than

in any

other.

frequency,though at
considerable
Then
interval.
a
come
raspberries,
bananas, melons, grape-fruit,
cots,
aprioranges,
prunes,
peaches,plums, and, last and least frequent,
apples.
All of these have been known
to produce more
definite poisonings,entirely
less severe
and
or
taken or of the condition-'''
independentof the amount
of the fruit. Oddly enough, that "fruit,"
and ripeness
the tomato, which has the worst
popularreputation
Cherries

appear

to

come

next

in

INSTINCT

72
in this

AND

HEALTH

free
comparatively

regard,seems

from

actual

offence.

Poisoningsby
and

that is that
"

In southern

trees.
common

been able
The

show

marked

one

to

occur

"

in other
to

peculiarity,

only or at least
the fruit is pickeddirectly
from the
California theyare comparatively

they seem

where

generally

/,

oranges

parts of the United

find few instances.

States I have

longestlist of these eccentrics is found

the
includes
vegetables,and
among
asparagus,
spinach,string-beans,
potatoes, cucumbers, cabbage,
onions,radishes,and turnips.Most of
sage, parsley,
of
contain
considerable amounts
these, of course,
cellulose and woody fibre,and quicklyand readily
undergo poisonouschanges in the process of spoiling,
lendingthemselves readilyto the furtheringof any
next

fermentative

that may
canal; but, apart from

mentary

they also

process

be present in the aliall these possibilities

definite specific
ous
poisoncomparatively
effects upon
certain individuals,entirely
independent
of the amount
taken, the state of digestionat
the time, or the condition of the vegetables.
The listof animal productswhich are, in sound condition,
"freakish" individuals,is
to
poisonous,even
short, covering only crabs, lobsters,clams,
very
oysters, salmon, cheese,and very, very rarelyeggs and

milk.

have

The

latter

two

are

the

rarest

gems

of

our

clear-cut. I have
but perfectly
poison-foodcollection,
known
personallysix persons upon whom
eggs acted
as
a
poison. Four were
only affected when one or
more

eggs

had

been

eaten, but the other

two

could

AND

INSTINCT

74

old fisherman

"beard"

will tell you that if you eat

(byssus)of a mussel,it will "pizen"or

kill you;

if you

Any

reliable

as

in

avoid

this,you'resafe.

the similar

as

This

the
even

is about

myth regardingthe cherry

cocktail.1

few luckless babies

poisonedby cows' milk in

and can onlybe keptalive
modification,

dilution or

any

by albumin
of
sprinkling
with them

water

or

even

alcohol.

They

while

wet-nurse,
raw

milk does

fair

not

agree

in small amounts.

the so-called

come

are

adults find that

Last of all among

HEALTH

the third group

poisonfoods

of

stimulants,
tobacco,and
tea, coffee,
of

typicalmembers

are

the

group;

to a small percentage ;
poisonseven in small amounts
in largeamounts
of the race.
We
to the majority
are
onlyjustbeginningadequatelyto appreciatethe large
ous
playsin their injuripart that individual susceptibility
effects. (Probably
eightyper cent, of men can use
them in moderation
without injuryand without any
serious temptationto go to excess.)
'A few unfortunate individuals
from
of any
The

and
urticaria,

very few

cannot
are

eat

salmon

without

ing
suffer-

affected by
unpleasantly

fish

sort.

classes of foodproper and the starches are the two

stuffsfreest from any of those occasional toxic effects. One
meat,
meats

like its cousin venison, occasionally

produces
mutton,
and purgingin a few susceptible
A
others are
few
persons.
to

that

One

veal,and I

have

known

one

of beefsteak would
single
helping
or

two

rheumatic

bringon

who
patient
a

vomiting
tible
suscepdeclared

fresh attack of

calamitously
"freaky"individuals

beingacutelypoisonedby even man's best friend

be imagined what
difficultiesthey had when
can
in thingsthat were
safe for them to eat.
getting

"

are

on

wheat
away

pain.

record

as

flour. It
from

home

POISON
Tea

and

coffee

depend

the hot

partlyupon
partlyupon

FOODS
for their
in which

water

75

comfortingeffects
they are infused ;

their

agreeableodour and taste, due to

aromatic oil ; and partlyupon an alkaloid,caffein,
an
known
theine,now
or
more
as
trimethylaccurately
three factors are
xanthin.
These
nearly equal in
influence.

Caffein is

mild

and
tion, the brain-cells,

five per
remainder
drunk.
to

to

individuals

itsmiseries than

and

have

man

happinessof life and

relish considerable

less

Like soups, broths,

foods themselves,they enable

majorityof people,and especially

women,

with

added

#
/

and coffee.

tea

and cheeses,though not

the

the circula- ^

kidneys. To about
it is poisonous;to
in the amounts
usually .-^

discoveries of the wit of

the comfort

to

the

harmless
absolutely

Few

more

of

cent,

stimulant

amounts

to

of bread,

u^e

eat

butter,,^

cake, etc., for which otherwise they'

would have littleappetite.In other words, they are a
Instead of dimin- foe.
splendid"introduction committee."
of food consumed, theyincrease it.
ishingthe amount
Moreover, they are usuallytaken with sugar and
cream
milk, and a cup of tea or coffee with plenty
or
of these "trimmings" is the nutritive equivalent
of a
crackers,meat,

small

of breakfast-food.

saucer

Outside
effects

are

of the luckless five per cent., their injurious

of tannin present
due to the excess
chiefly

when

made.
they are unintelligently
boarding-houseor farm-house
cup of
most
excess

weak
of

decoction

tannin,due

of the stove.

It is

of

oak-bark,on

The
tea

average

resembles

account

of its

boilingor stewingon the back

the astringency
of this element,
to

INSTINCT

76
which
that

reach

may

seven

per

HEALTH
cent., and

the caffein,

not

derangesdigestion.

To

take either

is,of

course,

Most

of the

seamstress

due

not

AND

of food
late

coffee

or

absurd

and

as

substitute for food

end

can

only in

disaster.

of the poor
"tea-poisoning"
symptoms
working-woman are signsof starvation,

or

to

tea

the

which

which

tea

she

can

she can't afford.

get, but to the lack

If you take either

be likelyto keep you

awake;
night,they'll
that's what theywere
introduced for originally one
by the bonzes of Thibet, and the other by the monks
of Arabia. JThe "dyspepsias"
attributed to them are
at

"

due

nine

them.

times

) No

out

of

ten

disease known

is

attributable to
directly
this hasty review
Even

the

to
to

food

with

taken

the medical

profession

them.

poison foods suggests

reflections of considerable
importance and interest.
We
find,in the firstplace,that the staplefoods of
the civilised world
the butters
won

or

"

of

the meats,

the

flours

oils,fish,
eggs, milk, and

their position
purelyupon

their

meals,

or

sugars

"

merits:

own

have

first,

form at
by possessing
adequatefuel-value in digestible
free
a moderate
cost; second, by beingalmost entirely
from
in large amounts
and
even
poisonous effects,
after prolongeduse.
Next
in importanceupon
much
the list comes
a
occasional,or temporary
or
largergroup of secondary,
poison foods, which, though also possessedof high
nutritive value at nearlyas littleexpense as the staples

reach
less expense
never
in the total of
anythinglike the figureof the staples

"

and

in

some

cases

even

"

POISON
crop

nuts,

FOODS

Such are
price-lists.
cheese, cornmeal, oatmeal,

reports

or

77

beans, peas,
and

graham-

meal.
These

,."

from
disqualified
of poisonous
heavy and continuous use by the possession
fibres
and irritating
elements or coarse
or
particles
and are poisonous
which upset the average
digestion,
in small amounts
to a moderate
or
even
irritating
per*tcentage of individuals. A certain degreeof immunity
be acquiredunder
to these principles
or
particles
may
the pressure of stern necessity,
soldiers and
as
among
frontiersmen.
used as
But they are
never
willingly
than occasional and
more
supplementary elements
in the dietary where
other
food
materials are
are

nearlyall

found

to

be

accessible.
of food-stuffs which are
a great group
Finallycomes
used chiefly
as
flavours,sauces, salads,fillersof gaps
the solid staples,
between
relievers of monotony.
Their function,
though from a fuel pointof view they
of little importance,is practically
of enormous
are
rvalue, and yet they intrinsically
belong just about

^ where

the market

reports class them

and

the

menus

the luxuries and

the
place them, namely, among
decorations : first,
because theyare usuallydeficient in
actual fuel-value in proportionto their bulk; second,
when taken in sufficient amounts
to act as a genuine
food and to supply an appreciable
share of nutrition,
they are apt to set up fermentative changes in the
alimentarycanal ; and third,because nearlyevery one
of them
is more
less inherently
toxic to a small
or

percentage

of individuals.

INSTINCT

78

AND

HEALTH

these considerations upon reform or

exclusive dietaries is of interest. The economist and

bearingof

The

the

vegetarianwho,

reasons,

urge

for utilitarianor

the substitution for

humane

or

moral

of beans, peas,

meat

cheese, corn-meal, oatmeal, nuts, fruits,etc., are

promptly baffled by the fact that these cheap and
highlynutritious substances all contain elements which
the average
stomach
to
are
poisonous or irritating
when

in

taken

excess

body, and, in
vegetables,are markedly
needs

the

of the

which

amounts

one-third

of about

can

the

case

of the fruits and

deficient in

be

of the actual

fuel-value

in

sufficiently
ingestedor

digested.
The

school of dieteticreformers

should be

eaten

raw

who

hold that food

also find themselves

confronted

character,in that they

by obstacles of this same
moral
usually,either from obvious reasons
or
upon
grounds,avoid the use of meat, and are thrown back
the same
of vegetableproteidas
great sources
upon
the vegetarians beans, nuts, cheese,etc.; moreover,
of other
they expose themselves to an ambuscade
of bacteriological
dangers, through the possibility
"

contamination

banner
uncooked
show

of their food.

teriolog
Indeed, the great bac-

Metchnikoff,goes so far as to raise the

of bacteriologyagainst the use
of any
fruits,vegetables,
or
grainswhich cannot
and unsullied pedigreefrom stem
to
spotless

mouth.
To

individual
poison foods,while intensely
in their action and at firstsightlittlebetter than curiosities
of dietetics,
have exercised a profound insum

up,

FOODS

POISON

fluence
the

the

on

which

sanction
have

list
that

who,

of

given

staple

huge

of

menus

and

actuated

reconstructing

the

foods

civilised

latest

their

to

is

the

the

fact

highest

dietary

of

exclusion

age-long
a

Moreover,

races.

discoveries

well-disciplined
by

79

of

to

be

army

motives,
mankind.

reckoned

of

food

are

the

tory
labora-

from
with

the

by

reformers
desirous

of

IV

CHAPTER

EXERCISE

MUSCULAR
life.

The
and

for

we

is

function

without

continue
muscle.

Homo

solelyby

origin

of

the

was

is
of

club

exercise.
he

knows

supporter

times

made

in

will be

As

the

brain, in the past, but

(forty-three per cent.) of

much

as

as

any

other

of

muscle.

bulk

of

of
way

our

to

only

built

of

The
out

the

is consumed

vital heat
nourish

the

nearly

up

system.

or

on

is its chief

bulk, almost

carry

food

our

muscle-cells, and two-thirds

by them. /The only
"^--**'

to

chapter

makes

its bulk.

proportion to
telephone exchange
The

our

tissue

is in

simply

not

Muscle

present.

it

capable

in the

seen

well

the

And

physiologist underrating

any

it has

that

real

possible.

oratory
of

the

For

hand

by

sapiens

gesture.

into

paw

made

homo

training.
but

Thought

are

from

separated

be,

originate nor

too

body, including
half

words

is, then, little danger

There

Play,

the

that

neither

sound,

not

well

as

think.

nor

our

that, paralyse

might

we

and

specialmanual

changing
a

is

alalus

speech

wielding

and

It could

words,

little

than

speak,

move,

of muscle.

Paralyse

More

only

with

synonymous

movement.

dead.

muscles

neither

can

almost

life is

are

we

voluntary

is
of

essence

DANGERS

ITS

movement

muscles
our

AND

three

Its importance

is

brain
business

in the

is produced

the brain

is

INSTINCT

82

AND

HEALTH

of his gastrocnemius,
chest,the lifting-power
or
even
the bulk of that hybrid between
untary
voluntaryand involmuscle, the heart,from twenty to fifty
per cent.
Muscle

is the

tissue

through which
change his body.

one

man

can

directlymodify and
Naturally,
ture,
therefore,in all our unscientific methods of bodilyculthe vigour
and they are innumerable, increasing
and
of

size of the muscles

this increase

While

progress.

the chief and criterion

is made

be

may

attended

by generalbodily improvement in seventy per cent.

of all cases,
the real
in the other thirtyper cent,
of the body may have been
vigourand resisting
power
moving in the oppositedirection,and this is where
physiologymust lift its note of warning.
Probably the greatest danger of exercise for most of
readers lies in the direction of their not getting
my
of the
true
enough of it. But this is by no means
Two-thirds of the total community
community as a whole.
get
and

view

of

we

once

"By

the

toil is not

the

voluntariness of

very

permittedits abuse.
fairlydefinite limit to the

which

We

the

even

are

wealthiest

utterlyunable

to

than the tissues demand

work

that
no

is,of

we

can

an

can

utter

instinctcalled

our

tain
cer-

tem
sys-

utilise. But

the muscles

impose on

limit except that of

course,

and

consume.

can

air into

more

cular
mus-

of food

amount

individual

force

is

There

effort has
and

exercise

unmitigated
tural
supposed it to be. The Scripof thy brow," as a curse,
sweat

truth in it. The

some

muscular

much

too

suffer for it. Honest

blessingthat
has

great deal

has

exhaustion.

the

lutely
absoThere

which tellsus
fatigue,

EXERCISE
when

we

AND

have laboured

ITS

DANGERS

enough, but

83
whole

our

ing
train-

the cradle up has been to make

not
us
only
but esteem
its ignoring a
disregardthis indication,
from

stops work justbecause he is

deemed
tired is generally
a
lazy,shiftless good-for-

virtue.

The

man

who

eatingbecause he feels
satisfied is a rational,praiseworthy
being.
effort has been pushed to exAs a result,
muscular
tremes,
both in amateur
athletics and in daily toil.
essential to
Though highlybeneficial and absolutely
life and happinessin considerable amounts, it has been
made
physicallyinjuriousand mentally degrading.
Trades-unions
were
overwhelminglyrightwhen they
demanded
the first prerequisite
for the mental,
as
moral, or physical
improvement of the labouringman
grading
dea
shorteningof the hours of toil. Nothing more
or
benumbing to all that is best in human
mill
treadhas ever
been devised than the grinding,
nature
nothing;the

man

who

routine of muscular

stops

labour which

was

exacted

of

labouringworld fifty
years ago, and is yet exacted
to-dayin regionswhere labourers are unable to protect
tricts.
is this true in the rural disthemselves.
Particularly
first called to this some
My attention was
of medicine
twenty years ago, on beginningthe practice
in a well-to-do country district. I was
tonished
simplyasof intelligent
and independent
at the number
land but driven by the lash
farmers,owning their own
of the mortgage, who were
littlebetter than physical
I had known, of
wrecks
of forty-five.
at the age
of text-book knowledge, that
matter
as
a mere
course,
of farm labourers was
the average
low, and
longevity
the

INSTINCT

84

that of farmers
business

and

AND

HEALTH

littlebetter,both

men
professional

vivid

illustration.

that of

lower than

but this

From

was

an

that time

pectedly
unex-

I have

watched

carefullythe limits of physicalvigour in

farmers, ranchers, lumbermen, miners, section-hands,
and others engaged in prolonged and excessive muscular
exertion,and have been surprisedto find how
rarelyindividuals over fortyyears of age are stillable
do a full day's work.
Between
and
to
forty-five
farmer is pretty certain to be a broken man,
our
fifty
and
though stillretaining
good colour,good appetite,
I have also compared
fairlyvigorous appearance.
with my
brother practitioners,
and find them
notes
almost
invariablyagreed that there are as many
broken-down

nervous

and
kidneys,

systems, dilated hearts,fibrotic

supposed results of our high-tension

civilisationgenerally,
in quietrural districts
to be found
in the city. The death-rate in the country is
as
now
only a fraction of a per cent, lower than that
in our
slums and all. Farmers'
wives
greatest cities,
show the highestpercentage of insanity
of any class
in the United ^States,chieflyfrom
overwork^ overifiW.rtfb
worry,

Any

the

aiid lack of proper

one

who

has lived

amusements
on

farm

and

does

recreation.
not

need

to

be told the reason, for he knows

of the strain under
the American
lives during the five
which
farmer

months

His workday is from

springand summer.
four or five in the morning until eightor nine at night,
hours of the
includingchores fifteen to seventeen
hardest kind of physical
labour,and every minute of
it at high tension,especially
during harvest. Then
of

"

EXERCISE
comes

AND

DANGERS

relaxation in the

periodof

in the year when

ITS

he has

85

fall,the

one

time

justenough muscular exercise

Later, the winter season, approachin

keep him in health.

in which he takes on flesh,gets
stagnation,
"logy,"and then a furious debauch of hard labour
through the spring and summer
again. No wonder
that by forty-five
he has had a sunstroke and "can't
stand the heat,"or has "a weak back," or his "heart
him rheumatic"; and
gives out," or a chill "makes
to

when

you

add

that the farmer

to

this furious muscular

sees

his income

put in

strain the fact

perilevery

sea-

his very home

every bad year, so that each
unfavourable
change in the weather sets his nerves
and

son,

edge, it can be readilyimagined that the real

ferent
"quiet,peacefulcountry life" is somethingsadlydif-

on

from
The

the ideal.

the working
prevailamong
classes in our
great cities,
except where the eight-hour
law has been put in force.
It has long been known
that the labouringclasses have a low average
ity
longevand a high disease and death-rate,and they are
of diseases from
number
subjectto an enormous
Jl
their "active,
which, accordingto popularimpression,
natural life" ought to have protected
The perthem.
^- centage of cases of Bright'sdisease,of heart-disease,
of nervous
is higher among
breakdown, of insanity,
same

conditions

\L

'

'

them
i

i,

i
.

"c*-can

than in any of the so-called leisure classes. Nor

J
alcohol longer be made
the universal scapegoat.

Overwork
than
The

is a far

more

potent factor in their

tion
produc-

drunkenness.

effect of citylife consists

injurious

not

merelyin

INSTINCT

86

AND

HEALTH

tious
developmentof infecand
in the outrageous
diseases,but especially
abominable
overworking of the labouring classes.
and underfeedinghave been recognisedfor
Overwork
half a century as the chief causes
of the largedeathof the labouringclasses as compared with the
rate
well-to-do. Even with all the improvementsthat have
been effected in the condition of the labouringclasses,
the last United
States census
(1900) stillshows the
them of any "earning"class
highestdeath-rate among

overcrowdingor

20.2

"

the increased

per thousand.

Farmers

next

came

with 17.6,

compared with mercantile and trading classes at

12. 1 per
thousand, and clerical and official at 13.5.
Thus
labourers have a death-rate sixty-six
per cent,
higher than that of business men, and farmers fortyfive per cent, higher. Overwork
and overcrowding
alike responsible
for the frightful
tribute paid by
are
these same
classes to the Great White
Plague. The
in most
of our
in
improvement that occurs
hospitals
ing
who are not sufferpatientsof the labouringclasses,
from
some
injuryor acute disease,simply from
and given
being put at rest in a well-ventilated room
of nourishingfood, is really
amount
ishing.
astona moderate
as

It is an
diseases

open

secret

that in

most

of the chronic

largecities it
makes
little or no
difference what
medicine
is given
will improve
duringthe firstweek or ten days;the patients
at all.
on
any medicine,or on none
of work is not only necesOf course
amount
a proper
sary
but highlybeneficial both physically,
to existence,
exceed
mentally,and morally,yet this should never
brought to

our

in
hospitals

the

ITS

DANGERS

87

certain well-defined limits. The

communal

conscience

EXERCISE

has
to

AND

agreed to the eight-hour

day, and
prophesy that within twenty years'time
now

reduced

to

six,and that this will be found

I venture
it will be
to

be the

x*i/j
'

limit of

bodilylabour consistent both with health and

profit.
It might simply be mentioned
in passingthat it has
that this change is not merely
been abundantlyproven
healthful for the worker, but profitable
for the employer.
Not only is more
work
done in the month,
but a far better quality. There
less waste, less
are
sickness,less drinking,fewer absences from work.
The United States,which pays the highestwages
and
has the shortest average
hours, has the lowest labour
cost per article produced of any country in the world.
At

the other end

day

and

of labour
I

of the

the lowest

with the longest

scale,Italy,

wages,

has

the

highestper

cent,

cost.

merely wish to raise a

impressionwhich seems

of

warning against
the
to prevailin sociologic
circles that work
is the complete
at reasonable
wages
solution of the labour problem, and that there is little
danger of any one gettingtoo much of it,unless he be
actuallydiseased or defective. From the voluntary
of his toil the civilised labouringman
works
nature
harder and longerthan any known
beast of burden or
An intelligent
to do.
tion
conservaany serf can be made
of his energieswill abundantlyrepay both the labourer
and employer.
It has been long known
to sanitarians that the highest
farmers, but
longevityis not among
average
note

INSTINCT

88

AND

HEALTH

The
finest
and business men.
professional
specimensof humanity that are to be found
physical
farmers or day-laborers
in America
of
not
are
among
the children or grandchilbut among
any description,
have been brought up in
dren of these classes,who
of larger cities.
smaller towns
in the suburbs
or
among

";

ing
that the strain and pressure and crowdof citylife have been an injurious
factor in our

While

it is true

racial

development,this is only,so to speak, at the

lower end of the scale,among
the slum
and daylabouringclasses. The classes of higherintelligence
and reasonablycomfortable
circumstances,including
skilled artisans,municipal business employees, and
those engaged in "personalservices,"have been improved
instead of injuredby it. This can be seen
at a
glance when the records of our champion athletic
The
performancesare examined.
majority of our
football

and

baseball

winners in athletic
this

teams

contests

small
relatively

and

two-thirds

will be found

class of

to

come

of

the

from

comfortablysituated city
and town
dwellers.
The well-marked
cent
tendencyin retheir homes
in the
years for citypeople to make
biles,
possibleby electric cars, automocountry, rendered
and other forms of rapid transit,
is both a sign
of increasing
and an admirable
hygienicintelligence
factor in the betterment of the racial health.
Thsi
country is the best place for children,but the finest
adult development,physicalas well as intellectual,
will be secured in the city.
In fact,we
have been, both popularlyand professionally,
under the same
delusion with regard to the

AND

INSTINCT

90

HEALTH

house, good supplyof water, good

drainage,regularhours, moderate muscular exercise

his well-ventilated

and

is under more
good food-supply,
physically.And his lessened

citydwellers

who

have

with their muscles

amount

ditions
con-

of

forced
en-

the least beneficial of his changes.

exercise is not
Those

favourable

work

longest
highestdeath-

hardest

the
invariably

and

rate.

To

sum

up

about one-half of the enforced

briefly,
civilised man
exercise imposed upon
other half is either neutral or injurious.

very

muscular
the
is beneficial;

voluntarymuscular exercise which is

of physical
letics,
culture,athindulgedin under the name
similar title. The chief dangers in this
or
some
tissues
lack of proper
of what
are
a
appreciation
should be developedby exercise,
and failure to recognise
the great fact that the value of exercise depends
much
its quantityas upon
its quality.
not
so
upon
The generalimpressionof the majorityof athletic
trainers,physical-culturists,
"strong men," and of
most
gymnasium teachers (untilwithin the past ten
years),is that the chief thingis to develop huge and
of muscle.
in their
The
ideal man
misshapenmasses
Now

as

to

the

scheme

is he who

contort

the muscles

like

can

stand in front of
of his back

basket of snakes, or

until

camera

they writhe

and
out

splithis coat-sleeve by
biceps,or lift six hundred

can

the overgrown
contracting
pounds clear of the floor. Such an individual may
have a vigorous constitution,
but he is as abnormal
and
as
unsymmetricallydeveloped as the string-

EXERCISE

AND

ITS

DANGERS

91

muscled, flat-chestedbookkeeper, and may be a much

of fact,that type of
life risk. As a matter
poorer
human
a better
ox, the "strongman," is not only not
than the average man,
of his being able to get such

but

animal

poorer.

muscular

The

fact

development

proof of abnormality.^Now that athletic records

have been carefully
by the medical proinvestigated
fession,
athlete
find that the champion professional
we
is short-lived and highlysubject
to disease not
only of
the heart,but also of the lungs. If he marries, he
has few children,and they are seldom above the average
physically.In fact,he compares with the average
about as a Clydesdaledraught-horsecompares
man
with a Morgan or an English thoroughbred.
Nor is this state of affairs confined to the professional
athlete. Every physician
in
who has practised
or
town
near
a university
can
pointto a dozen athletic
who have been seriously
men
cular
injuredby musyoung
exercise. Particularly
is this true of overstraining
and hypertrophic
disease of the heart muscle.
A
recent
study of the boys "in training"at a Western
that over
showed
academy, by the school physician,
sixtyper cent, had cardiac murmurs.
taken not for any
exercises,
Prolonged and fatiguing
enjoymentin them, but as a matter of conscience,"to
build muscle," are distinctly
dangerous. In fact,the.
medical professionis coming generally
lege
to regard coland high-school
as
athletics,
now
as
a
practised,
This was
to the health of the community.
menace
took their
not
true in earlier days,when
collegemen
sport like gentlemen,and the later life-records made
is

the Oxford

by

and

Cambridge Varsitycrews

and

Yale

earlier

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

92

Harvard

and

crews

still

are

our

quoted

by health journals.Nowadays, however, the results

cumulated
arc
widely different;and sufficient data have acin proof thereof.
Take, for instance,
the data collected

by

Dr.

Robert

Coughlin1upon

the

of the deaths among

athletes for the year 1905.
First,of all of the 128 athletes who died during the

causes

year,

78 died from

from

disease

with.

But

"

the

received,and only 50
injuries
huge inherent mortalityto begin
of the diseases which

nature

caused

the

natural deaths is even

for,
more
fifty
significant;
the death-rate from
contrary to popular impression,
infectious diseases among
these picked specimens,
these pridesof their clubs and colleges,
was
nearly
double

that of the other adult males

For

of the

nity.
commu-

Coughlin selected the

deaths that year among
the policyholders
in one
of
all adult
our
large insurance companies,who were
males

comparison

of about

The

the

contrast

Dr.

social condition

same

is so

the athletes.

as

I shall put the

that
striking

in parallel
columns.
figures

DEATHS

IN

1905

DUE

TO

INFECTIOUS

DISEASES
Athletes
Policy-holders

Pneumonia
Tuberculosis

10.4

14

13
6

14
8

18

Typhoid fever
Cerebro-spinal
meningitis

29-4
'The

Medical

Record, New

York, June

2,

1906

54

EXERCISE

AND

ITS

DANGERS

93

likelyto be due to strain

when we
is even
the contrast
more
striking,
especially
recall the probable higheraverage
age of the policyeases
holders, in connection with the fact that these disfar more
are
frequentin later life.
In non-infectious

IN

DEATHS

1905

diseases

TO

DUE

NON-INFECTIOUS

DISEASES
Athletes
Policy-holders

Heart-diseases

Kidney

"

In short,athletes are,
and

one-half

per

cent,

times

more

twenty-five
per
main

as

liable
cent,

accordingto

16

10

these

two
figures,
liable to cardiac diseases,sixty
to diseases of the kidney, and

liable

more

infectious diseases

of

to

adult

die of the three

life

pneumonia,

"

consumption,and typhoid than the average of their

their power
fellows. Instead of increasing
of resistance
to disease,their boasted
traininghas apparently
"

reduced

it.

It may

be

justlyobjectedthat this conclusion does

not
follow,because this listincludes a considerable
necessarily
who are
athletes,
percentage of professional
often of low physical
type, and bad life-risks to begin
with.
But a listof certain champion collegeathletes
for fifty
years, 761 in number, prepared in defence
of athletics,
shows
that tuberculosis was
the highest
of death, with pneumonia second.
While only
cause
the policy-holders
seven
per cent, of the deaths among
from
accidents and injuries,
were
sixty-one
per cent,
of the athletes died from

preponderance,even

after

these

causes

"

an

enormous

for
allowingliberally

the

INSTINCT

94

accidental

causes

had

average

natural

death

againstan

vestig
in-

own

my

that of
of

ordinary walks

at

to

causes.

of athletes is far below

age

due

believe, that "the

to

me

in the

person

as

to

life."

of this series

average

was

of 57.2 years in
of age, according

fifteen years
These
States census.

dying after

all persons
be

led

also

death

years,

due

Coughlin finds,what

actual average

only 26.2
to

at

age

average

those

over

Furthermore, Dr.

The

of deaths

of publicreport
probability

greater

the

HEALTH

AND

figureswill
ligent
supportedby the experienceof a majorityof intelcollegephysicians.I might, perhaps,be permitted

the last United

to

say, to forestall any

criticisms based

upon

supposed "book-knowledge" only of these matters,

medical-student
that for two
days I
years during my
of the executive committee
of the University
was
one
Athletic
team;

Association

for

three

and

years

of

member

medical

director

football

the
of

nasium,
gym-

eighteenyears connected with the

faculties of collegesand universities in the Middle
West, the East, in England, and on the Pacific coast,
with students under my professional
almost concare
stantly.
and

In my

being an
necessary

for

judgment,the champion athlete,so

ideal type,

standard

aim

at, is rather

from
evil,apparentlyinseparable

system of athletics
his "bad

to

eminence,"

to

in vogue.
distribute the
now

far from

the
To

petitive
com-

reduce

benefits

of

aim of
trainingover a largernumber is the principal
the new
athletics where
pete
com"cooperative"
groups
by their averages in placeof individuals. This is

AND

EXERCISE
not

condemn

to

their abuse.

The

ignoranceof

and

real tissues

to

be

ITS

athletics

whole

by

95

only

means;

any

lies in false ideals

trouble

the real aim of

bodilytraining.The
developed in athletic trainingare

the muscles, but the heart

not

DANGERS

and

the

nervous

tem.
sys-

This is clearly
recognisedand

eagerlyurged by
scientificgymnasium trainers,
like Sargent
intelligent,
of Harvard,
of New
Seaver of Yale, and Gulick
York; but their leaven has reached
of

mass
as

undergraduatesand

but littleof the

of athletic clubs

members

yet.
The

heaviest strain of exercise is thrown

not

on

the

This
muscles, but on the heart and blood-vessels.
has always been recognisedby the profession
and admitted
trainers. In an athlete
intelligent
by the more
the heart is markedly increased not
under training,
as
merely in vigour,but even in size hypertrophied,
"

we

call it. A

healthful
than

normal;

and

twice

certain

of this

amount
a

hypertrophyis

deer, for instance,has

more

heart in

proportionto its body

weight as a cow, and a race-horse nearly twentyfive per cent, largerthan a dray-horse,
proportionally.
that this hypertrophy
But we
are
findingout, first,
be easilydriven beyond normal
limits,and that
may
the largeheart of the athlete often contains inflammatory
is swollen from
exudate
to put it
congestion,
mal
roughly. Second, that this largeheart,whether norlarge a

as

"

or

diseased,after the

contest

is relaxed,beginsto shrink

is

over

and

ing
train-

again. This shrinking

is brought about by a fattydegenerationand absorption
of both the inflammatory
exudate and the surplus

AND

INSTINCT

96

and if it goes
muscle-fibres,

of

one

step

insidious and

most

our

HEALTH
too

far,may

become

eases
dangerous cardiac dis-

fattydegenerationof the heart. Whatever

of its production,all authorities are
the mechanism
common
agreed that heart-disease is peculiarly
among
athletes, soldiers, lumber-jacks,miners, and men
muscular
effort.
whose
occupationsinvolve severe
"

bility,
entire system of blood-vessels shares in this liaarteriosclerosis is unusually prevalent
and

The

these classes.

among

watched

Let

the heart,then, be

fully
care-

in

and at the least permanent

training,
cardiac nervousness,
quickeningof the pulse,the slightest
the first appreciable
outward
swing of the apex
let the amount
of exercise
beat, showinghypertrophy,
be

down.

cut

The

next

the

to

organ

work

be trained is the stomach.

rally
Natu-

body-enginedoes, the more

fuel must
be shovelled under its boilers. Many athletes
in training
"go stale,"lose their appetite,
begin
to sleepbadly,get cross,
hysterical.These
nervous,
and call for cuttingdown
again are danger-signals,
the exercise ration.
You
can't get ten horse-power
work out of a five horse-powerfurnace and boiler." A
man's
capacity for development is limited by his
more

our

stomach!)
Last

but

least,trainingshould

not

be aimed

at

the

It is

how
astonishing
long we have
ignoredthis,when, as a matter of fact,fullyone-third
if not one-half even
of pure athletic trainingis training
system.

nervous

of

the

strengthof

The
increase in
mere
system.
muscle is the smallest part.
particular

nervous
a

INSTINCT

98

form; and

most

their work,
it be

Whether
hour

swing, up

HEALTH

AND

joy
labourers,within certain limits,en-

taking a pleasureand
the exhilaration
hill and

down

pridein

of the four-mile-an-

dale; the dash

the broadswords; the

swing

and

and

whistle of

of the tennis-court;the clatter and

smash

it.

bite of the

axe;

the

the crunch of the spade under the

scythe,
foot,the heave and swing of the pitchfork there is
a
positive
pleasurein vigorousexertion. In fact,in
the last analysis,
pleasureconsists in respondingto
of reserve
with a sense
stimuli,doing things,
easily,
force,of power to spare. In other words, physically
exercise must
profitable
partakeof the nature of play.

swish of the

"

Nature

nowhere

shows

than

subtler wisdom

in the

play instinct. The baby, like the fabled bear-cub, is

born a shapeless
lump mentallyand playedinto shape.
There
is no conflictwhatever
ing
between
bodily trainand mental.
They are part of one singlescheme
of development. Keep children growing physically,
and answer
their questions,
and their minds will take
of themselves.
The
chief duty of the schoolroom
care
is to keep out of the way of Nature's University,
the open air.
In fine,development

You
apart

from

body, or

the

cannot

mind,

to

be

healthful

profitably
develop
or

the mind

either apart from "the sense

the sense
in us for beauty." The

will

and

must

apart
in

us

be metrical.
symthe body

from
for

the
duct,
con-

trainingwhich
most
sisting
highly re-

developthe most vigorous,the

will also develop the clearest mind
physique,
the most
beautiful body. Yes, and the highest

of

sense

be

the

of

his

of

one

of

high

beauty

By

the

courtesy
and

symmetry

Bring

for

like

of

both

athlete

the

all

reap

the

of

mind

clear
and

to

and

athlete

properly,

of

is

gentleman,

courage,

chivalry;
of

ideal

gentleman,
and

the

mind

to

Table.

the

Practised

schools
and

99

Round

dangers

athletics.
finest

the

training
as

physical
of

of

requisites

opponent

the

all
benefits

is

chief"

DANGERS

chivalry.

Knights

gentleman.

treating
avoid

the

and

One

and

courtesy

Greeks

ITS

AND

EXERCISE

will

ble
possi-

athletics

clean

living,

thinking,
body.

of

CHAPTER

SLEEP

"Blest

be

the

AND

ITS

who

SIGNIFICANCE

first invented

sleep,
loud and deep,
But cursed be he with curses
firstinvented and went
round advising
Who
That
artificialcut-off,earlyrising."
man

Saxe.

"

sand
centuries of study and thirtythouSLEEP, after thirty
all
is still a mystery.
know
We
experience,
results of our
about it,but nothing of it. The
most
laborious researches,
most
studies,are
our
painstaking
mainly negative.
from the
One great positive
fact,however, emerges
negations of all theories: sleep is not a negative
cessation of
process, but a positiveone, not a mere
but a substitution of constructive bodily activity
activity,
for destructive.
The "anabolic"
or
up-building
of

processes

are

in

excess

of

the

"katabolic"

or

down-

ing
during sleep. During the workhours the balance is reversed.
ing
Sleep is a rechargof the body-battery.
of sleep
It is the positive,
constructive character
which explainswhy babies at the periodof their most
rapid growth and development sleepfrom sixteen to
eighteen hours out of the twenty-four,a capacity
which steadily
diminishes until adult life is reached,

breaking processes

SLEEP
when

it becomes

nine hours.

well-known

At

101

constant, in the neighbourhood of

the other end of the scale of life,the

teristic
lightsleepingand earlyawaking, charac-

of old age, isdue to a loss of this reconstructive

It is not that an old man
does not need so

power.

much

adult,but that he can't

and the
get it has lost,to a degree,the capacity,
reconstructive processes involved in it. The
dozings
and drowsingsof old peopleduring the day are mild
torpors from exhaustion,not true sleep forerunners

sleepas

the child

or

"

"

of the final endingof consciousness.

It is the

counts
positivereconstructive qualitywhich acfor the differences in the quality
of sleepwhich
have all experienced. A nap of an
hour when

we

conditions
us

as

are

much

slumber

at

as

favourable
a

other

whole
times.

will often

rest

and

refresh

dream-ridden
night'srestless,
It is also the basis of the

well-known

of vigorous,healthy men
to get
ability
small amounts
of sleep. Some
along with exceedingly
individuals have been able to do immense
exceptional
of work
with only four hours' sleepout of
amounts
the twenty-four,
and keep this up for years without

apparent
So

harm.

factor been overlooked

generallyhas this positive
in popular literature that it has given rise to a whole
series of misleadinganalogies. Confusion
has been
allowed to creep into popularand even
ture
scientificliteraof fever,and
between
the drowsiness and coma
other morbid
conditions,and true sleep. These conditions
and in no
abnormal, as a rule injurious,
are
tend to reconstruction. A typhoid-fever
sense
patient

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

102

apparentlyslepttwo-thirds

who

has

two

weeks

will wake

up with

loss of twenty

for

of the time
or

thirty

pounds'weight,weak as a kitten,emaciated,wretched.
The
vast
majorityof these drowsy, so-called sleepy,
comatose

conditions

of fever,of

the unconsciousness

"

are
exhaustion,etc.
totallydifferent from and in
oppositionto true sleep.
The most
dangerous of all counterfeits of sleepare
induced by drugs. It goes without sayingthat there is
than growth,
no
drug that can produce sleepany more
appetiteor strength.There are many which produce
of unconsciousness
a state
resemblingsleep,and some
of these are unfortunately
resorted to for this
much
Though permissiblein skilled hands their
purpose.
habitual use
is dangerous, both
because
they are
all poisons weak
it is true, but true poisons,
ones,
"

"

and
a

because

they smother the symptom,

suppress
danger signal,without doing anything to relieve

the

diseased

who

condition

which

caused

sleep is sick, and

cannot

it.

The

man

reform

should

his

habits.
"How
hours?"

much

sleepshall

This

words, "As

be answered

can

much

I take

as

you

can."

in the

twenty-four
in five
unhesitatingly
Here

no

competent

stinct
authoritywould questionthe absolute safetyof inthe period of sleeprepresents
as
a guide. As
the time
the

the oxygen
rechargethe battery,then
to

necessary

to
tissues,

restore

last until that process

attested by the familiar sense
must

"Go

to

has

been

balance

obviouslyit
completed,as

of "restedness"

sleepwhen

of

and

you'retired,get

freshment.
re-

up

SLEEP

103

feelingrested,"contains the philosophy

of the whole
problem.
Obviously no hard and fast rule as to the number
of hours requiredcan be laid down.
uals
Just as individwhen

you

wake

differ in the colour

of their hair

and

eyes,

the

their tendencyto be fat,or

vigour of their appetites,
lean,so they differ in the rapidityof their recuperation
during sleep. As has been alreadymentioned, a
few vigorous,
able to recupindividuals seem
energetic
erate
with such rapiditythat as little as four hours'
stances,
To
mention
few notable ina
sleep suffices them.
Frederick the Great, Napoleon, and his conof Wellington,John Wesley, and in
queror the Duke
able to refresh
recent
years, Edison, the inventor,were
themselves

completelywithin

hand, anemic
such

with

and

extreme

individuals

nervous

slowness

twelve,or thirteen hours

this time.

On

may

the other

recuperate

that

they require ten,

of sleepproperlyto redress

the balance.
At

rough working average it may be stated that

the majorityof vigorous adults requirean
average
of about nine hours.
Women
requirefrom half an
of their age.
hour to an hour more
than men
Any
it
attempt to shorten this necessary period,whatever
dividual
be, which can readilybe ascertained by each inmay
for himself by a brief period of intelligent
is not
experimentation,
only irrational but suicidal.
of sleep
of fact,the average
As a matter
amount
individuals is in the neighbourhood of
taken by most
The
nine hours.
proverbs are, as usual, at sea, and
have

about

the usual amount

of influence

over

actual

AND

INSTINCT

io4

practice."Seven
nine for

and

hours

for

HEALTH
a

eightfor

man,

for

fool,"has been their dictum

woman,
turies,
cen-

but the average

human
being cheerfully
plunks
himself into the "fool" class,much
I
to his benefit.
believe that the usual
the text-books

majorityof

eight-houraverage laid down

the side of brevity,and
on

errs

in active work

men

or

else suffer for it. The

to

bed

at

between

take

average

8.30 and

man

The

6.00.
goes

7.00.

Each

meal.

In the

to

bed

if he does

or

the
this

goes
not,

7.30 or 8.00 and

business or professional

average

about

than

labouringman

9.30,
often falls asleepin his chair about

sleepsuntil

more

in

10.00

and

rises about

class

gettingon an average nine and ten

the superstition
hours respectively.
How
ever
grew
by
up that there is such a thingas weakening yourself
I cannot
have
imagine. Whatever
oversleeping
may
been the source
of the delusion it is utterlywithout
basis in physiology. No
one
ever
got too much
healthy,natural sleep,or injuredhimself physically
by stayingin bed until he felt rested. It must, of
that sleepin stuffy,
ill-ventilated
be remembered
course,
of being
rooms
never
produce this sense
may
how
rested,no matter
long it is prolonged. But,
again,it is not the length of sleep,but the quality
which
than this,a great majority
is at fault. More
of men
and all women
would be benefited by a nap
of from twenty minutes to an hour after the midday
case

of women,

who

are

able

to

trol
con-

their time, this should

rule.

Many

for business

men
reasons

are

be insisted upon as a daily

unfortunatelyso situated that

this

rest

cannot

be

obtained,but

AND

INSTINCT

106

HEALTH

choice,and as
time
of convenience on various grounds,some
a matter
ference
within the hours of darkness,justwhen makes no difWhen

is this

sleepto

be taken ?

For

adequate foundation for the

popular belief that the "beauty sleep"is that which
hour of
is taken before midnight,still less that one
pressio
sleepbefore midnightis worth two after. This imThere

has

is

grown

no

up

upon

economic

and

moral

and has
fetish,
grounds connected with the early-rising
basis in physiologyexcept in so far as it is involved
no
the
in retiring
sufficiently
earlyto enable one to secure
before the hour of compulsory
requisite
sleep-period
rising.It has been demonstrated
ments
experiby numerous
that the depth of sleeprapidlyincreases from
its beginningto about the beginning of the second
dle
hour, then almost as rapidlydiminishes until the midof the third,after which it remains at practically
the

same

level until the hour

have

reporteda

second

of

waking.

Some

increase in the

servers
ob-

depth
of slumber about the second hour before waking, but
this does not seem
constant.
Although as tested by
the loudness of the noise required to awaken
the
the depth of sleepis greater during the first
sleeper
three hours, it does not appear that the process of recuperation
is going on any more
rapidlyduring this
all experiments
part of the sleepperiod. Indeed
which
have been made
and practical
experienceas
well indicate that the last two hours of sleepgivefully
much
It is by no
as
recuperationas the first two.
that individuals will wake, from
means
infrequent
various causes, at the end of the sixth or seventh hour,

SLEEP

107

being unrefreshed,with
perhapsa slightheadache,which will have completely
after two hours more
sleep.
disappeared
Strange as it seems, there does not appear to be any
connection between
sleepand
physiological
necessary
with

distinct sensation of

the hours

of darkness.

tribes and

most

races

As

have

of convenience

matter

ing
fallen into the habit of tak-

night,because the occupations

for securingfood and a livingare
necessary
carried out duringthe daylight.
more
advantageously
It is,however, perfectly
this
to
reverse
practicable
completely,
working during the hours of darkness and
sleepingduring the day for considerable periodsof
time without any apparent injury. That
this habit,
if persisted
in for months, as in the case
of nightwatchmen, firemen,railroad men, etc., is apt to cause
anaemia and neurasthenia is due to the loss of sunlight
involved. Animals, of course, are perfectly
indifferent,
often habitually
turningnightinto day. Most species
simply utilise for sleep such part or parts of the
hours as are not needed for securingfood.
twenty-four
To that most
"How
acutelypersonalquestion,
early
shall we get up in the morning?" physiologyhas little
their

to

in

say

period of

answer.

rest

at

If under

the

stern

of work-

stress

a-day life it is obligatoryfor any

at an
earlyhour, all it can advise

individual

such

get his nine hours'

an

hour

sleepbefore
But

will enable him

to

to

go

to

arise

bed

at

that time.

that there

such there
way

as

is

to

seems

is any advantage in earlyrisingas

littleground for believing.By the

itspraiseshave been sung

in

proverband homily

INSTINCT

io8

think that it was

would

one

but its claims

the chief of the virtues,

littlebasis in

have

physiology.Its

the virtues is a survival from

among

whose

ancestors,

as

had

work

tues
vir-

its rank

purelyeconomical, commercial, and

are

get

HEALTH

AND

hard-fisted
to

be done

agricultura
in daylight.

with them to
Naturallyit became a principle
of this as possible.It also appealedto
much

their commercial

instinct in another

regarded as

the

it is natural

to

rise with

the same,

so

irrelevant
absolutely

sense,

it

as

was

nomy
highestand most
praiseworthyecoto "burn
daylightinstead of candles." These
influences have combined
to elevate to a pinnacleof
virtue a habit which is merely a money-making one.
in its favour, that
One of the principal
arguments

is

discussion.

We

have

the

and

sun

neither

go

to

bed

with

that it needs

no

of that

the endurance

is his appearance
in any
nor
traveller,
distinguished
activities or
the signalfor the beginningof our
way
his disappearance
for their close. Nor can the "good
example" of animals and birds be quoted with any
reason.
Many of them don't set it at all,but retire
that do
with the sunrise. Those
are
simply where
The
ancestors
our
were
a million years
longest
ago.
the discoveryof fire,
humanisation
was
step toward
and consequent ability
to sit up late at night and consider
things. Civilisation and late hours always go
"

hand
Nor

more

in hand.
is there any adequate support
that the early morning hours

wholesome

or

day. Exceptin summer

for the

sion
impres-

in any way
later periodsof the
are

healthythan
time they are apt

to

be

damp,

SLEEP

109

the least desirable hours of

and among
foggy,chilly,
daylight. It is quitetrue that during the summer
of exhilaration about being abroad in
there is a sense
these earlymorning hours, but this evaporates with
the dew and is apt to be succeeded by a corresponding
later in
depressionand loss of working power
friends and pathe day. I have been observingmy
tients
in this respect, and
pression
the opinionthat not a littleof the de-

for the past twenty

inclined

am

and

to

commonly develop
is due to excessive exposure
to light,
tural
earlyrising,inherited from agriculcounteracted
not
by three to four

habits of
ancestors,

hours'

which

nervousness

in hot weather

from

in darkened

rest

years

so

in the middle

rooms

of the

day.
Secondly,that the exhilaration experienced
during
the earlymorning hours is an expensiveluxury,which
has to be paid for later in the day. In fact,I have \{.
f
found that as a generalrule,to put it very roughly,
the business or professional
who rises an hour
man
before half-past
seven
or
eight,goes to bed, or loses
his working power,
hour and a half earlier in the
an
evening. Each individual has in the beginningof his
day about so much working power stored up in his |
brain and

muscle

in
rapidity

the

cells. If he

earlymorning

his stock the

It is largely
a
his best.
he

can

If his

in the afternoon

sooner

matter

this up with great

hours he naturally
exhausts

uses

of when

occupationis of

clear off the brunt

morning hours, then

such

rise

evening.

wishes

man

of his work

let him

or

to

be

at

character that
in the

early. If

on

early
the

requiresfull vigour and readiness of

body in the latter part of the day or at

other hand
mind

he

and

night,then

he

The
out

turns

must

rise later

get it. Even

to

it is false economy

muscle-work
hours.

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

no

more

long
invariably
factory-hand
eight-hour-a-day
of

and

work

to

better
more

too

than
quality
so

the

in intellectual

plish
high tension and pitchaccomthan a day's "slogging." It need, of
more
lectual
hardly be pointedout that the stage of intelcourse,
development of any community is in direct
ratio to the lateness of the hours it keeps. All the
that
activities,
social,literary,
convivial,philosophic,
at their highesttide
are
bring out what is best in man
after eight in the evening.
As we know
of no drug or procedurewhich can produce
sleep,it is obviouslyabsurd to expect any "sure
cure" for sleeplessness.
This is invariably
a sign of
disturbance
of balance or
of incipient
disease, and
should be treated only by careful investigation
and

work.

removal

nearlyas
even

hours

Much

man.
twelve-hour-a-day

few

work

in pure

of its cause,
many
say

causes

what

at

when
as

found.

there

are

bad
particular

And

there will be

sufferers.

We

not
can-

physicalhabit

is

of
So that the number
to blame.
frequently
which have any
"good thingsto do for sleeplessness"
wide application
is very limited.
The one
procedure which most
universally
disposes
to sound
sleepis one which is within the reach of all,
and that is gettingwell tired. To work hard enough
mustired,particularly
every day to get comfortably
is the best cure
for insomnia.
Excessive
cularly,
most

SLEEP

in

fatiguemay, of course, produceit. Sleepis not solely

of the brain,but of all the
matter
a
even
or
chiefly
the muscles.
active tissues of the body and especially
be symmetricallyfatiguedor, as we
We
must
say,
"tired all over" in order to sleepwell. While there
and all those engaged
are
labouringmen
exceptions,
many
in active out-door
occupationsusuallysleep
well.
of

Most

of

"insomniacs"

our

In fact I have

sedentaryhabits.

inclined

men

and

been

women

sometimes

of
a matter
sleepis even more
the brain.
ness
Certainlythe soundis
and business men
professional

suspect that

to

the muscles

than

of

sleepof
related
directly
the open
A brisk

are

of

many
to

the amount

air which

of muscular

they have

taken

exercise in

during the day.

dailywalk of from two to four miles is the

this rule
effective hypnotic.But even
most
universally
has many
exceptions.
Diet has little influence on
sleep,except in so far
it may
as
produce disturbances of digestionand
through these of the generalbalance of health. The
tuce,
hypnoticeffects of certain foods, such as onions, letmilk, etc., are chiefly
imaginary. Even the time
of the last meal of the day is of relatively
littleimportance,
except that it is well
three hours

to

let this be

at

least

two

before

retiring.But even this rule has

exceptions,as many
healthy labouring men
many
fall asleepover
their pipes directly
after
habitually
and children,after poking the spoon
into
supper,
or

their little eyes, nod off over

the tea-table with the
bread and butter stillclutched in their chubby fists.

The

processes

of

digestionprobably go

on

more

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

ill

carried out,
but they are perfectly
slowlyduringsleep,
is illustrated by the almost invariable habit among
as
after a meal.
animals of going to sleepdirectly
Indeed

of food

amount

in the stomach

slumber.

Many nightworkers, for instance,sleepmuch better for takinga

full supper
justbefore retiring.
lightor even
^It goes without sayingthat the bedroom
should be
in view of the heavy storwell ventilated,especially
ing up of oxygen in the tissues which goes on during
or

moderate

intestines seems

Asleep. All
least one,

to

windows

and better
of

should
two

to

be open from the top at

three feet,so that a gentle

the face.
blowing across
marked,
"Night air," as Florence Nightingale pithilyre"is all the air there is to breathe at night."
It is justas pure and as wholesome
as day air.
Night
fogs and rain are only injuriousin so far as they
No air that
frighten
you into shutting
your windows.
blew out doors is so dangerous or poisonousas
ever
current

uthat inside

air

promote

can

bedroom

be

felt

with

closed windows.

The
to

should be about 55"

temperature of the room
this the
60" F., if possible.If markedly below

-c.

of

coveringrequiredis apt to become so great

of the skin. The
to interfere with the respiration
as
clothingshould be as lightas is consistent with
elastic but firm,the pillowas
warmth, the mattress
high as the breadth of the shoulder,so as to keep the
above when
neck and head horizontal or slightly
ing
lyof
the side. The
sense
on
good, hard common
humanity has solved all these problems, and the
piodern hair-mattress or its equivalent,
singlepillow
amount

INSTINCT

n4

HEALTH

AND

inclined to be often either continuous

whatever, they seem
or
revulsive,"like" or "contrary." Either
weird and improbable continuations of our
thoughts
often wild reand occupations
bounds
duringthe day,or more
into oppositeor widely different fields. The
of going to war, the miser of making
merchant
dreams
the gilded
love, the professorof making money,
youth of thinking. Thus there is a faint physiologic
basis for the belief that dreams
"go by contraries."
They certainly
"go" or "come true" by that rule as
often as by any other.
The troubled or horrid dreams
which occur
during
sickness are probablydue to the torturing
of the brainin which the images conjuredup are stored by
areas,
the toxins with
the gruesome
the slumbers
and

which

the blood

visions and
of those under

mental

is loaded.

nightmares which
the

stress

Similarly
embitter

of violent

tions
emo-

due to similar action

are
suffering
by the fatigue-poisons
produced by these states.
While
perfectlynormal
sleep is dreamless, yet a
of dreaming, especiallyif the
moderate
amount
acter,
images evoked are of a pleasingor indifferent charis quite compatiblewith good and refreshing
slumber.
The sleepwhich is accompanied by "good"
dreams
is usuallyrestful,
versal
is illustrated by the unias
The
good-night wish of "Sweet dreams."
sleepattended by "bad" dreams is apt to be disturbed
and unrefreshing,
that mild and
which simplymeans
harmless stimulations of the brain-areas during sleep
produce pleasingimages,while stronger stimulations
irritation by toxins evoke distressing
or
or
injurious

SLEEP

painfulimages.

well-known

latter fact is the notorious

berlins with

115
illustration of

the

cold

"gobmince-piefor

dreams

are,

like

should

be

connection

glass-green
eyes" and

between

supper.

Persistent

sign

treated

of
as

or

bad
frequent

and
ill-health,

insomnia,

regarded and

such.

can
age
thingmore
fairly
safelybe said about averor
healthydreams, and that is that they are
ternal
largelydue to the condition of the skin,whether exinternal. Our alimentarycanal or food tube
or
is,of course, only a long roll of the skin,tucked into
the interior of the body for digestive
our
purposes,
brain and spinal-cord
another and solider fold, sunk
in for telegraphic
uses.
Slightchanges in or irritations of the surface of
the body or the liningof the alimentarycanal are
of our
milder
probablythe starting
pointsof most
dreams.
This
faint impulse wakes
either the
up
with which it is directly
brain-area,
connected,or the
which happens to be most
one
nearlyawake, and we

One

are

off.

Some

of

traceable.

common

dreams

Slippingdown
of Arctic relief

seem

to

of the blankets

be

directly

is followed

into
or
expeditions
falling
snowdrifts.
A gas-distended
stomach, pushingup the
diaphragm and compressing the lungs, produces
chest"
dreams
of "something sittingon
or
your
dramatic struggles
againstother forms of suffocation.
The
common
singledream, that of falling,
falling,
from a great height,
with a gasp of
to wake
falling

by

dreams

our

INSTINCT

n6

reliefjustas you

AND
are

about

HEALTH
to

strike and

be dashed

to

is probablydue to the generalmuscular relaxation

pieces,
and falling
of the head, arms,
and limbs which
down
to sleep. Careful studies
accompaniessettling
have shown that it almost invariably
occurs
duringthe
first forty-five
seconds of sleep. A slipor change of
positionof a sixteenth of an inch is enough to suggest
the idea of falling
It "does the
to the brain.
rest,"and providesout of its swarming storehouse of
of stairs,
heads,
images the precipices,
flights
giddy mastand other scenic effects. If the impressionis
vivid enough to wake
"strike bottom"
not
you, you
with

delicious sensation of restful warmth

justsuch as
"downy couch."
The
scores
was

your

tired

body

is

and

pose,
re-

gettingfrom

its

dream, which we have all had

of times,which, as Dickens
quaintlysaid, he
robes
with all her royalwardQueen Victoria,
sure
even
full of clothes,
have also had, that of suddenly
must
findingyourselfin publichalf-dressed,seems
next

almost

common

equallytraceable.

The

all recall its mortifying

can
dream, and we
is usually
associated with insufficientor displaced
vividness,
bedclothes.
This gives our
drowsy braincortex

Our

the idea that

we

on.

covered by
beingcompletely
the close-fitting
half of the nightgown,the impressio
upper
of unprotectednesscomes
most
vividlyfrom
unencased
lower limbs, and the hint is enough.
our
Our
well-trained modesty takes furious frightand
hinc ilia lacrima,"hence these weeps."
arms

and

shoulders

haven't sufficient clothes

SLEEP

don't

We

enough
to

know

to

anything

feel

the

Any

fairly

in

which
of

the
is

sleeper's
beliefs

or

relation

to

biologic

point

moonshine.

much

117

about
that

sure

heavens

have

they

above

than

more

but

dreams,

in

or

know

we

no

the

relation
earth

neath,
be-

outside

hand's-breadth

skin.
deductions

things
of

based

of

outside

view,

the

their

upon

this

purest

area

and

are,

assumed
from

pearliest

of

VI

CHAPTER

THE

AND

MYSTERIES

THE

CURIOSITIES

OF

SLEEP

of sleepis sleepitself.
curiosity
of it,however
All theories and explanations
carefully
do not even
worded, have proved inadequate. We
time thought we
did about it.
know
what we
at one
Expertsare franklyin the Socratic attitude,"I know

THE

chiefest

firstand

nothingexcept
We

still in the dark

are

nothing.
as

mechanism

why
why we

to

of the process, and

centuries of study,all we can say is that
because

and

rested.
been
to

so

Others

do

not

that."

know

even

that I know

we

modest.

death, when
as

have bewailed

wake

one

it as

as

Socrates

After

wake.
we

sleepwhen

when

we

gentlyhints,have
Poets have apostrophised
it as
it is intensely
alive; ascetics have

"Others,"

it

tired,and

are

sleep,the

we

are

not

akin

nounced
de-

of the lusts of the flesh;moralists

sinful

God-given hours
which might be spent in prayer; the villagewiseacre
and that interesting
the moneytype of idiot-savant,
proverbs advisingits curtailment.
getter, have made
But fortunately,
little as we
know, it is enough for
of that.
Nature
has taken care
practicalpurposes.
selves
alike find themPoets, moralists,scientists,
ascetics,
at the end of their speculations
utterlyin the
dark; and being in the dark and tired,they do the
a

waste

of

MYSTERIES

OF

the right,
instinctive,
thing and
"

all

SLEEP

go

to

119

sleep.So

end

puzzlings.
is only equalledby
Fortunately,its mysteriousness
of the few thingsthat never
its beneficence;it is one
do harm.
Sleepand fresh air few ever get too much
our

of.

sluggardwho cries,"A little

usually
slumber," is simplyan unsleep,a little more
choice bit among
those gems
of senility
as
proverbs. The sluggardis reallyfar wiser
the ant, as any competent entomologistwill tell

The

denunciation

more

known
than

of the

you.

rule,to gloatover mysteriesis not a particularly

lies.
profitableoccupation. That way superstition
As

But

in this instance

it is wholesome.

It makes

us

with the process and nature's

wiselyshy of interfering
thereof.
Had
superb system of automatic regulation
it been proven,
for instance,that according to a
former physiological
lation
theorysleepwas due to accumuof waste
some
products in the brain-tissues,
scientistwould almost certainly
have devised a process
of washing these out with normal saline solution,and
thus avoid this disgraceful
wasting of eighthours out
of the twenty-four. This theory was
found
quate
inadeyears ago, but there is nothing invidious about
its collapse,
for every other which has yet been suggested
is in similar case.
Take, for instance,the long
and widely acceptedview which even
to-day stands
most
as
highest in the estimation of physiologists
non,
nearlyapproaching an explanationof the phenomethat sleepis due to cerebral anaemia or a lowered

INSTINCT

120

supplyof

blood

blood

in the

We

also know

from

the brain

AND

HEALTH

the brain.

to

That

the

of

amount

is

diminished during
distinctly
is abundantly
both by observations upon
sleep,
proven
the brains of animals throughtrephine
openingsmade
for the purpose,
and upon
human
brains exposed by
fractures of the skull,or openingsmade
for the purpose
tion
illustraof removing tumours.
A less gruesome
is afforded by the slight
sinkingin of the fontaing
nelle,or "soft spot" on the top of a baby'shead, dursleep.Drowsiness and loss of consciousness may
also be produced by pressure upon the carotid arteries
supplyingthe brain.
brain

that

part of the blood

withdrawn

the

teristic
skin,causingthe characrosy flush,and part to the muscles, causing
slight but appreciableenlargement of the arms,
limbs,hands, and feet. This is why our shoes and
feel tightfor us when
gloves sometimes
dressing.

This

goes

rush of blood

to

to

the skin

accounts

for that

most

or
annoying aggravationof itching
painfulsensations

in diseases of the skin which

As

one

of

our

so

often

occurs

at

time.
bed-

whimsically
leadingdermatologists

it,"The skin wakes up as the brain goes

planation,
sleep." But this fact is far from forming an exsince it simply raises the questions:
puts

to

What

is the

cause

of

the

anaemia?

How

is it

come
brought about before falling
asleep,and how overbefore waking?
this
Moreover, it is an open
question whether
anaemia is not simplya signof lessened activity
the
on
instead of a cause
of sleep.
part of the brain,an effect,

of

up

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

122

whose
separate cells,

series of distinct and

by "touching fingers"
with the tipsof their delicate,twig-likeprocesses
dendrites),and that these "fingers"
(arborisations,
of

means

is

communication

and thus
the power
of movement,
retract
can
the cells of
break the connection or circuit. When

have

they are
fatigued,

the brain become

in these processes.
and
sense
organs,

When

This

unconsciousness,or
and

speak, communication

to

we

wake

stretch

draw

from

shuts off messages

rested,they yawn

so

supposed to

the

sleep,results.
out

their arms,

again restored,and

is

up.

the
Unfortunately,

attempts

numerous

to

strate
demon-

by examination
of the brains of animals killed instantaneously
ing
dursleephave not carried conviction to the majority
of observers,though a similar process is generally
regarded as proved, to take placein the deep sleep
of
induced by chloroform
and other narcotics. And
of sleep,
it advances
even
grantingthis mechanism
course,
our
knowledge but littleto prove that the brain
cells curl up and go to sleep,
in placeof the identical
procedureon the part of the whole body, which can
this retraction of the dendrites

be demonstrated
Then

day use
suppliedto

be

can

blood

kitten.

theorythat the brain

more
rapidlythan
oxygen
from
the lungs via the

there is Pfliige's
attractive

cells during the

it

in any

and

up

them

when

this oxygen
starvation reaches a certain
degree,the cells sink below the level of activity
;

necessary

to

falls below

consciousness.
the

During sleepexpenditure

intake,and thus

the balance

necessary

MYSTERIES
to

OF

SLEEP

123

This, like the cerebral

solid basis in fact, viz.,

consciousness is restored.

theory,has

anaemia

that of the total intake and

of oxygen

outgo

during

twenty-fourhours, only about fortyper cent, is

taken in while sixty
in the form
per cent, is given off
of carbon
dioxid
light;
during the twelve hours of dayand, on the contrary, during the twelve hours
of the night,nearlysixtyper cent, of the total oxygen
is taken in and only about fortyper cent, given off.
In other words, the body during the day spends or
givesoff from twenty to fortyper cent, more
oxygen
than it takes in ; during the night it takes in twenty to
than it givesoff. Thus
balmy
fortyper cent, more
"tired nature's sweet
restorer" of the
sleepis literally
the

"

"

balance.

oxygen

good
the

science.

Good

poetry is often very close to

In support of this view may
be cited

well-known

drowsiness, deepening into

which

that of

the coal mines

well.

in

charged
atmospheres overcarbon
dioxid, ranging all the way
to the "choke
room
damp" of
stuffy

with
from

sciousness,
uncon-

or

comes

on

the "foul

air"

at

the bottom

of

equallybe seen that these states are

not
true
tending
sleep,but slow poisonings,
narcoses,
and awakening, but to increasing
not
to refreshment
and finally
death.
sluggishness,
of the entire
This, in fact,brings us to the crux
problem, the one great positivefact which emerges
velop
from the negativesof all these theories,and to deBut

it can

which

alone

the purpose

was

tive
negativeprocess, but a posibut a substicessation of activity,

here; that sleepis not

one,

not

mere

of their discussion

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

I24

for destructive
bodily activity
in
The
anabolic or upbuildingprocesses
are
ones.
of the katabolic or
excess
downbreaking processes
duringsleep. During the waking hours the balance
is reversed.
It is not sleepthat leads to death, but
waking. Men have been known to sleepfor weeks
and even
months
at a stretch with but little injury.
Persistent wakefulness
kills in from five to ten days.
It is credibly
that with Oriental refinement
reported,
of cruelty,
is one
death by sleeplessness
of the methods
of execution
for certain higher class criminals in
China.
The
wretched
victim is forcibly
prevented
from goingto sleepuntil death from exhaustion closes
tution of constructive

the scene, which

is said
fifth or sixth day.
It should

of

to

later than

be seldom

the

that absolute sleepexplained

lessnes
is a very different thing from the insomnia
of our
nervous
patientswho "don't sleepa wink all
that they were
awake
night,"which usuallymeans
from three to five times during the hours of darkness.
One
of the most
unexplainablemysteriesof sleep
which
confronts us, as soon
extend our
as
we
study
is that we
beyond the human species,
are
utterlyin
the dark as to the stage in the developmentof life
the habit of true sleepbegins. Surprising
at which
it may
have no adequate proof of the
as
we
seem,
existence of the habit of periodic
dailysleepin any
animal
In

below

cannot

be

the warm-blooded

fact,it would
of these

we

course

almost

appear

mammals
to

be

an

and

birds.

accomplishment
Here
again,

higher classes alone.

inasmuch as the greatest
speak positively,
two

OF

MYSTERIES

SLEEP

125

and
in determiningthe occurrence
difficulty
practical
like fishes,
animals
hours of sleep in cold-blooded
snakes, tortoises,
etc., is that they possess either no
that are movable ; and hence the
at all,or none
eyelids
readiest superficial
sign or proof of sleep,that of the
be elicited in them.
(Fishes
eyes beingshut, cannot
have eyehave no eyelidsat all,snakes and reptiles
lids,
and have become
fused together,
but they are
tection
transparent, forming an additional "glass" or proto the eye.)
of
Fishes in aquaria have been studied by scores
while they unquestionably
different observers, and
main
drop into conditions of apparent lethargy,and reutterlymotionless for hours or even days at a
be definitely
to
stretch,these states do not seem
hour of the
associated with any particular
or
periodic,
day, and they will apparentlyavoid danger,or move
food if hungry,as promptly in this condition
toward
of course, and
awake.
as when
Many fishes,
apparently
fall into that curious sleep-like
dition
connearlyall reptiles
"hibernation"
known
at some
as
periodduring
shall later see, is in no way
the year.
But this,
as we
akin to true sleep. Many fishermen,both deep-sea
in
believe that fishes,
and fresh-water,
firmly
especially
sunny

weather, come

up

to

the surface

of the

water

asleep,and that in this condition they can

be more
readilyapproached.But the questionis still
which careful investigation,
in
an
open one, and one
conditions where fishes are under observation day and
has yet
night for a considerable period,as in aquaria,
and

to

fall

settle.

INSTINCT

126

If

could

we

of

nature

venture

sleepin

the broad
of

something new
kingdom,

warm-blooded

which

and

the

into

hence

tissues
state

lethargyof
to

difference

fortunate

of

waste

would

requirea sinking
resembling the old primeval
as

invertebrate

and

cestors,
an-

to

men

are

eightor nine; justas

fat

on

some

will get

men

slender diet,while others with

and

intake

power

of

enormously
huge appetite

walking skeletons. This

almost
rapid recuperation
may

nate
fortu-

are

be said

of the characteristics of greatness. At all

it has occurred
with sufficient frequencyin

be

one

events

great and
among

successful

average

make

to

accumulation

and

able to get as much rest out of four

six hours' sleep as the average
does out of
man

or

in the animal

permit the upbuildingprocesses

catch up with the downbreaking ones.
of the curiosities of sleep is the singular
in its quality
in different individuals.
Some

Another

to

be

can

their cold-blooded

in order

of life

abnormal

sense

in such exhaustion

down

animals, it would

and height
degree of activity
their waking hours is
marks

in

and

the real

to

only be maintained for

two-thirds of the twenty-four
hours, resulting

half to

products in

HEALTH

suggestionsas

any

that the

one,

temperature

from

AND

us

became
to

have

individuals.

infantile processes
smile gentlywhen

rational
success

to

men

being,many

of

By
of

we
our

done
one

of those

human
hear

great harm

man

crously
ludi-

logic,which
described

as

self-constituted guides

have assured

the young
idea that this man
tion
great simplybecause,by dint of his determina-

work

eighteenor

twenty

hours

out

of the

MYSTERIES

SLEEP

OF

127

therefore:
twenty-four,
like

success

shall be

"Go

thou and do

thine."

The

and
likewise,
hugeness of the

sequituris obvious,but this is far from being the

only instance. Men of huge muscles,who happen to
be born "brothers to the ox," write books and publish
the average
journalstelling
youth how to get strong
and bad habits.
by imitatingtheir little peculiarities
Doddering old centenarians who happened to be born
with the smouldering vitality
liant
(and usuallythe brilof the mud-turtle,prate fatuously
of the
intellect)
onions and sour
milk, frugaldiet, moral habits or
regularhours which they allegehave brought them
to this enviable degree of profitless
persistence
upon
the planet. As well might the elephantendeavour
of how
to weigh three tons, or
to explainthe secret
the boa constrictor write a pamphlet on how to grow
fortyfeet long.
the majorityof great men
Of course
requireas much
of them
sleepas the average individual,and many
Some of the greatest, so far from takingthree
more.
four hours' sleepa day, have been able to work
or
only two or three hours out of the twenty-four.Two
often a day'swork
successive hours of work was
for
Darwin, four for Spencer,and three hours a week at
non

times

for Descartes.

or

last,like the famous

Dr.

often not rising

till
lie-abed,
three in the afternoon; and his untimelydeath

Johnson,was
two

The

notorious

attributed by his friends to his being

was
fifty-four
thusiasm
compelled to rise at five in the morning, by the enof his royal pupil,Queen
Christina,who
chose this hour for her lesson. But enough of them

at

have
rest

AND

INSTINCT

128

had

this

in four

or

HEALTH

singularqualityof gettingas
five hours

as

other

men

do

in

much

eight,

proverb-makerto find texts

with their usual intelligence.
for sermons
of sleepis the many
Another
misleading
curiosity
which have been drawn between itand other
analogies
First among
them is the beautiful poetic
parison
comstates.

to

enable the moralist and

which

has almost

in the

embodied

Death;" and, "We

of, and

our

become

phrase, "Sleep
are

article of

an

and

faith,
his brother,

such stuff as dreams

littlelife is rounded

with

are

made

sleep." From

physiological
pointof view, sleepand death are as
far apart as the poles. The only similarity
between
is that they are
them
both accompaniedby unconsciousness.
tensel
inis a positive,
The one
reconstructive,
tably
vital process, self-limited and tending inevitive,
destrucother is negative,
to an awakening. The
lifeless,
utterly
tendingto dissolution and decay,
of any physical
with no .possibility
awakening. The
analogyis such a beautiful and soothingone, that one
hands upon it;but it is unfortunatel
regrets to lay sacrilegious
of
without physiological
basis. I am,
the possibility
of a
discussing
course, not in any way
togeth
spiritual
awakening, that lies in another provinceala

Nor

is there any

between
similarity

the

drowsy,

conditions
fevers and
fatal
of
sleepy,comatose
illnesses. They are all narcoses,
of the
or
poisonings
tured
brain, by toxins,either of germ origin,or manufacby the abnormal
processes of the body tissues
themselves. They are not self-limited,
but end only

is there

Nor

better basis for the

much

acceptedanalogy between
"winter sleep,"known
as
is such

of hibernation
such

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

i3o

opinion

to

as

"

and

one,

lack of definite information

difference of

The

hibernation.
enormous

an

that curious

sleepand

true

its

and

"

generally
subject
there is

consequent

character, that

true

outline of the drift of scientificopinion

only the merest
To put it very
in regard to it can be given here.
crudely,it appears to be a dropping from the animal
almost to the vegetablestage of vitality.
Every vital
process

is reduced

its continuance.

to

the lowest

ebb

consistent with

voluntarymuscular movements,
of course,
the eyes are
closed, the
cease
absolutely,
sheltered
animal, which has usuallyretired to some
and protectedspot, becomes
unconscious,the respirations
become
fails

to

so

detect

All

shallow

them.

hibernators

level. The

that the closest observation

The

temperature

falls toward

heart is slowed

down

the
to

of

blooded
warm-

cold-blooded

the lowest

ble
possi-

vigour consistent with life. Even the

muscles
of the alimentary canal cease
contract
to
its glands cease
nal
its termito secrete, and
rythmically,
closed with a plug of dried
opening becomes
Later observations seem
to indicate that by
mucus.
cuttingoff the intake of oxygen, carbon dioxid accumulates
in the blood and tissues until it producesa light
and this condition
narcosis,or anaesthesia,
permanent
continues for periodsvarying from weeks to months,
until either change of temperature
the exhaustion
or
of fat or other food material stored
up in the body
rate

and

beforehand

causes

the animal

to

waken

and

come

MYSTERIES
forth in search
the animal
the

OF

of food.

goes

SLEEP

131

majorityof cases,
just at the close of

In the

into this

state

of

with his tissues well loaded with

plenty,
fat,and emerges in the springthin and gaunt, having
presumablysupportedsuch low grade of life as existed
by consumption of the energy stored up in his fat.
season

It must,

however, be admitted

that there

are

ber
num-

of

to this rule at both ends, so to speak,

exceptions
animals
some
going into their winter sleep in very
moderate
even
thin,and emerging apparently
flesh,
or
little changed in the spring; others going to sleep
plump and fat, and awakening in apparently the
condition.
So that the fat-burning
same
hypothesis,
be accepted without
plausibleas it sounds, cannot

reservation.
On

the other

last-mentioned

hand, it is only fair

instance

animals

say that in the

emerging within a
to

few

to
pounds of the same
weight which they went
sleepat, lose flesh with great rapidityafter resuming
their activities,
and are ravenouslyhungry, thus raising
the suspicion
that the maintenance
of weight has

been

due

place

of

to

an

the

accumulation

fat, which

of water
has

been

in the tissues in
burned

up

and

utilised.

Another

fact about this process is that it

interesting
is not caused by cold, as was
time universally
at one
supposed. This was firstbrought to our attention by
the fact that fishes,amphibia, reptiles,
and some
of
the mammals
livingin hot climates go into this trancelike condition during the season
of heat and drought.
In fact,a new
word
has had to be coined covering

132

INSTINCT

this form

AND

HEALTH
"sum(literally,
hibernate.
Secondly,it

of the habit, "estivate"

merate") contrastingwith
found
that only a small percentage of animals
was
hibernate at all,and they of the class whose food
ever
cut off in the winter,such as squirrels,
supply is absolutely
These
etc.
animals,
mice, rats, bears,marmots,
if kept in captivity
and supplied
with plentyof food,
habit.
So that
will,after a time, lose the hibernating
the part of
it appears
to be literally
an
on
economy
a
going down to avoid punishment in the
nature,
form of starvation,
whenever
an
adequate supply of
ingly
energy through food is cut off. The change is exceedwidespread through the animal kingdom, being
habitual in nearlyall terrestrial invertebrates,
and in
cold-blooded
most
fishes,amvertebrates,especially
phibia,
of mamand occurringin a number
mals,
reptiles,
that
but in no birds,the latter for the reason
they can solve the food problem in another way by
mands.
demigration either north or south, as the season
land
In fact,it may
almost be said that most
and fishes possess the
invertebrates,
amphibia,reptiles
of going into this curious carbon-dioxid
cosis
narpower
at will,if one
can
having
imaginethese creatures
So lethargic
a will at all.
pletely
are
they then, and so comindifferent to their surroundings,
that they may
be exposed to extraordinary
of heat and cold
extremes
without apparent injury.They may
be dried almost
for
to mumification,frozen
or
submerged in water
long periodswithout apparent injury. Even warmblooded
animals,like dormice and woodchucks, when
for
asleepfor the winter, may be put under water

MYSTERIES
hours

at

stretch without

SLEEP

OF

apparent

133

injury,so

pletely
com-

respiration
suspended.
Fascinatingand mysterious as is the subject of
it perof it to make
hibernation, enough is known
fectly
with true
clear that it has nothing in common
sleep. Instead of the oxygen intake being increased,
level ; instead of
it is diminished to the lowest possible
he is
the animal waking refreshed and invigorated,
Instead of being a recuperative
weak and emaciated.
is

it is

process,

tissues

"

spread among

age

in

man.

It is one

of the "lost arts."

blessingwe would find it in this nerve-racked

had only retained it! Some
of the trancewe

if

like conditions into which

days or weeks

individuals fall and

involve
possibly

may

survival of this ancient habit.

of

the part of the

of how

of its occurrence

What

on

out
last withlongthey can possibly
Although so widely
supply of energy.
his ancestry, there is no adequate proof

test

further

trial of endurance

these

conditions

occur

But

some

the

trace
vast

lie for
of the

majority

excitable
in semi-civilised,

that there is always a

so
hysterical
women,
possiblequestionof simulation; and all cases which
have been carefully
studied by competent
observers
have been found
to be frauds, being surreptitiousl
suppliedwith food and drink by their attendants or
is true of the allegedpower
family. The same
sessed
posfakirs and ascetics of all ages of
by Hindu
going into states of trance in which they will allow
themselves
alive and dug up again and
to be buried
have elapsed. One
revived after several months
stance
inmen

or

on

record

in which

an

individual of this class

134

INSTINCT

allowed

himself

watched

by

to

be
of

AND

HEALTH

buried

alive and

his grave

was
dug up
English soldiers,
dead.
In another
at the end of the time exceedingly
been
the fakir is said to have
dug up alive at
the end
whole
of three days. The
subject is
involved in such an
atmosphere of mystery and
most
"fakery" (a word
appropriatelyderived
from the title of its devotees themselves)that it is
impossibleto attach much serious weight to the
claims made.
Most
of the claims,both Occidental
for indefinite
and Oriental,to the power
of existing
rest
to
simply
periodsin this trance-like sleepseem
the well-known
by many weakpossessed
upon
power
minded
individuals of throwing themselves by autosuggestion
into a hypnoticsleep. In this condition,
be easilysupportedfor
or
awake, life can of course
days or even weeks without food, as has been
many
ner
often illustrated by the prolonged fasts of Succi,Tanand
others, who
easilyreach forty and even
fact that none
sixtydays. It is,however, a significant
of these sleeps
be carried on in a hospital
where
can
the patient
is under the observation of competent and
For
unsympatheticnurses.
although food can be
done without, water
will
and these sleepers
cannot,
bottle and
be found resorting
to the water
invariably
respondingto the calls of nature within twenty-four
hours.
In their own
homes, where they can help
the washthemselves surreptitiously
to the water
on
stand,theymay keep up the farce for weeks without
detection. Most
of the "sleepers"
reported
so
frequently
in the newspapers, though theyliewithout apa

guard

OF

MYSTERIES

parentlywaking

for

weeks

and

SLEEP

135
months

even

at

but take food

fasting,
their
and drink regularly.Though they stillterrify
families,
they no longerpuzzle their doctors,as they
of hysteria
of them clear cases
in young
most
are
girls

stretch,make

pretence of

no

women.'

or

It

be

might

anxious
into

mentioned
incidentally

for the relief of

souls that the risk of any individual passing

and remaining in it long enough to be
trance

buried

alive is exceedingly
slightindeed.

There

is no

I
occurred.
having ever
took occasion to investigate
this questionsome
years
of leadingunwith a number
dertakers,
ago, and communicated
it as
and they all unanimouslydenounced
of the myths of the nineteenth century. One of
one
them, at the time presidentof the National Funeral
informed
that he had careDirectors' Association,
fully
me
ported
investigated
every instance of "burial alive" reauthentic instance of this

found

in the newspapers
of them
every one

for fifteen years

past and

be, in his own

disgusted
language,"a pure fake."
fight
However, I cannot
that battle to a finish here, temptingas the field is.
The

to

last

remainingcounterfeit of sleep,the hypnotic

different in character that
trance, is so obviously
its discrepancies
hardlyneed to be mentioned.
Every
one

who

It has

has

seen

it will be struck with

relation

the difference.

but may
be induced at
fatigue,
any time and at any stage of vigour,though most
commonly and easilyin individuals whose mental
is
at such a low ebb that there really
are
processes
much
difference between their sleeping
not
and wakno

to

INSTINCT

136

AND

HEALTH

results are concerned.

ing stages so far as any practical
but rather depressing,
and the
It is not recuperative,
patientfeels,as he says, "queer and dizzy" when he
Instead of the brain being anaemic, it is
wakes
up.
the skin is paleinstead of flushed,
and there
congested,
increase in the relative oxygen
the condition is an auto-narcosis,
or
is no

and

does littlebut

intake.

In fact,

of consciousness,
perversion
harm, instead of good.

It may, of course, be used in expert hands as a method

of treatment, but its field of usefulness in this regard
is

becoming

more

the tremendous
the

Nancy

and

limited every year,

for it by Bernheim

more

claims made

School have

dwindled

alreadyto

and
and

ing
surpris-

extent.

The
in

our

made
upon

Nor

chief

questionwhich has always confronted us

mind be
efforts to utilise it,"How
can
a weak
stronger by becoming absolutelydependent

another?"

the

still faces

us

unanswered.

much more
sleepsproduced by hypnotics
nearlyakin to true sleepin either nature or effect.The
more
powerfulof these,like opium and its derivatives
and
(morphine,codeine, heroin, etc.),chloroform
ether,are so obviouslypure narcotic poisonsthat they
seldom
resorted to for this purpose
are
exceptingin
"Baby's Friends" and "SoothingSyrups." The apparent
slumber
produced by them is a toxic narcosis
like that due to the toxins of fever alreadydiscussed.
They have, of course, a certain field of usefulness in
expert hands, in a limited class of conditions,such as
after severe
and painfulaccidents,or surgical
tions
operawhere the tissues are ready and anxious for norare

INSTINCT

138

succeed

opiate,may
allow

in

removing

restlessness which

or

HEALTH

AND

sleepto follow.
their use
physician,

Under

the

some

of

care

is admissible

limited class of cases, and

thus

sleep,and

prevents

natural

competent

the touch of discomfort

in

of them

tain
cerso

are

feeblypoisonous as to present comparativelylittle

But
in large doses.
danger from this source, even
theyall belong to the great class of "symptom-smotherers."
The
and

man

who

takes

slaves
almost

over

works

little or

man

who

an

exercise,or

no

her housework

forgetsthat

the business

all day in

or

her

there is such

ill-ventilated room
the

who

woman

embroidery and
silly
a
thing as open air,

is drivinghimself

too

hard

and

keeps up on stimulants,the individual who is in an

ease,
earlystage of pulmonary consumptionor Bright'sdiswhen they find that they cannot
sleep,instead of
vestig
regardingit as nature's danger signal,
demanding inand change of habits,swallow some
ing
sleepuntil a
in their suicidal course
draught and persist
breakdown
that they can no longershut their
results,
There is no such thing as uncaused sleeplessness
eyes to.
than there is uncaused
loss of appetite,
any more
of strength,
or
weight. All of them are signalsof
trouble and should be promptly regarded and investigated
as such.
Hypnoticshave their placein medicine
like other poisonousdrugs,but that placeis becoming
and
steadilysmaller as cases are more
painstakingly
studied.
intelligently
One of the strangest curiosities of sleepis the widely
much of
to get too
prevalentidea that it is possible

MYSTERIES
it. There

of course,

are,

unconscious

OF

SLEEP

number

of

139

drowsy

and

which, as we have
resemblingsleep,
and these may possibly
have
during illness,
seen, occur
given rise to the popular belief that it is possibleto
pressed,
"sleep yourselfweak," or, as I have heard it exto "sleepso hard that it tires you." Toxic
of this sort are possiblyresponsible
for the
narcoses
"horrible examples" which are held up to the young
in ignorantcountry neighbourhoods,
uals
of lost individwho
let the habit of sleepinglate in the morning
them
until they finally
sleptall day
grow
upon
well as all night,and ultimately
as
"sleptthemselves
to

states

death."

Then

there

disease,
is,of course, that weird, tropical
the Sleeping
sickness,in which the victim after being
for several weeks, gradfeverish and uncomfortable
ually
begins to grow drowsy, and drowsier as the
disease deepens, and
be awakened.
finallycannot
The sleeper
and emaciates rapidly. Swellings
wastes
in the arm-pitsand groins,ulcers develop on
occur
the skin, and he dies,a human
wreck, in from six to

beginning of constant
definite disease,due
"sleep." But this is a perfectly
known
to infection by a parasite
as
a
Trypanosoma,
introduced
by the bite of the Tsetse fly (Glosslna
similar to the specieswhich
carries the
"palpalis),
twelve

dreaded
South
such

weeks'

time

disease
and

of

Central

from

the

horses

whose

Africa.

This

name

is

it bears

in

spreadingwith

rapiditythrough Central Africa as to awaken

the greatest uneasiness,
and is beginningto attack the
white population.

AND

INSTINCT

I4o
The

last curiosity
of
animals

among

as

HEALTH

sleepis the
the

to

extreme

of

time

irregularity
day at which

they take it. Nearly all the carnivorous animals, of

sleep in the day and carry on their hunting
course,
of a large
is true
operationsat night. The same
of rodents,as evidenced
in our
number
involuntary
herbivorous
Even
household "pets,"rats and mice.
animals,like the deer, the antelope,and wild cattle,
turn
habitually
nightinto day, both in the tropicsand
of the Temperate Zone.
during the heated seasons
As

hunter

every

abroad

in the

night,and
wait

summer

the

for them

knows, the time

is in the cool darkness

Go
and

steal
of the

sneaking,cowardly trick of lying in

at licks and
springsor shootingthem

by the lightof a lantern in the

they browse along the margins of
be considered

deer

when

bow
the

of

canoe

streams

used

as

to

sport.

into any zoological

garden a littleafter nightfall
of the tropical
animals just
you will find most

waking up. Even among the domestic animals, when

day and night are both alike periodsof safetyand
food supply,the dog and the cat stillkeep
abundant
their choicest activities for the night, and
horses,
the
cattle and sheep will graze all nightlong whenever
heat in the middle of the day beginsto be oppressive,
and take the daylightfor slumber in the densest shade
they can find. So that as far as the animal kingdom
generallyis concerned there can be littlequestionof
any

necessary

and

the hours

ness
of dark-

latter is usuallytaken

in whatever

connection

sleep. This

time is left

over,

so

between

to

speak,from

the

portion

MYSTERIES

OF

SLEEP

141

twenty-fourhours duringwhich food can be

secured.
most
safelyand conveniently
Nor do theyeven
invariably
preferthe lightas such
for their active period;in fact,as has been pointed
out
engaged in the
by Hough and other biologists
studyof the flora and fauna of the deserts of Arizona
of the

the great Southwest, many

the night for their period of
and

of the animals
in
activity

order

choose
to

cape
es-

injuriouseffects of the intense glare

of the adaptations
of the desert
of light. And
many
its spinesand scales and dull green pigmentat
vegetation,
black, are
verging upon brown and even
much
as
protectives
againstlightas againstheat or
drought.
Not only is this indifference to the time of sleepgeneral
throughout the animal kingdom, but it is also
in the probableancestral line of our
well marked
own
species. Many of the marsupialsare nocturnal in
their habits.
The
generalisedinsectivora,
probably
in line,are
The
nocturnal.
almost universally
next
next
link,the lemurs, are so stronglyaddicted to
nighthours that their eyes show a peculiarand special
keys,
adaptationto this form of life. Many of the monboth Old World
and New
World, are notorious
and
night-birds,
rollicking
chatteringthrough the
tree-tops all night long in the tropicalmoonlight.
Fully one-third of the anthropoid apes, including
them those closest to the probableline of human
among
descent, the gibbon and the chimpanzee,are
restingin the heat of the day
great night roamers,
in the darkest undergrowth, but making the earlier
from

the

INSTINCT

i42

the later hours

and

HEALTH

AND

of darkness

hideous

with

their

howls.
nocturnal tendencies in

The
are

so

well

marked

that

one

our
can

pre-human ancestry
resist the
scarcely

has become
so
temptationto idlyspeculatewhy man
diurnal in his habits. Of course,
by the time
strictly
the soil,or even
he has reached the stage of tilling
that of possessing
flocks and herds,the mere
question
labour
of convenience
in carryingout his necessary
and operations
would requirehim to be abroad during
the day and to sleepat night.
But this was
a
comparativelylate accomplishment
and the questionremains unanswered, why during the
huntingstage, through which every race, of course,
has passed,he should not prowl at night and sleep
low
duringthe day, like the rest of the carnivora ? To folthe speculation
little farther,the one
a
thing
which seems
adequateto explainit,was that he began
and the first use he made
to develop an
imagination,
of it was
This again
afraid of the dark.
to become
was
closelyconnected with the subjectof sleep,as in
all probability
his dreams that made him afraid
it was
of the dark.
ogy.
theolbasis of savage
physiological
tribe isknown
which does
Scarcelyan aboriginal
peoplethe nightwith ghostsand demons of which
vivors.
spooks and bogies of the nursery are lineal surof unrises to the conception
As soon
seen
as man
forces
and spirits nightis invariably
demons
time of their dominion.
Indeed, to this day one of
titlesof the only surviving
demon
worprincipal

Dreams

not

the

are

"

the
the

the

"

MYSTERIES

shippedamong
vividlyafraid
of their
refuse

almost

143

of Darkness."

all savages

So

of those demons

invention

that many
of them
stir beyond the circle of their own

own

to

is the "Prince

us
are

SLEEP

OF

fires after

night and
warfare, a

attacks in

comfort

enormous

to

afraid

are

to

even

littlefoible which
the

nerves

of white

absolutely
flickering
make
nighthas been

men

an

in many

expedition.
It is an amusinglysuggestivefact that as soon
as
where by
man
begins to crowd into the great cities,
turned into
noise,and company
nightis literally
light,
day and the terror of darkness removed, he promptly
an

reverts

it be

that the tumult

bosom

by

element

habits of his

the nocturnal

to

Can

ancestors.

stirred up in his
brightmoonlight night has an ancestral

about

it?

of emotions

That

lead

anything,
is
from making love or poetry to robbing a hen-roost,
certainly
suggestiveof its primitiveness.
ter
Ever since the agricultural
stage, or indeed the latreached, and stillmore
was
part of the pastoral,
since the development of the commercial
so
stage of
civilisation in which

we

it may

now

to

live,considerations

of

vour
overwhelmingly decided us in faof working during the day and sleeping
at night.
climates of the Temperate
In the cloudy northern
tion,
civilisathe home
of the present-day
are
zone, which

convenience

another
of
which

have

factor has

come

in and

that is the desirabil

gettingas much as possibleof

strugglesthrough the fog and

the

light
sun-

the rain-

cloud.

Sunlightis the

true

secret

of life.

It is the Great

144

INSTINCT

AND

HEALTH

whose conjuring
and crimson
Spirit
up by the emerald
and hemoglobin,created all wonwizards, chlorophyll
derful
forms
of life in both vegetableand animal
clouds
kingdoms. Embodied
sunlightis all we are
of watery vapour
in human
shape,shot through with
golden lightlike the crimson gloriesof the sunset.
But grantingall this,it is also true that sunlight,
like
We may
fire,
though a good servant, is a bad master.
of it for the best interests of our
cal
physiget too much
that while in
vigour,and it is well to remember
the cloudynorthern clime,which was
the home of our
modern
it was
almost impossibleto get
civilisation,
much
too
sunlightor daylight,this is by no means
in the tropicsor even
in the brilliantly
sunlit
true
regions into which many of us have migrated on this
"

side of the Atlantic.

Part of the sun's rays at both
the ultra-violet and the red, are

ends
now

of the spectrum,
known

to

be not

and destructive
only non-beneficial but in excess irritating
of destroytissues. It is upon this power
to living
ing
ment
freshlygrown tissues that their effect in the treatof new
and lupus,depends.
growths,like cancer
The whole subjectis stillin its infancyand has been
little investigated
do more
cannot
so
as
yet that we
than simply sound a note of warning againstexcesses
of enthusiasm
for either sunshine
violet light.
or
This much
know
cess
we
already,that these rays in exare
injuriousto livingtissues and, as has been
of many
of our tropical
stated,the adaptations
plants
and animals in the way
of colouringand nocturnal
habits are in the nature
of protections
againstexces-

INSTINCT

146

hausts

just

well

as

sheer

as

in

the

possibly

quite
in

houses

such

living

resemble

resort

utter

in

the

caves

latter

and

as

we

siesta

closely

as

races

their

semi-tropic

one

their

making

not

habit.

or

and
at

was

all

ancestors

tropic
as

led

this

to

in

fools

certainly
has

primitive

residing

now

It

heat.
which

to

our

were

HEALTH

laziness

tropics

contemporaries
regions

of

excess

tropical

residing
Nor

AND

time

posed,
sup-

earliest

possible.

CHAPTER

REAL

THE

ANGELS

IN

VII

THE

HOUSE

FRESH

IT

is

nature

of the

one

that

most

while

in

instincts of the natural

matter

of house

challengethem

well that abundance

of all

AIR

curious
most
man

buildingand
at

almost

AND

SUNSHINE

"

are

paradoxes of human
matters
hygienic the
to

house

every

turn.

be

trusted,in the

habits

We

we

have

know

of fresh air is the firstvital

to

very
sity
neces-

breathing creatures; and yet we shut and

lock our
windows, draw the double curtains,and pile
the coal. We
know
that the real place to live is
on
in the open
air,that at least half our waking hours
should be spent in it,and yet we
avoid it,as if it were
a
pestilence.Rushing from our cliff-dwellers' apartment
closets into a tightlyclosed and heated car
or
trolley,
by choice one
running underground if it is
within
this into our
dash from
steamreach, we
heated offices providedwith swinging doors and rubber-edged
sashes to shut out that pestilence,
fresh air.
Business over, we
again flyby the shortest possible
I/Oa,
where we
route
to another
hermeticallysealed room,
dine, and for relaxation we repairto a packed and
reeking den, called a theatre,as innocent of any atof Calcutta,
tempts at ventilation as the Black Hole
where, crowded shoulder to shoulder with from 2,000

INSTINCT

148

AND

other human
3,000
breathe the emanations

from

teeth for three hours.

box

wheels

on

Then

by
and

Then

the

talk of the

we

nearest

to

so

breathe

beings,we

to

condition

HEALTH
and

their

lungs,skins,and
home
in a semi-asphyxiated
underground tube or

bed.
"terrible

strain"

nervous

strain of modern
citylife! The worst
life is not on the brain,but on the lungs. Apart
its foul air,citylife is the easiest,
happiestand
modern

Of

re-

of

city
from
tically
prac-

the healthiest life yet invented.

for this singular
there is a reason
state
course

affairs;
we

Our

to.

come

choice

quiteso

not

are

between

bad

house

senseless
habits

all that would

as

the result of

are

evils,a confusion

of

and

clash of poses.
purbuilt either

never
primitivehouse was
for good ventilation or for sunlight.For the matter
of that,primarilyit was
intended for a house
never

The

or

home

only for
night or

in the modern
a

temporary

in

shelter from

storms.

the

fiercerand

sense

of the

term

at

all,but

place of refuge during the

It was
originallya place of

elements, from

wild

beasts, from

dangerous human enemies.

Its firstand most
that it
was
requisite
indispensable
be safe,no matter
how dark and stuffy.If the
must
Gothic cathedral was
"a prayer in stone,"the primitive
! And the
house was
a fear in stone
emphatically
even

worst

of

stone

Though we
the morning
years,

our

more

is that it is so
have

lain down

durable.
at

nightand

in peace and safetynow

houses stillshow in every

deadly traces

arisen in

for hundreds

of

line of them

the

of this ancient obsession of fear.

The

THE
trouble

was

REAL

dips of

two

got

we

ANGELS

149

it. One

the very

at

recently
beginningof things,and the other comparatively
in the Middle
Ages.

The

first permanent

to

of their strong
the

Dordogne
of

Some

points. It

or

modern

our

the

race

safe, but ventilation

caves,
one

of

houses

Solutre

is

for

not

not

exactly
to

necessary

proof of

bedrooms

dark

questionabl
un-

were

are

go

this fact.

cient
quitesuffi-

nothing of certain halls and

churches which
make
one
sympathise with Mr. A.
in the Egypwhen
Ward's plaintive
remark
tian
lecturing
the Egyp"I wish that when
Hall, Piccadilly:
tians
built this hall they had provided some
means

proof, to

say

for its ventilation."

Witness
to

crawl

corners

into

we

corner

bed.
as

There

the

darkest

find when

can

if it be

even

extraordinarytendencyobservable

also the

nothingmore

under
is

stuffiest holes

and

sick,or frightened,
sleepy,
substantial than

the bedclothes

no

need

and

for

us

at

to

the darkest

the foot

jeerat

of the

the ostrich

the foolish bird.

When,

however, we had invented the club and the

uprightlong enough to use them,
spear, and walked
threw off this monkey terror
and mustered up courwe
age
enough to live boldlyupon the face of the green
earth in tents and bark huts or lean-tos,
confident that
the bighands could keep our heads againsteven
our
gest
and the fiercest of our
enemies.
This period
mercifullylasted a long time and is the one to which
we
are
now
harking back in our attempts, feeble and
timorous at firstwith no other hope than that of cur-

INSTINCT

150

AND

HEALTH

but which are now

expanding
consumptives,
toward
into a great, hopeful,sun-lit world-movement
the open air.
the reconquest of our
heritage,
with the passingof the hunting
But unfortunately

ing a

few

the age of feudalism,of the

and the clouds of feartown,

and

pastoralages came
of the walled
fortress,

againgatheredover the house. Walls were

reduced to
thick to resist attack,windows
made
were
slitsjustbig enough to shoot out of,but as small
mere
hostile arrows.
and tunnel-like as possible
to keep out
Huts and houses were
crowded
togetherso that a wall
for defense in case
could readilybe thrown
around
of sudden attack.
In short,half the bad features of
obsession

the

cave

architecture

these last remain

We

alas !

blame

cannot

of
choice in the

matter

even

the Cave

the

the

revived and

were

traces

of

the present day.

Man
or
our
grandfather
great-great-

to

Middle

Ages.

except between

They
two

had

evils.

no

And

morning with
a
stuffyand achinghead and having that important
decoratingthe end of a
portion of your anatomy
pikeor hanging from a saddle bow, he properlychose
and
the former.
It helps us greatlyto understand
have patience with that extraordinaryand
abject
of

course

dread

between

of fresh air in the

obstacle

in

our

in

waking

the

house,which is our
at

attempts

most

ous
seri-

rational ventilation,

genesisof it. It is not so much the

in fear of,
fresh air itself,
the cold that we
are
or
it is the Terrible Things
rows,
as
snakes, panthers,arbullets,hobgoblinsand vampires, cats and
which we have had dinned into us for hunburglars,
to

remember

the

"

ANGELS

REAL

THE

151

in with it.
that might come
dreds of centuries past
That survival of the Dark Ages, the Burglar Dread
"

half of humanity,
primitive
for more
tightlyclosed
probablyresponsible

alone,strongest in the
is
windows
than

foul

and

almost

any

Incredible

as

it may

fears and

theymay

now

The

the

to

Air

and

placingof

Sunshine

the house.

spread of

am

of disease: that it

architects and
slavish

as

most

ideas

modern

that
builders

advice

must

to

as

to

the prevention

begin with

the

succeeded

in

break

imitation

away

of

from
the

grandparents.
getting

the

mere

antique,the
classic and the picturesque,
and to utilise the superb
control of forms, of openings and of exposures
new
and
firstof wood
which the toughnessand plasticity
have giventhem, a veritable
later of steel and concrete
is openworld-field of architectural possibilities
new
ing.
such choice as is permittedus, by
By exercising
trol
choosingthe good and refusingthe bad, we can conof our homes
the structure
and position
to a very
considerable degree.
Moreover, builders are eager to follow the popular
of the most
features of our
taste, and one
striking
and

brainless

is the proper
that to many

sadlyaware
about as practical
as Oliver

have

we

Angels of

of the

into the home

will appear
famous
Holmes's

Now

ludicrous

healthyhomes.

statement

Wendell

vague

of the realest and

one

first step for the admission

Fresh

this

are

appear,

of ventilation and

singlefactor.
these
at first sight,
seem

terrors, baseless and

obstacles

substantial

in better-class houses

bedrooms

other

ancestral

most

INSTINCT

i52

AND

HEALTH

ing
city development is the vast and gratifyand
lightness,
improvement in both healthfulness,
Even the much-abused
beauty of modern cityhomes.
flat or tenement, when
and
constructed intelligently
scientificlines,is not only far more
comfortable,
on
modern

but wholesomer

detached

cottage

The

ago.

healthier in every

and
or

model

fifty
years
and ventilated
is better lighted
front,while nothingas ideal

tenement

human

in any previous
age
of suburban
homes.
makes

the better

our

been invented

ever

or

hammer

than another, it
viciously

that

has

even

If there be

for

long

me

comfort

as

the

of

farmhouse

average

than the brownstone

for wholesome

than

way

average

class

tradition that

one

eagerly and

more

old delusion

is the absurd

forefathers built better houses

than

we

"of

these

degeneratedays."
It is the exception
that a house more
and fifty
years old is fit to live
been, like Mrs. Peyser'sCraig,"made
of

that
prejudice
to

the

The

different."

made

we

have

contend

the darkness,the
draughtiness,

So

dred
hun-

in unless it has

again and

over

with

form

in attempting

ventilate houses is the result of the

dampness,

coldness and

eral
gen-

of the old houses.

abominableness

lutely
they,that it was absoinherently
draughtywere
and aperture
window
to keep every
necessary

shut and battened

the lowest

in winter time in order

degreeof

beingopened by

The

livable warmth.

of the last century did

that it would be
so

of

to

one

troublesome

most

next

than

any

to

maintain

carpenters

dow
hang a winand yet capable
weather-tight

not

one

know

how

except

to

trained athlete

INSTINCT

154

HEALTH

AND

massive
Only the houses which were extraordinarily
and substantially
built in the olden time have survived
ples
to be pointedout
to us of these feebler days as examof

the

age

when

the sanitarian

What

few of them

is most

thingswould do
community than a
of every

year.

how

"knew

thankful

to

build."

for is that

so

did survive.

Few
the

men

Then

worst

and
cliff-dwellings
built at all,and our
and responsive
to

law

when

house
our

more

to

promote

providingfor
it had

reached

tion
the destrucits fiftieth

monstrosities in the way

child-smotherers

would

architecture would
our

the health of

real needs

never

remain

instead

of

of
be

plastic
being a

perpetuallycrushes us with the

burden of our
past mistakes and stupidities.
The
days when a man's house was not merely his
like
castle figuratively,
but built as nearlyas possible
the days when
houses
one
are
actually,
past. And
built as monuments
to perpetuate the prideand
were
conceit of individuals through successive generations
Let each generationbuild
ought to pass with them.
Frankenstein

which

for itselfand

not

saddle the future with indestructible

and permanent monuments

of itsmistakes and defects.
tances
Most of these old structural difficultiesand inheri-

through improved
overcoming now
windows, and
workmanship,weight-hungplate-glass
modern
which latter,defective as
systems of heating,
theyare, are the firstapproachto anythingthat could
be called adequate. But the last foe of fresh air in
the house is stillliving
and that isthe proband active,
lem
of heating.
we

are

THE
A

REAL

certain modicum

vital

room

ANGELS

of warmth

in

155
our

habitations

is

and has been ever

lost the
since we
necessity
and discarded our
ing.
facultyof hibernating
furry coatwell practically
admit that before
We
as
may
this every
other consideration
must
inevitablygo
If we
down.
devise some
cannot
means
by which
freshness of air in our
be made
can
sistent
conliving-rooms
with a reasonable degree of warmth
we
may
well throw up the problem.
as
The inadequacy,yes futility,
of the old systems of
heatingis the real hydra-head that faces us at every
in the studyof ventilation. The principal
turn
objection
sides of every room
two
on
to-day to windows
and an abundance
of lighteverywhere is not the expense
of glassbut that too much
window
space makes
Ever
of

difficultto heat.
since

men

crowding

began
house

to

shake

off the senseless habit

againstanother in solid
born of the days of sheltering
fortifications,
they
rows,
have begun to fall under the only less disastrous spell
of clustering
togetherand cuttingdown window
space
and outside wall for warmth
and protection
from cold
one

up

in winter.
But

this

difficulty
can,

with

improved
methods
of construction
and
modern
our
heating
with a little intelligent
plants,be largelyovercome
determination.
Houses
well as men
as
are
becoming
more
independent,less afraid to stand alone,and
even

our

"With
a frolic welcome, greet
The thunder and the sunshine."

INSTINCT

156

Moreover,

HEALTH

AND

largerpercentage of the populationare

homes
than ever
fore
beowning and buildingtheir own
is master
in any previousage. Man
not
merely
of his fate,but of his house to a higherdegree than
ever

before.

The

firstand

of the

tions
importantconsiderain the buildingor choosingof the house is its
disputedand
aspect. This pointhas been wrathfully
of the
most
vigorouslythrashed out, but fortunately

competent
mind

of

when

the

under

one

authorities
the

director

now

about

in the frame

the country

on

the
questionof repainting

discussion.

other

The

equallydivided

were

are

most

between

school

board

schoolhouse

was

of the board

members
white

of

with

green

ters,
shut-

trimmings, but he listened

nothing. Finallynoticinghis
contributing
silently,
silence and exhausted by their own
eloquence,they
and

turned

slate with

him

to

and

white

asked him

for his

opinion:

Paint it any
"Oh," he said,"I don't care a durn.
it's red!"
colour you like,
s'long's
house asthe residuum
of all disputations
And
pects
on
has

aspect, in
but the
or

There

settled
practically
fact,from east by south

now

nearer

it falls

to

on

to

the central

southeast; any
south
norm

by

east;

east,
of south-

"sou'-sou' east" in nautical terms, the better.

for an eastern
for a long time a preference
was

mental
of ceremonial and sentilargely
of the old sun-worship
origin,
partlya remnant
days,coupled with the belief that all our civilisation

aspect.

came

But this was

from

the east, which

: To
European expression

stillsurvives in the curious

i.e.,
"Orientiren" one's self,

THE
"turn

REAL

the

toward

ANGELS

east,"in the
also

bearings. Partly

157

from

gettingone's

of

sense

later

tenderer

and

of the

memories

where

"Little window

the

sun

peeped gladlyin

at

inferior
grounds,however, it is distinctly
practical

On

either southeast

to

fewer

hours

in the

hour

of the much

account

in the winter

is of value, and

undesirable

an

on

dailysunshine

sunshine

all our
at

of

south

or

of sunshine

excess

an

time when

when

summer

ought

we

i. e.t from four to

takingour real beauty sleep,
in the morning.
seven
The
advantages of the southeast aspect are few but
of sunshine
the year
weighty, viz., the maximum
in winter,when
it is of greatest
around, particularly
be

to

value, with the maximum

coolness

at

night in

of breeze

the

and

time.

summer

It is easy

off any excessive amount

of sunshine
and blinds,besides which no one
screens
cut

in the bedrooms

daytime in
the

or

livingrooms
but

summer,

out

on

consequent

by awnings,
ought to be

of the house
the

to

in the

under

porchesor

trees.

But

no

sunshine

device yet has been discovered

in at a north window.
While

franklyadmitted
master,

and

climate in the

that

that
too

summer

to

bringthe
it may

sunshine, like fire,is

much

of

time may

it in

our

promoting of

bad

American

be, and often actually

is,injurious,
yet it is a splendidand matchless
in the

be

servant

healthfulness of the house, for

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

158

It is the
substitute has yet been discovered.
foe alike of bacilli and "the blues" ; the best tonic ever

which

no

and for
scalp,
complexionrestorer,

for the

for the liver and

yet invented

everythingbetween, the only real

all

By

build and

means

arrange

your

house

of sunshine

get all there is to be had

can

you
ten

disease.

the deadliest foe of dirt and

and

that

so

during

It is simpleenough to shut
of the year.
during the fraction of the other two, when you

months

it out

it all."But

don't need
orthodox
of the

of

owner

street

have your

"

will

"desirable

inquireat

lot"

not, if sunshine

"why

house

why,"

face due

on

some

once

the north

is what

side

want,

we

south, and thus get all the

At
southwest as well as southeast?
possible,
the same
time,put yourselfsquare with the street and
the world?"
There are few thingsmore
curious,and
than this
from many
pointsof view more
regrettable
American
extraordinary
passionof ours for "squareness."
It is second only in unfortunateness
to
our
belief that "Satan finds some
mischief
health-racking
stillfor idle hands to do."
It is asserted by esoteric
moralists to be mysteriouslyand basallyrelated to
ter.
"squareness"of conduct and uprightnessof characBut it has done more
than any other one
thing
to
destroy the beauty of our otherwise attractive,
with almost as
park-likevillagesand country towns
and more
lawns than pavetrees
as
citizens,
many
ments
sunshine

and

to

in winter, and

the other

our

rooms

half

cold and

blazinghot

less
sun-

in the

months.

summer

If

half of

render

we

must

choose

precise
pointof

the compass

for

THE

REAL

ANGELS

159

and

in deadlymonotonous
ploteverything
rection
checkerboard
let that fixed difashion,by all means
east,
be a diagonalfrom the northwest to the southand its correspondingrightangle. A due south
streets

our

front

means

due

north

back

and

due

west

side.

of
giving an abundance
winter sun, will get a perpetualblaze all through the
The
second will practically
summer.
never
get any
at any time of the year, except in the long summer
sun
afternoons ; and the third,or west, will get a perpetual
The

first of

these, while

of the sun's rays

exhaustingtime of the day, so

bombardment

retire

to

them

to

sizzlingand

fail

By facingthe
a

moderate

and

to

yet it will have

that when

southeast,every

of

sun

the southwest

more

the hottest and

we

most

attempt

night,they are still baking and

night.
cool off properlyuntil after mid-

house

amount

though

get rather

at

at

aspect will get

of the year;
side of the house will still

at

every

season

of the
the

westerlysun than is desirable,

advantage of being tempered by

time is almost
night breeze, which in the summer
invariablyfrom the south or southwest.
used bedrooms,
But livingrooms
and the most
constantly
especiallyfor the youngest and the oldest
of the family,should be placed by prefermembers
ence
the south and southeastern aspects, partlyto
on
in summer
avoid the glare of the westerlysun
time
curious reason
which we
and partlybecause, for some
do not understand, but which any gardener or flower
of from practical
lover can
to the correctness
testify
experience,
westerlysunlightis not as valuable for
a

INSTINCT

160

growth

It has

eastern.

as

that

formula

AND

expresseditself in the
morning sunshine is worth
even

of

hour

one

HEALTH

Plants
plantthan two of the afternoon.
that will flourish superblyupon the eastern
eastern
southor
side of a house will spindleand run
to stalk
small and imperfectflowers on
the western
or
posure.
exto

more

should also learn

We

the

to

pointsof

alignmentwith

the

to

the

be

ery
independentof this slavand to parade-like
compass

in the internal arrangements

of the house.
If for any reason
the house be on the
south side of the street, or the main
approach to it
from

street

the north, then do

not

the interior arrangements

most

south
rooms

hesitate

to

of the house

simply reverse
make

and

the

and bedrooms
face the
importantlivingrooms
the kitchen, dining-room and
and
reception
toward
the front, or north.
Let your
dows
wintoward, not Jerusalem,but the sun-god
open

wherever
The

you

may

dwell.

thing is

next

to

break

from

away

squareness

obsession,of outline.

of

economy,

The

that other

basis of this is

enclose

justas much
with as littleexpenditure
of building
space as possible
material. Also to save
by making all angles
expense
the number
of corners
or
rightanglesand diminishing
and at the same
time to giveas little
slopingjointures,
surface exposure
to the exterior for the wasting of
heat or the contact
As a
of cold winds as is possible.
course

result,our
to

look

or

trying to

country and

like

so

many

littleshorter.

small

town

houses

dry-goodsboxes, a
The

"soul"

have

come

littlelonger

of the average

Ameri-

INSTINCT

162

AND

HEALTH

has
for quaintness,
to be "different,"
or
or
variety,
perhapsbecome a fad,and like other fads has been
carried
the

not
are

times

at

to

absurd

extremes.

But in the main

stinct
tendencyis a sound one, like most popularinbeneficialin itsresults,
and is distinctly
giving
which
but also rooms
onlyan attractive exterior,
and in their light-openbeautiful in their outlines,
ings,
and

attractivewith far lessexpense

be made

can

and
in the matter of colors,
furniture,
complexity
an
hangings,which latter in the sanitary
eye are
and

abomination.
The
room

are

those that

that the

Now

the walls of a
pictures
upon
be seen throughitswindows.
can
has justbegun to throw off the

beautiful

most

race

shackles of the cave-fortressdread,and

the almost

and injurious
equally
bondage to economy
repressive
of building
material and labour and savingof fuel,
it has really
at last begun to build houses which are
for human plants
to flourishand bloom
proper places
in. We
stead
for ourselves inare
buildinggreenhouses
of for

our

flowers.

certain defects from

"Glass houses" may have

pointof view, but
catapultic

one.
priceless
vantages from a hygienic
be afraid of making your house even

aestheticfriend may

dub

an

So do
what

not

your

"architectural crazy

quilt."
Our

of Queen Anne
excellent peoplein their way,

*y

ancestors

and Tudor

times

were

perhapsthat
had been invented up to that date;but theywere
unin their personal
hadn't the
habits,
speakably
filthy
let alone of drainremotest
of ventilation,
conception

FU*"^-

the best

THE
age

REAL

as

were

sewerage;

or

ANGELS

163

afraid of

bath

the

as

holy water, and used strong perfumes,like

musk
the reek of packed and
and civet,
to overpower
artistic
steaming humanity that occupied their most
devil is of

dark

but
The
you,

and

unventilatable houses.

business of your house

not
your dead and gone

is to express

and

serve

while

And

ancestors.

preservingall that there may be of dignityand beauty

and simplicity
in the architectural past, the modern
house should strike boldlyout and subserve the needs
of the present. With
all its defects,inconsistencies
it eliminates to a greater degree
and even
absurdities,
than

before

ever

of all times

the three deadliest disease breeders

darkness,dampness and foul air.

"

if it does

Even

cost

little more

winter

time,if old ladies of both

of

corner

its

comical
the

rooms

turrets

dank

and

as

and

bay
drafty,and

and

house

it in the
some

oriel windows

if it does

in the summer,

heat

heat

objectto

sexes

cellar-like coolness

walled and small-windowed

intolerable

to

of

the

not

old

or

possess

thick-

in the few weeks

of

these

disadvantages
the mere
dust of the balance in comparison. In
are
fact,most of them are, from a sanitary
pointof view,
advantages in disguise.
In those

rooms

in which windows

on

two

not
aspects can-

be used as
can
largetransom
is an advantage from a
substitute. The
transom
a
door, especially
hygienicpoint of view over
every
where halls are properlyventilated and providedwitK
of their own
windows
at least one
more
or
opening
air. A littleintelligent
to the outer
directly
planning
be

secured,an

extra

will

AND

INSTINCT

i64

usuallybe

able

to

secure

HEALTH
for those

which

rooms

of cross
onlyupon one side a possibility
hall window, allowinga free
ventilation through some
current
through the transom, or through the transom
the oppositeside of the
of a room
and windows
on
hall.
It is also a great protection
againstsummer
to
heat, a procurer of healthful sleepon hot nights,
have the doors of all rooms
opening upon hallways
doors,
providedwith slat or Venetian three-quarter
that cross
ventilation can
be secured through the
so
doorways without interference with privacy.
house
Another
of the emancipationsof the modern
lies in its choice of a site. Up to a century and a half
afraid to build upon
were
hill-tops,
partly
ago men
from fear of exposure
to the north winds, which they
of
unable to guard againston
account
were
utterly
of
draftiness and
ludicrouslyinadequate methods
heating,partlyfrom lack of water supply. Hence
of the best and even
most
imposinghouses were
many
built in "a sheltering
hollow of the hills,"which
that water
meant
under, around and through their
ran
cellars after a heavy rainstorm,justas it does through
if theywere
the eaves-gutters of a roof. And
further
screened by "a belt of woodland," this meant
they
liable to be damp the greater part of the year.
were
ing
In fact,the greatest difficulty
find in dealwhich we
with old houses in England or on the Continent of
Europe lies in the awful holes and quagmires and
have windows

dark, swampy
were

their

hollows

built.
own

They must
supply and

in which
be

near

many

of these houses

the water,

for their horses

both

and

for

cattle.

had

no

built close

by

They

ANGELS

REAL

THE

water

pressure

the side of

165

in

systems,

consequently

over
actually
celebrated
springsand wells. The beautiful villages
in song and story which dot the lovelyEnglishcountry
of them littlebetter than perpetualtyphoid,
are
many
of this valley-see
account
on
swamps,
ague, and diphtheria
habit of growth.
water-loving
Nor
have we
altogetherescaped from this water
bondage on this side of the Atlantic. Ride out in any
direction through our
rich farming country and you

will
the

dozens

see

and

or

cases

some

of houses

scores

that

are

built in

possibleplace on the entire farm from a

well or
sanitary
pointof view in order to be near some
roundings
springand "convenient for the stock." Their surmal
turned into a foul-smelling
are
bog of anidoesn't dry up until
excreta
every winter,which
late in the spring; while
beautiful,breezy, welldrained knolls lie all around
them, which a windmill
the utilisation of a well upon
or
a gasoleneengine or
some
higherpart of the farm would enable them to
worst

The

occupy.
up

these; but the farmer

onto
too

Those

farmer's wife is often anxious

far away
from
who live like or

likelyto die
which

now

like

his beloved
too

sheep.

makes

And

close

to

to

move

self
put him-

hogs and cattle.

hogs are pretty

this is

one

of the factors

the death-rate

country districts higher than

with the slums included.
even
The

declines

to

of many
healthy
that of the great cities,

that the bitter old jestof

cynichas remarked
Vespasian,"It is safer to be Herod's pig than his
son," might be appliedto a certain percentage of our

INSTINCT

i66

farmingpopulation. The
the farmer

HEALTH

AND

is centred

real

prideand

in his barns

and

affection of

his

lots." Such trivial affairs as the house and

be left

may

The

cellar or

house

or

which

mould

us

that

have

of shoes

other

or

they had

closet of
ground-floor

the old-fashioned

happened to live in them will remember

special
precautions
againstthe moulding

took

we

folks."

of the average
farmhouse of to-dayin
of
will not form is the exception.Most

even

who

the "women

to

"feedingthe garden

be

to

leather articles

kept

that the

garments
closets. When

in such

when

or

we

member
re-

majorityof our disease germs

either moulds
themselves or belongto the mould
are
family,we can grasp something of the profound sig^-nificanceof this fact for health.
of
and hundreds
Though it has been said scores
times, I may be pardoned for again repeatingthat
the one and only group of conditions under which disease
can

germs
"*.

vast

live and

retain

their

malignancy until

victim is
transferredto another human
that offered by these old-fashioned houses, viz.,darkness,
dampness, and absence of fresh air. Scarcely
disease has yet been discovered or developed so
a
or
malignant that it can be communicated
caught in
the open air save
Nineby direct personalcontact.
be

they can

tenths of

from
of

corners

disease germs

our
one
rooms

person

until

to

are

not

transferred

rectly
di-

another, but lurk in the

they can

springupon

the

next

victim.
The

old-fashioned
disease.

house

is the very

largepercentage

mother

of infectiou

of the germs

THE

of
to

deadliest

our

and

even,

sunlight
so

houses

by
air

in

and

the

the

of

them

by

the
of

those

deadly

sign

undertake

to

of

live

death
in

Our
that

who

one

rooms

in

of

the
them.

were

of

those

of

family

both

their

foul

successive

each
it.

old

were,

died

behind

direct

forefathers

which

left

in

quickly

some

had

hour

an

well-ventilated

germs

had

victims

half

emphatically

They

of

from

perish

believing

haunted.

167

in

die

air.

open

in

sure

all

memories

and

will

well-lighted,

wrong

were

generation

to

in

nearly

far

ANGELS

diseases

hours

two

not

REAL

It

within

ally
liter-

was

year

CHAPTER

VIII

BATHS

THE

AND

bath instinct goes

under

from

cells are

aquatic

immersed

in

this

To
"

deep and
It has

water.

it since.

BATHERS

far back.

Life

nated
origi-

got very far away

nine-tenths of our
body

never

day

yes, marine

only live
and they

organisms; can
saline solution.
Dry them

die

promptly.
That's why we
love the sea.
It's the water
inside
us
respondingto the surge of the Great Sea-Mother.
Cleanliness is only an incident of bathing. A certain
degree of robust indifference to dirt is necessary
The sturdysavage
to health,both bodilyand mental.
he was
didn't care
clean or dirty,but
a
rap whether
he bathed

chance

every

he could get, for the exhilaration

of it.

Only

the valetudinarian

are

in agony

the

imaginationin

Therefore

if not

cold
The
Don't

water

as

chief value
make

it's doing you

is in the
cold

the model

clean.
spotlessly

both

Don't
you

and

of

Seldom

disease of

Use

soap.

use

enjoy.
bathing lies in

as

its exhilaration.

If you don't enjoy it,

good of the morning bath

of it.

penance

harm.

It's

cases.

scrub.

can

housekeeper

The

reaction,the glow that follows

plunge itself. Cold

in

general,and

it,not
cold

in the

water

in

INSTINCT

iyo

HEALTH

AND

have made
we
Christianity,
hurt.
a fetich of the cold tub and worshipped it to our
Many a one who is hurt by it and hates it,endues it
with a sort of moral virtue on account
of its disagreehimself
for the unpleasant
ableness,and blames

man's

Muscular
religion,

effects.

"

only such a temperature as you can enjoy

reaction.
either in the stingingshock or the prompt
of his tub
Even
Sampson should temper the frigidity
enables him to lie in it for at
to that degree which
least half a minute
with comfort, for the shock of
sudden
cold,like that of muscular overstrain,has its
after fifty,
when
the arteries are
dangers,especially
Delilah should take hers less
losingtheir elasticity.
then

Use

Arctic

yet, and

the

so

aged, for

down

on

the line

to

invalid

the

only a few degreesbelow

blood heat is cold enough. One simple rule for all:
The
best temperature
is the one
that givesthe best
and consequently
most
reaction,
pleasure.
The tub is better than any splashor shower, because
it alone givesthat peculiaralteration of the basis of
support of the body which is the charm of swimming.
While we
stand, all our internal organs hang as it
from our backbones,when we liedown
were
vertically
from
they rest upon the backbone or hang laterally
it toward either side accordingto our position.
When
under water
all this is changed,the pressure
we
are
is practically
the same
the liver,
all surfaces,
on
lungs,
spleen,intestines float in a water-bath and entirely
and

whom

alter their relations to

one

another.

and blood vessels is equalised

or

Pressure

on

heart

kinks floated
relieved,

BATHS
and

AND

BATHERS

171

of
generalreplacementand gravity-massage
the great viscera takes place.
Few
stand the full tub in some
cannot
form, if
properlymodified,and taken as all baths should be, in
But for those who cannot,
a reasonably
warm
room.
have not' the facilitiesfor it,the cold or cool splash
or
is an excellent substitute. For this only a basinful of
is required.Plunge the hands into it and splash
water
or
"pat" it rapidlyover the body. To beginwith, the
neck and arms, and gradually
extend it day after day
until the whole upper
half of the body is splashed,
out

is

convenient

rule.

the most
stand
can
Nearly any one, even
delicate,
this splash-bath
in a warm
and it is a splendid
room,
"cold preventive,"
tonic and appetiserand the best
catarrh cure
the market.
The vigorouscan extend
on
it to the entire body, or finish off by pouring a pitcher
of water

over

the head

while

standing in
This latter,
by the
sacred

tub of the

for every
cleanliness.
The

shower-bath

and

down

the back

and

chest

largedish-panor portabletub.
the original
form of the
way, was
factory
Englishman and is perfectlysatisa

purpose

has

its

of both

exhilaration

and

advantages,but they are

economic.
It is cheaperto install,
takes up
chiefly
less room
and in publicbaths,requiresfar less water
in keepingthe tubs clean.
per capitaand less expense
It is very littlesuperiorto the hand
splash,if not
properlyhandled may give a more
dangerous shock
than the tub and is distinctly
inferior to the latter in
effects.
comfort,exhilaration and "liver floating"

The

routine

the skin and

use
a

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

i72

of soap

in

full bath is an

reflectionupon

severe

the

insult to

of
efficiency

this great
skin is the

human
The
protective
coveringof ours.
beautiful fabric in
most
wonderful, most
the world, and we
don't half appreciateits marvellousness.
Flexible as silk,resistant as steel,colour'
tinted like the petalof a flower,but tough as leather,
almost translucent to light,
but the most
conductor
superbnonof heat and
Its

electrical currents

is unconquerable,
its power
vitality

known.

most
repairalunlimited,with a vascular mesh capableof containing
half the blood in the body, it can
adjustitself
of temperature.
With nearly
to almost
any extreme
three millions of flushing
it is absolutely
sweat-glands,
No contamination
of any sort can cling
self-cleaning.
to it for long,because its surface is constantly
changing
cells
by the dying of the flattened and superficial
and their falling
Shut an arm
off in dailyshowers.
or
in a plaster
of Paris cast, as in a fracture,for
a limb
instance,let it remain in positionfor three weeks,
then take it off,and you will find merely a handful of
human
This

bran

which

branny powder

has

accumulated

is made

up

of

in its interior.

of thousands

of almost

invisible delicate

scales,which under
epithelial
normal
conditions are
continuallyshed and rubbed
from
the surface
of the body, carrying with
them all the impurities
have attached to
that may
them.
Little

through the skin,even the medicines

which are rubbed in and supposed to be absorbed,are
volatilised by the heat of the body and inhaled
chiefly
can

get

BATHS

by

the

colour

AND

lungs,or else
or

act

BATHERS
on

the

173

imaginationby their

odour.

this,however, only when let alone. It has its

own
coatingof delicate,fattysubstances,
water-proof
brought up to and spreadupon itssurface by the sweat
glands. The alkali of soap promptly unites with this
and removes
it,leavingthe surface dry and harsh.
Tiny cracks form, dirt works into these,which requires"scrubbing out," often with stronger soap.
This deepens the cracks still more
and so the silly
All

drama

proceeds. Only

the best and

mildest

of soaps

skin,and these restricted

feet.
to the hands, face and
occasionally,
Even here they should only be used for known
taminations
conbing
and visible dirt. Strong soaps and scrubdefeat the very purpose
for which they are used
and work the dirt in,except on the toughestskins.

should be used

Even
as

hot water

far

as

Wait

for hands

as
possible,

lubricant and
more

the human

on

come

soap

and

floats and

washes

skin-

wash

off

cold water.

brings the rest up to the

glandsare continuallybubbling
up
any

surface.

mildly
impurity
a

of "the

face.
pores" and depositsit upon the free surYou couldn't,
by the way, "clog" these "pores"
than
could
an
ordinary dirt any more
you

artesian well.
like

with mild

Never

dry.

till nature

alkaline flood which

with

face should be avoided

it also dissolves nature's

leaves the surface

than will

Thesweat

out

and

Then

the cells,
which

coat

this surface

ing
roof,are constantly
dying and falloff in literal showers, carryingall the impurities
with them.
Under
modern
it is
civilised conditions,

shingleson

INSTINCT

i74
hard

to

get

enough

AND
dirt

to

HEALTH
accumulate

the skin

on

to

damage it.
It is easy

injureit by scrubbingand strong soaps.

Pimples, "blackheads," and a bad complexion generally
have nothingto do with "dirtiness" or failure
often made
to wash, and are
worse
by scrubbing and
borax.
of the skin and complexion,
In the treatment
is the safest guide. Let the skin
a masterlyinactivity
alone,and treat other organs of the body. But that
to

is another story.
Now, as to hot baths,these also have

their

uses

and

their drawbacks.

ity,
They have two distinct fieldsof utilthe one
in the
as
purelymechanical or cleansing,
popular weekly hot bath; the other, for justthe opposite
function of the cold bath, soothingand relaxing
instead of toningup and invigorating.
As to their
for purelysanitary
little
and cleansing
use
purposes,
needs to be said,excepting
to pointout that as a means
of constant
and continual cleanliness,
ferior
they are far incool bath.
to the dailycold or
Cool water, withoutsoap,
will keeptheskin
used daily,

both cleaner and healthier and

condition

than

if the former
whatever

hot water

be

and

in

soap

comfortable

more
once

used, there
regularly

is no

for the latter. As has been

week, and
real

sity
neces-

pointedout

in

the discussion of soap, the great thing to be avoided

in bathingis takingtoo much of the natural lubricant
out

and

of the skin.

Almost

any

one

who

is of

at

all thin

will have noted that the morning

epidermis,
after a typicalhot scrub the skin is inclined to
feel dry and harsh and to respondto any irritation
delicate

AND

BATHS

BATHERS

175

be offered to it by flannels or
that may
with unusual asperity.This degree of

underwear

drynessand

twice a week,
harshness,however, produced once
or
seriousness.
is of no special
Stiff scrubbingbrushes of all sorts and descriptions
are
usuallynot only of no advantage,but are often
to the greater part of the surface
injurious
distinctly
of the

body, and their use should be confined to the

nails and the tough leatherysurfaces like the palms
and the soles. The popularity
of the weekly hot bath
institution is of course
as
an
very largelydue to the
fact that many
houses are not provided with a supply
of citywater, or water
under pressure, and that consequently
bathing has to be carried out in water which
is heated
into the

bath-room, or

it

wash

of the
more

stove

and

then carried

commonly yet, dumped

der
Unby the side of the kitchen stove.
these circumstances,
it is an admirable
and necessary
institution. But from a cleansing
pointof view,
be almost
dispensed with in those houses
may

into

blessed
This

is

the back

upon

one

with

modern

is the bath par

of the secrets

cleanliness.
it is sure

tub

to

No

matter

contain

some

bath-room.

Japanese,and
of their remarkable
personal
the hut may
how
be,
poor
apparatus for heatingwater

excellence of the

largesized wash-tub or boiler which can be used

for bathing purposes.
Every coolie even regardshis
duty and the greatest
eveningbath as both a religious
luxuryof the day. It is reallyan amusing sightto see
of our
the Japanese coolies upon
California
one
ranches takingtheir familytub.
prange

and

INSTINCT

i76
About
wife

hour

an

before the end

her fire up

begins to get

kettles

or

the head

boilers of

workman

water

to

back from the fieldthis

familycomes
almost the boiling
point. A largetub is

front of the cottage in the open air.

assists his wife to carry out the water

it into the tub.

pour

on

day the good

and a couple of large
simmer.
By the time
of the

of the

has reached

placed in

HEALTH

AND

Then

off

comes

The
and

his scanty clothing,

his wife stands

into the tub he goes, where

until he is clean
him, and scrubs and souses

and
over

to

the

Then
the
jointsatisfaction of both of them.
head of the familygets out of the tub and his wife
promptly takes his place and goes through the same
performance. After this the children in order of
And
then the whole
family arrayed in clean
age.
The panorama
presented
garments goes in to supper.
by a dozen cottages in line going through this duty
of ablution about sunset
is really
a most
entertaining
one.

bringsus, however, to the other use of the hot

bath, and that is its relaxingand soothing effects.
These are very real,and, under proper circumstances,
of great value.
Partlyby virtue of its heat, partlyby
the steam
which
is inhaled in the course
of it,and
the excretory
effect upon
partlyby its stimulating
fect
glands of the skin,the hot bath has a remarkable efin removing aches and pains,or "takingthe soreness
of" tired muscles, and in early disease conout
ditions
This

"break

up

cold," etc.

For

these purposes

near

bedtime, when

it should

taken

the

and the skin may

be
obviously
day'swork is over

at or

safelyremain

INSTINCT

178

hour

HEALTH

it will be even
less so; so that,
chill,
moderate
period of adjustment,say a half

evil effect of
after

AND

a
or

hour, the bather

an

can

in the open

out

go

although,of
air,properlyclothed,with perfectsafety,
it would not be advisable to take a long ride
course,
weather

in cold

or

stand

sit

or

the cold

exposed to

until chilled in this condition.

Indeed, the hot bath

be

used

only as a
stead
relaxer,but as a tonic,and taken in the morning inof at night. It is now
mended
recomquiteextensively
by experts as a substitute for the morning cold
bath

the individual is in such

where

of health
About

two

allowed

to

to

as

from

water.

out

of the tub and

As

head

down

soon

and

more

first steps

bather

he

dries himself

as

is

water

bath sponge, with the

feels in a glow he steps

breakfast with

to

exhilaration

stronger

as

the cold.

rapidlyand vigorously
to
foot, either with his

with the assistance of

or

hot

of

The

tion
condi-

lowered

respond to
hot, not warm,

and

sits down

not

to

into the tub.

run

splasheshimself

goes

be unable

three inches of

or

into it,then

hands

can

would

and

quickly,dresses

almost
be

the

same

sense

experiencedby

vigorousbrother

from

his

the cold

tub.

form
particular

One

Russian, has become

as

to

call for

certain

seldom

such

few words

its name
utilities,
It is

takes

of the hot

any

an

more

washes

While

of mention.
or

or

institution in the land

an

names

excellent bath

are

for the

exercise than
otherwise.

bath, the Turkish

In

he

man

it has

fairlysignificant.
who

never

help and who

other words, it is a
can

AND

BATHS
kind

of

attempted short

for laziness

and

substitute for
be induced
he should

it is an

BATHERS
vicarious

and

cut

dirtiness.

It is used

atonement

largelyas

exercise;and

cannot
while, if a man
exercise at all,it is better that

take any
take a Turkish
to

exceedinglypoor

bath

than

do

nothing,yet

substitute for exercise hi the

nature's best method

air and

179

of blood

purifying,
As a means
of eliminating
sweat.
a healthy
through
the skin in one round, as it were, the poisonousexcreta
which should have been gotten rid of by dailyvigorous
open

exercise it has, of course,

its uses.

But

it is,upon

the

whole, to be classed with those drugs now

which
are
now
reprobatedby the profession,

described

much

so

tersely

That
it is an
"symptom smotherers."
excellent eliminant is clearlyshown
by its extensive
use
by heavy drinkers to rapidlyget rid of the effects

of

No

as

debauch.
man

ought

his work

that he

to

so

cannot

situate himself
least get

at

dailyin the open air.

counsel of perfection,
but
found, if followed, to
run.
or

This
it is

pay

with
two

sounds
one

regard to

hours'
like

which

cise
exermere

would

abundantly in

the

be

long

of course,
that cannot
men
Practically,
many
of
will not or fancy they cannot
get this amount

exercise will find that the Turkish

bath

has

its

uses.

of
popular method
properlyappliedis most
breaking up a
effective. On
the other hand, it is a singularand
of danger, even
here.
The
unexpectedsource
very
It is also much

fact that it is so
is kept at

relied upon
cold, and if

as

resorted to, and

pitchequal to

or

that the temperature

above that of the body,

AND

INSTINCT

i8o

ventilation of the

that the

two-thirds

the

of

it

ever

seen

superb

know

now

we

so-called "colds."

our

colds that I have

worst

which

germs

that

is bad, and

room

the air,renders

plentyof moisture is in
breedingground for the
cause

HEALTH

of

Some

have

been

tracted
con-

"bugs" that were

that was
left there by the last man
cured,and not, as
ward.
is popularly supposed,from
getting chilled afterof fact,it doesn't hurt a reasonAs a matter
ably
deed,
to be chilled. It is,ina particle
healthyman
in

Turkish

valuable

pointof
hygienic
than

mild

bath

the

from

bracer and

tonic

view the Turkish

of

form

debauch, an

of the system by mechanical

means
have been allowed to accumulate
of the

should
"booze-fighters,"

to

From

him.

bath is littlebetter
to

attempt
what

get

should

never

there,or, in the
never

have

out

been

case

put

into it.

This,of
as

remedial

There
other
used
But

who
Turk

course,

it has

is nothingagainstit or

measure
a

wide

in

its congeners,

diseased
definitely

conditions.

field of usefulness,but like every

remedy, may cut both ways, and should onlybe

by skilled hands.
for popularuse it is best adapted to the peoples
it bears, the lazy
invented it and whose names
and

the seldom-washed

Russian.

as
a
Sea-bathing,
specialform
the same
to be judged by much

of the cold
standards.

bath, is

Partlyby
salt contained in the sea water
and partlyby the
stimulating
surge and splashof the surf,it is intensely
to the nerve
endingsof the skin and through them to
the entire system. Moreover, it is a return to primi-

BATHS

BATHERS

AND

and
tive ancestral conditions,
almost

as

The

no

influence

other

element
principal

of the

water.

in the surf will be

sets

to

the

181
nerves

vibrating

can.

be considered

is the

perature
tem-

while a dip
If this be warm,
superb tonic for the strong and

it will be of doubtful value,and

vigorousindividual,
if not carefully
dangerous to the
guarded,positively
be judged
the weakly,or the aged. It may
young,
rule as that appliedto the cold plunge,
by the same
viz.,whether it is succeeded by a prompt feelingof
warmth
But it is so much
and exhilaration.
bother,
much
so
trouble,to get undressed, to put on one's
pointing
bathing suit and get ready for a swim, and so disapall the
and relinquish
to have to turn around
fun that one
of two
had anticipated
at the end
or
three minutes
if the water
happens to be too cold,
that here, as nowhere
is
else in cold bathing, one
stronglytempted to overdo the matter, and remain in
until disagreeably
In
and even
chilled.
injuriously
fact,to lay down a rule of being guided by the results
in sea-bathing
tude
is a littletoo much
like the attiof the monthly nurse
asked whether
who was
she used

thermometer

learn the temperature

to

of

the

baby'sbath.
"Why no," she said,"what's the use? I justputs
the baby right in,and if it's too cold it turns
blue;
and
a

if it's too

hot it

turns

red.

never

bother

with

thermometer!"
One

of

course

of the

it,and the

never

water

assurances

knows

what the temperature

actually
is until he actually
plungesinto
of its warmth
by precedingvie-

INSTINCT

i82

AND

HEALTH

haps
Perunveracious.
proverbially
the best practical
rule that can
be devised is to
the more
bathers who have preceded
venturesome
use
thermometer.
If their cordial
you as a kind of living
asseverations that the water
is "justas warm
as
thing"
anyhissed through chattering
are
teeth,and their
red and their lipsand finger-nails
noses
are
blue,then
"caveat emptor."
Either don't go in at all,if you are
below
feeling
a
quick dash and get rightout again.
par, or make
Never stay in until you feel uncomfortably
chilly.Of
tims

of

are

there

course

which

you

course

will be

will

and
splashing,
the bath

often
under

react

chill,from

momentary

vigorous thrashingand

long as you feel warm

is doing you no harm.
begin to have a sensation
as

able
comfort-

and
The

moment,

of permanent
however, you
if you see the littlecurved part at the
or
chilliness,
of the fingernails (luniila)
root
beginning to turn
blue

dark, then get

or

friends may
think.
You
of course
can

out

react

at

once,

no

matter

what

promptly after

more

your

what
some-

degreeof chillin sea water than in fresh,

of the waves,
account
on
partlyof the slapand tingle
and partlyon account
of the delicate film of saltwhich
the sea water
leaves upon your skin in drying. But
this is at best a broken reed to depend upon, and it is
greater

far better to

than

you

come

Wherever
blue

you

two

or

possiblyhave

could

promptly,than

out

three minutes
stood

it and

sooner

reacted

stay in a minute beyond that period.

individuals mooning about with
see

to

lipsand sniffling
noses, yawning

and

stretching

and

themselves
slapping

warmth

to

surf bath

BATHERS

AND

BATHS

to

try

their bones, you

has done

them

183

to restore

sensation of

be certain that their

may

instead of

harm

good.

bath, there is no benefit whatever

and acute
in heroically
shivering,
enduring chilliness,
As

in the cold

that because
impression
it is disagreeable,
it is manly and bracing,and
will in the long run do you good. Sea bathingshould
be regarded solelyas an enjoyment,
and practised
as
find
such.
The
strong and rugged and red-blooded
it a bracingand exhilarating
indulge
sport, and may
in it freely,
not
only without harm, but with great

discomfort

benefit.
and

in

The

sea

water, under

weak

and

all who
especially

par in any

the

relaxed

know

and

undervitalised,

themselves

to

respect, heart,lungs,kidneysor

be below

what

not,

indulgein it most sparingly.

As usuallypractised,
vigorous
except to a few most
and hardy individuals,
it probably does at least as
much
harm as good. I have known
instances of
many
neurasthenic women,
of rapidlygrowing girls,
of incipien
must

invalids of all sorts, who

the

have

gone

down

to

improved superblyuntil in an evil

moment
they yieldedto the banter and jeersof their
companions and went in for a swim.
of our
Northern
One
coast
dip in the cold waters
of careful
undo all the good of weeks or months
may
rest and upbuilding.It isof course
a great temptation,
the young,
do what
all their comto
to
panions
especially
attitude
to be doing;and the average
are
seen
of the thick-skinned,
red-blooded
animal that enjoys
it,of jeeringat those who^do not as cowards, and
sea

coast

and

INSTINCT

184

AND

should

by

be

all

Young

As

they

severely

who

example
a

felt

like
sea

for

powers

quite

and

welfare

of

if

be

and

taught

of

bathers

it

and

harm,

extensive.

children

which,

into

only
be

as

heart.

at

their

without

went

in

would

repressed

determine

to

It

harm.

own

regard

to

others.

only
stayed

bathing

of

has

that

one

soundly

unobtrusively,

clamour

or

rule,

discouraged

should

is

amount

enormous

an

the

quietly

it,

are

have

people

conduct
the

of

productive

been

Nancys,"

"Miss

and

molly-coddles

HEALTH

it

long

as

almost
is

at

the

surf

as

robbed

present

when

they
of

joyed
en-

its

practised,

i86

INSTINCT

ing and

that the

was

the

HEALTH

AND

hairycoatingdisappearedbecause it
longer necessary is utterlyunsupportedby

no

facts.

clearinghimself, with
the energy and enthusiasm
displayedby our American
pioneersin the backwoods, his artistic genius,which
was
just developingafter the fashion of the small
boy's,discovered that here was a superbbackground
coal
for the displayof its triumphs. With the aid of charand stickypaints,
and piecesof coloured stone
lines and patterns and figures
were
painted
gleefully
fect,
he with the efwas
upon the surface,and so delighted
in with sharks'
that he proceeded to etch them
of bone, and thorns. That this stage
teeth,splinters
occurred in our ancestry we furnish amusingly
actually
conclusive proofsin our
own
time,by the delightthat
velopme
nearly every boy takes at a certain stage of his dein having blue hearts and pink anchors
When

had

man

tattooed

on

his

in

succeeded

arms.

geniusthat
the generaleffect might be pleasingly
heightenedby
hangingfringesand pendantsof various sorts around
A

littlelater,it occurred

to

some

savage

the neck, the

waist,and the wrists and ankles. These,

but they gradof the scantiest at first,
were
ually

of course,

hung from the

expanded and grew, fringeswere
stuck into it,bits of bark were
necklace,feathers were
worked

in

to

skins of

make
rare

it stand
animals

better,the

out

combined

were

more

with

sive
expen-

it,and

it became
cloak.
finally
a
By a similar process of
cloth
expansionthe ornamental belt combined with the lointo

form

the short skirt

or

kilt.

That

was

THE

AND

CLOTHES
about

as

far

as

WOMAN

187

the process

got in the

of
members
enterprising
tropics.But when the more
the race began to push farther and farther away
from
the equator in search of game
berries or for cooler
or
placesto make their summer
camps, theybegan to find
that these cumbrous
and exceedinglyexpensiveceremonial
cloaks

and

kilts

of value

protection
from the weather.
The cloak was
therefore lengthened
into the blanket,and the kilt was
brought below
the knees.
But this so obviouslyinterfered with the
of the arms
in fighting
and of the legsin running,
use
that a further development was
and another
necessary,
geniusstepped into the gap and splitthe kilt
to

form

make

were

the loose trousers

sleeves.

and

divided

as

the cloak

to

comparatively
late development. Indeed, a largepart of the species
has not yet been more
than half emancipated by it.
It naturally
in the tropics,
because there
did not occur
the only time that cold was
experiencedwas at night,
when
it could be met
by the throwing on of blankets
Even as a protection
or wraps.
againstrain,garments
rain
of littleuse, because the ordinarytropical
were
is a drenchingwater-spout-like
downpour, which will
within a few
penetrate everything
except a mackintosh
This, however,

was

minutes.
One

of the

account

big-game hunters givesa

of the way
in Central

in which

most

amusing

his native bearers

and

EquatorialAfrica prepared for a

off every shred of clothing,
rain,namely,by stripping
rollingit into tightbundles, which they put inside
their packs,and going naked.
He had the openness
hunters

i88

INSTINCT

of mind

to

HEALTH

AND

found

follow their example and

it a great

clammy and
of his soaked
clinging

drenched
instead of feeling
relief,
as

and

stickythroughthe rain from the

it ceased from their
the moment
garments and chilly
evaporation,he kept cool and lithe and comfortable
the rain ceased,
like a trout in a pool,and the moment
he was
dry. The one drawback was his shoes,which
low
the epidermisof his soles was
not thick enough to alhim
full of

to
water

take

off in the forest trails. These

and

"squashed"

and

got

gurgled most

abominably.
close
Loose, flowinggarments which do not come
enough to the body either to interfere with ventilation
off
absorb perspiration
and can
be readilythrown
or
in the privacyof one's own
quarters have remained
the standard
of wearing apparel throughout the
tropics and subtropics. Hence
hygienic-costume
problems are there totallydifferent from ours, and,
indeed,

most

reformers

urge

us

to

hark

back

to

the

and sweepingvoluminousness
of the dress
picturesque
of those regions. It is when
tailors begin to make
thingsthat clingcloselyto the body and hamper its
that trouble begins.
movements
have
we
Contrary,perhaps,to popularimpression,
less quarrelfrom a hygienicpointof view with the
ornamental
tarian
aspects of clothingthan with its utiliand those growing out of false ideas of
ones
have been accustomed
to
modesty. We
lay more
the former because they seem
absurd
stress
so
upon
and so unnecessary.
Mere
ideas of beauty or of
ornament
certainly
ought to give way to considera-

THE

AND

CLOTHES

WOMAN

189

out
have, therefore,declaimed withagainst the diaphragm-cramping, livermercy
corset, the tightshoe, and the pneumoniadisplacing
breeding exposure of full dress, or rather undress.

tions of health.

All that

can

We

be said

these

on

and
subjects,

more

than

times that
supported,has been said so many
here.
It might
it is superfluous
ta refer to them
even
of the hepatic,
simply be said in passingthat most
pelvic,and other displacementsthat are laid at the
be

can

door

of the
who

women

corset

to

are

heard

never

the

name

in

in abundance

be found

of the instrument;

culosis
pneumonia and tubercate
in the classes that never
what, with deliwear
irony,is termed full dress,is at least thirtyper
cent,
higher than in the classes that do indulgein this
allegedabsurdity.
The
chief quarrelwhich hygiene has with clothing
that the death-rate

and

is that there
down

is

too

from

much

of it;that garments
tight,too heavy,too hot.

come

We
far,are too
do easilyfour times as much
health by
harm
to our
indulging
overloadingourselves with clothingand by overourselves in the luxuryof warmth
ing
(crampthe movements
of the body, interfering
with the
respiration,
deprivingthe skin of its most inalienable
right,the rightto fresh air,soaking up the perspiration,
and making a refrigerating
cold-packfor the
do by simplypressingthe
as
we
body after exercise),
singlepointlike the waist line or the
body at some
too

ball of the foot.

At
to

bottom
wear

and

the

corset

is but

device for

retain the voluminous

enablingus
clothingwhich

INSTINCT

190

modesty

and

all semblance

of

comfort
of

skirts

AND

HEALTH

demand

without

totallylosing

figure.Get rid of the absurd

and petticoats,
and the corset

fluity
super-

will

disappearof itself.
idea
Here again we
have to contend against,
not
an
of beauty,not even
but a ridiculous form
a false one,
doubtful virtue,modesty, which
of that exceedingly
it a capital
offence for the gentlersex to show
makes
that they are
that
bipeds. Mrs. Grundy demands
from a conventional
garded
pointof view they shall be reall in one
as
piece,like the figuresin Noah's
arks. And
there you are.
Not merely the doctor
"

he

doesn't

for much

count

anyway

"

but

the

artist,

the

modiste, have all alike

sculptor,the intelligent
of a
inveighedagainstthis idiocyfor three-quarters
of effect
amount
century, with justabout the same
Burdette says good advice has upon
the mind
of
as
a
namely, "In proportionto the square
man,
young
of the

of

of the hole that is left in the

contents

bowl

of water

after you

take

your

centre

fingerout

of it."
The

influence of

modesty, that

curious virtue which

begins just where innocence and purity leave off,

would
but it would be both
requirea whole chapter,
and
hopeless. Suffice it to say that the
humiliating
in the Garden
of Eden
is both
story of the fig-leaves
It never
occurred to our
first
typicaland significant.
parents that they needed them until after the episode
of the apple.
In fact,beautyand health go hand in hand here as
almost everywhereelse. A looselydraped toga or
"

AND

CLOTHES
other upper

garment

THE

with short

WOMAN
or

no

191

sleeves,
a loose

reachingbut littlebelow the

knees, with a cloak,mantilla,serape, or what not for
alike of the classicist,
rain or cold,is the ideal costume
the sculptor,
the painter,
who puts all his favourite
freedom of choice is perinto it wherever
subjects
mitted,
the high-class
and the physicostume
artist,
cian
The
late M.
and physicalinstructor.
Worth,
of the world, kept hanging
dressmaker
master
divided

for

lower

garment

in his

years

consultation

chambers

costume

of this
the
to

description
closelyresemblingthat worn
by
Persian women,
which he pointedout
upper-class

every

of his

one

who

customers

asked him

for

an

ideal costume.
The

trouble

is not

so

much

with

our

false ideas of

In fact,although ideas of
beauty as of morals.
beautyhave led us into certain dangers in dress,they
have done
have protectedus from others,or would
if they had been given reasonable
consideration.
so
The
and the everlasting
flannels are
chest-protector
as
just as repugnant to an intelligent
hygienicsense
in us for beauty," and have
they are to "the sense
done almost as much harm to the health of the species
tioned.
as
beauty-bornabsurdities that can be menany two
From

the

matter-of-fact

physiologic,
yes, even
chemical,pointof view, we are ready franklyto concede
that it is perfectly
legitimateto requireof a
or
as
nearlyso as may
garment that it be beautiful,
what wears
it. If it is "uglifying,"
be, considering
it is pretty safe to be unhygienic. You
apply
may
most

INSTINCT

192

this touchstone
as

AND

HEALTH

the creations of the dress-reformers

to

freelyas you please.

Biologicmoralityrecognises
prideas

of the
there

in spiteof itsoccasional
virtues,
are

few

wholesome

more

of appearance.
the external
to

The

forms

individual

form

and

who

appearance

one

of the chief
And

excesses.

of it than

pride

is fastidious
of

his

or

as

her

iousness
likelyto extend that fastidclothingis exceedingly
of cleanliness to the body unand high sense
der
the clothes.
To be "well groomed," in our
pressive
exmodern
vernacular,is to have made a long
when
keeping in good health,especially
step toward
the care
is extended, as it usuallyis,to those most
importantorgans, the teeth,as well as the hair and
the nails.
Even

trainers have

horse

discovered

that

thorough

vigorous grooming will take a coupleof seconds

the stodgy and unimaginaoff a racer's record.
And
tive
be made
to gain weight by the
steer
can
actually
is not only the
procedure. A good coat, a satin finish,
of its
chief sign of health in animals, but a means
and

Men

continuance.

and

who

women

take

pride in

at least twenty per cent,

are
personalappearance
infection and from
to avoid dangers from
more
likely
such illnesses
filthof all sorts and to resist successfully
than are those who are slovenly
encounter
as theymay

their

indifferent.

or

Proverbs
but
of

to

these,as

the contrary are, of course,

abundant,
than the attempts
usual,are littlemore

mediocrityand

for their lack of

cowardice

success.

to

console

Fine feathers do

themselves
not

always

INSTINCT

i94

cally. In

AND

HEALTH

the first place,colds

caught by
of the upper part of the lungsto even
direct exposure
chillyair. That childish fallacywas exploded long
And
wellagain, the necessityof displaying
ago.

moulded

not

shoulders

well-rounded

and

arms

are

has acted

powerfulstimulus to the development of these

of the leisure class,
in the women
parts of the figure
in whom
otherwise theywould have tended to atrophy
as

from

disuse.

The

done

harm

both

by the

baringof the neck

dress and by the wearing of
diaphanous creations through

chill from

the

of heaven

can

yet

with

wears

possible
in evening
and arms
those charming but

exposure

to

which

every

wind

sterner
blow, and which the really

smilingface

when

the weaker

sex

one

is

going about with its coat collar turned up, has been
enormouslyexaggerated.The colds and the "declines"
that are developedby fair young
account
creatures
on
of going to parties
when the doctor told them not to
are

due

either
the

to

the

rooms
foul infected air of the ball-

absurdlylate

hours

As

long as
and have a good colour and a good
they feel warm
and girls
dressed
circulation,
women
go as thinly
may
as
they pleasewith comparativesafety.And really
the habit is self-regulating,
for the minute a girl's
red or her lipsblue,she is a fright,
and she
turns
nose
or

knows
The

for

kept.

it.

feature
objectionable
to the figure.This
clingsclosely
next

two

most

reasons.

the offence that

The
we

is that

ment
gar-

is undesirable

firstis that it is apt to repeat

have alreadybeen discussing,

CLOTHES

AND

namely, cramping

the

garment
thin

be

can

jointor

even

over

with muscular

as

the

and the

WOMAN

195

movements.

No

skin,and, however

if it fits at

the swell of

free movement,

cramp

necessary

elastic

as

looselywoven,

or

THE

all

closelyover
muscle, it is sure

amount

to

of interference

which will actually

be
efficiency

effected

the

gentlepressure of even a silken garment which

fits closely
to
every jointand every muscle-body is
somethingincredibly
Just try playingtennis
great.
sleeve and a cuff that
some
day with a close-fitting
draws closely
round your wrist ; your arm
will be useless

by

inside of

dozen

games.

But the greatest defect of the close-fitting

garment is
that it interferes with the natural ventilation of the
skin.

This, it is true, is only a small

total

ventilation of

per

cent,

of the

the

body, carried on chiefly

through the lungs,but it is an exceedinglyimportant
of excreta
amount
given off by the skin
part. The
is small,but these excreta
poisonous.
appear peculiarly
has recently
obtained some
curious remost
sults
Pfliiger
in experimentsupon
skin ventilation.
He
put
his subject
in an ordinarypneumatic cabinet which he
closed tightly,
he began
and timed him to see how soon
to show
signsof distress from foulingof the air.
He

then

opened the cabinet,filled it with fresh air,

and put the subjectback into it with his head protruding
through an opening in the door, which was
closed by a rubber washer
or
fitting
closely
apron
his neck.
round
thus gettinga full supply
He
was
of fresh air through the lungs,while his skin was

breathingin

the confined space

of the cabinet.

Much

INSTINCT

196

AND

HEALTH

after a somewhat
val
Pfliiger's
surprise,
longer interthan before the patientbegan to show symptoms
of distress,
for breath, and to complain of
to gasp
dizziness and a sense
of oppression.Just as soon
as

to

the

water

had

vapours

reached

and

extractives in the air-chamber

density,and the air a certain

could be given off from the
degree of heat,no more
skin, and the sensations of skin-suffocation appeared.
This throws an interesting
able
lightupon the remarkrelief given in hot, close rooms
by a current of
air from an electric fan, even
though that be placed
in a closed corner
of the room
and merely stirs up the
air which is alreadypresent.
By giving a constant
change of air to the surface of our bodies, it cools
them and prevents them from surroundingthemselves
foul air. It also throws
with this jacketof warm,
an
lightupon the value of the open-air
interesting
in consumption,
treatment
treatment
a
which, by the
is now
being extended to pneumonia, typhoid
way,
and other fevers.
So that it is exceedingly
important
ficientl
that a garment should either hang looselyor be sufto permit of free interchangeof air,
porous
vapour,

and

certain

heat between

the skin and

the external

air.
to our
again a true sense of the artistic comes
aid by pointingout that clothingbeautifies the figure,
but by
the actual anatomical details,
not
by revealing
suggestingoutlines and permittinggracefulattitudes
and poses.
The beauty of the human
figureconsists
In rein its lithe and gracefulmovements.
pose
chiefly
there is littleparticularly
attractive about it. It

Here

is

WOMAN

197

beauty which
insist upon garments fitting
to the figure
closely
the proporthan a very few points. While
tions
far-wandered

certainlya

would
at

THE

AND

CLOTHES

more

of the athlete

or

thing of beauty and

human

average

From

class.

form
the

of

sense

of the Venus

de

joy to

look upon,

divine

are

point of view

Milo

are

those of the

exactlyin that
the bathing-beach

not

of

nate
gymnasium we must admit that it was a fortuday for most of us when clothingwas invented
and became
de rigueur.
The
defect of clothing
is that it is too thick.
next
This is injurious
in two
by interfering
ways : first,
with the free ventilation of the skin, and second,by
perature,
keeping the body surface at an abnormallyhigh temand as a consequence
of this promoting excessive
perspiration.
The one
with
thing for which we have been striving
our
houses,our heatingappliancesand our clothing,
is to surround our
bodies with an air of as nearlyuniform
temperature, day and night,winter and summer,
and
as
possible.This aim, while perfectly
legitimate
within certain limits, can
easilybe and
necessary
We
are
now
habituallyis carried to an extreme.
beginning to discover that not a uniform, equable
tions
temperature, but frequentand rather vigorousvariaor

the

of

climate is the

most

has

well-marked

and

between

day

of metabolic

the

ideal milieu.

That

healthful,not

but also
individuals,

kind

form

temperature

to

contrasts

and

merely to vigorous
majorityof invalids,which
both

between

the

seasons

night. Heat stimulates one

cold another, an equable
activity,

INSTINCT

198

neither.

temperature

HEALTH

AND
When

its interference with

to

its preventionof
respiration,

skin

and

the wholesome

stimuli of variations of temperature, we add

and
its effect in both promoting excessive perspiration

necessary

keepingitself clinginglike a wet blanket to the body,

undesirable overthickness of
how distinctly
we
can
see
is.
clothing
The
is in being too impervilast defect of clothing
ous.
This may
be brought about, of course, by mere
thickness alone,but also by material which is deficient
in porousness.
The
most
frequentoffenders in this
course,

rubber,leather,and furs. Leather

less objectionable
than rubber, because

natural

condition

respect

are

it is somewhat

porous,

is,of
in its

but most

of

this porousness
has been destroyedby the tanningand
the finishing
ber
appliedto it. Neither leather nor rubshould
and
As

be

tion,
protecexcept as an emergency
of course,
this statement,
appliesto furs.
worn

temporary

icywind

of
protection
againstthe penetration

of great value; but when worn

ually,
habitand especially
cise,
duringany sort of muscular exerfurs

are

they are about the worst clothingever devised,

and heat,
stoppingventilation,
retaining
perspiration
and cramping movements.
This brings us to the questionof the materials out
of which garments may
This problem the
be made.
age-longexperiencesof the race have solved fairly
for
in that the vast majorityof garments
rationally,
human

use

are

wool, cotton,
woven

web

of

made
grass,

or

some

of

woven

web,

advantagesof the
purelymechanical ; namely,

silk.

are, of course,

form
The

AND

CLOTHES
that except in

few

THE

WOMAN

199

of the very

of cloths,
tightest
like duck, openings are
necessarilyleft, through
which both air and moisture can
Secondly,
pass.
that by this same
accident of construction theycontain
much
stance
air,which is the most
importantsinglesubin a garment.
Thirdly,most of them are
somewhat
skins

or

elastic

at

"

woollen

more

than

so

hides.

factors which

The

all events, much

fabrics

have

other

flannels and

extraordinary
pinnacleof
sacredness in pseudo-hygienic
circles are that,in addition
and elastic,
to beingporous
they "feel warm," a
sensation due to the prickingof the skin by the broken
ends of the woollen fibres,
of all,reand, weightiest
tain
the shape of their mesh and consequent porousness
This last can,
moist.
to a certain degree when
imitated in both cotton
however, be almost perfectly
and linen by special
and meshes.
As is well
weaves
known, if you get wet through with flannels on, it
if you wore
does not chill you as it would
ordinary
The
fabric collapses
when
cotton.
ordinary cotton
and becomes
wet
ductor
nearlyimperviousand a rapid conof heat.

to

such

raised

The

an

woollen

degree its form,

course,

the

less

escape

so

than

of the

when

fabric retains

is stillporous,

dry, and
heat.

body

does

to

siderable
con-

though, of
not
permit

this has

When

been

said,however, all has been said, and the grovelling

of Power
in problems
worship of flannels as the Word
of

is almost
clothing

woollen

fabrics

absurd

as

anythingthat

guiltyof.
deserve the highestplacefor

the slaves of fashion have

While

as

been

AND

INSTINCT

200

all round

HEALTH

for exterior garments, yet

especially
for underwear
they have certain grave defects. In
the first place,that mild scratchiness which
makes
them
feel warm
to the majorityof skins,to a large
in the case
irritating,
minorityis intolerably
especially
of the delicate skins of children.
Many and many
a

wear,

of obstinate "heat

case

will be found

to

rash"

in

be limited

an

to

unfortunate
the

fant
in-

covered

area

his

flannel bandage.
life-saving
In the second place,while this stimulatingquality
is beneficial in cold or cool weather, it is distinctly
in hot weather.
Thirdly,while capableof
injurious
and remainingnon-conducting
absorbingperspiration
the
to a high degree,they unquestionably
promote
flow of the secretion very distinctly;
in fact,it is
almost an open questionwhether
they do not produce
much
as
as
perspiration
they absorb.
Most
health will
vigorous individuals in moderate
find that they can
of exercise
carry out a given amount

by

with
both

less clamminess

heat and
than
to

that

in
perspiration

in woollen.

wash

than

cotton

less discomfort

and

cotton

Flannels
and

are

or

both

from

linen underwear
more

cult
diffi-

expensive,
changed so frequently.
washing, they have a

much

more

to be
they are not likely
Moreover, in the process of
deadly habit of shrinking,with results that are not
comical, inasmuch as the more
they shrink
exclusively
and the more
board-like they become, the more
do
they lose the good qualityof porousness with which
endowed.
they were
originally
Put not your trust in flannels or in clothingof any
so

CHAPTER

COMPLEXITIES

THE

OF

THE

OF

MEANING

FEW

things are

moral

COMPLEXION
GOOD

decried as the most

officially
shows, as vanishing as
fleeting
the

white, then

moment

Besides, it is deceitful above

into all

us

name

hygienic,
beauty.
of life's

evanescent

"Snow-flake

Burns's

River":
"A

lead

our

generallytoward

It is

on

THE

COLOUR

irrational than

more

official attitude

and

OR

or

the

serious

for

of

sorts

consideration
affairs of

gone

all

trouble
that

"

things the lure

a
thing that as
"

should

life should

forever."

influence

not

be

us

to
a

in

considered

moment.

And

drags everybody at its chariot

the moralist and the practical
wheels, includingeven
the denunciat
themselves.
We
man
can
readilyunderstand
of beauty. They are
the desperate attempts
of the rational and the prosaicsides of our
from being utterly
whelmed
overnature
to protect themselves
and overriden
by this conquering daughter
of the gods. But why, when
that it is so
can
see
we
often
is

yet

"

and

mere

are
fleeting,

has

an

yet it

of surface

matter
we
answer

so

tints and

know

that it

ogy
attracted by it? Biolirresistibly
ready. That
eight
practically

COMPLEXION

THE

times

of

203

beauty is nature's seal of approval

of wholesomeness
ideas of
and
of purity. Our
of the
beautyhave been built by age-longexperiences
the crude
old matter-of-fact
race
principle,
upon
out

"Handsome

ten

is

as

handsome

crudely,yellow is beautiful
of the sunshine,of warmth
Blue

is beautiful because

does."
because
and

put it very

To

it is the colour

lightand

growth.

of the clear

it is the colour

sky. Red, because it is the colour of the crimson

the mark
and the sign of healthyvigour.
life-blood,
of face are beautiful beA particular
cause
type and contour
they are usuallyfound associated with health,
in our own
and efficiency
race.
cheerfulness,
particular
nine
have one
This is why the white races
type of femiferent
beauty,the yellow races another and widely difand the black yet another.
Though as
one,
all these belong to the human
speciesand are more
alike than unlike,their ideals would
agree in many
particulars.
In short,the very fact that a face strikes us as beautiful
conclusive,good preis,though by no means
sumptive
evidence that it is an index of balance,of
vigour and cheerfulness,in other words, of the best
be
of the race.
Curious proof of this may
qualities
found in the fact that a compositephotographof say
hundred
individuals is always "better looking"
one
than what we
would
regard as an average member
of the group.
out

The

normal

prominently,while

neutralise
This

one

bringsus

the

or

racial features

abnormal,

stand

defective,

or

another.
to

the heart and

crux

of

our

subject.

INSTINCT

204

AND

HEALTH

First of all,that it is perfectly

for
legitimate
man

"

or

to

means

woman

vidual
indi-

an

able
desire,and by all reasonto
obtain, beauty. But,
fundamental, that beauty

to

"

attempt

more
secondly,and even
must
be, in nine cases out of ten, the surface reflection
of vigour,wholesomeness, and purity,
index and a
an
facts
fundamental
product of the deepestand most
of bodilystructure.
Few
thingscould be falser than the oft-quotedold
proverb, "Beauty is only skin deep, while ugliness
the bone."
to
Easily two-thirds of human
goes
beauty is beauty of face, and a large share of this
dominant
element consists in that curious complex,
built from a varietyof influences,
which is not inaptly
from this pointof view termed "a good complexion."
For a more
complex phenomenon would be hard to

discover

in the whole

First of all,every
has

from

and

realm

of
particle

is borrowed

the heart,and

not
interest,

daily.Said

interest

nature.

the

that the

colour

from

borrowed

"

only terms

annuallyor
to be paid in

of that embodied

and

in the form

water

coin

frequentones
upon

or

to

the

The

foot, spade,or

the colour of the

amount

of blood

which

upon

or

bills of four

of the

verse,
uni-

Fire in the
Air

call food.

continual bath of

of the other.

in it with

changes in

sunlightwe
of

the blood

regularpayment
but
semi-annually,

the banks
denominations, drawn
upon
viz.,fire,water, air,and water.
form

plexion
com-

is the prompt,

the loan will be continued

of

of

and

one

earth,by exercise
racket.

complexionare
flowingthrough

All
due

the

solely

the blood-

THE
vessels of
The

the

condition

COMPLEXION
face

and

the

205

qualityof

of the skin of the face has

to

more

sheltered from
soil about
the

with

it than

practically

the

glassin the florist's

behind it. Its
has with the flowers displayed
window
is achieved when it keeps
whole duty,its utmost
effect,
It is simply a living,
itself clean.
elastic,
groundglassor celluloid platethrough which the rosy blood,
alike the life essence
and the product of the entire
body, can glow. We talk of the hero or the saint
"with his soul shiningthrough his face."
Every one
of us literally
shows his heart through his or her
complexion.
It is as idle to attempt to change in any lasting
way
the colour of the complexionby local manipulations
of any sort as it would
be to make
or
applications
the petals of a rose
redder
by massaging them.
When
a
gardener wishes to improve the size and
colour of a rose, he knows
exactlywhat to do. He
plantsit where it will get the morning sun and yet be
no

do

that blood.

the northeast

its roots

glareof

the

with

winds.

He

enriches the

lavish hand, shelters it from

mid-day

sun,

so

that its

sleepis not

disturbed; he cleanses and cools its leaves and stalks

with pure water.
And
by sprayingsand sprinklings
he gets his results. Just so must
we
go about it to
man
improve that choicest rose of earth's garden,the huface.
The

have

beautiful

complexion,is to
observe the rules of nature's universal beauty game,
who have playedthe
from ancestors
to inherit one
or
this choicest giftof the gods can
And
even
game.
only way

to

INSTINCT

206

HEALTH

AND

only be retained by complying with the conditions,

paying the interest on the loan.
A good complexion is like happiness. The best way
It cannot
exist either
to miss it is to aim at it directly.
of itself nor

for itself alone

art's sake."

Its colour

than "art for

more

any

simply a flagflown at one

of the outposts of the blood army.
The only way in
which
it can
be kept floating
is by having a strong
central force and
plenty of patrollingparties,to
and maintain
keep the lines of communication
open
And
the guard is
a sufficient guard at the outposts.
changed every fraction of a second. There is no such
The
thing as a permanent
"good colour."
outpost
is not even
held by a permanent
but its ruddy
garrison,
of red
patch of vigour is due to a continuous stream
corpuscleshurryingby at a double-quickday and
night. Stop them for two seconds and you get black
is

in the face.
Let
ever

the knife of the

handled

an

ruddiest fisher-boy
that
rosiest,
slipand gash his femoral artery

oar

and

his face will become

old

ivoryin

handful

the colour
of minutes

of marble

of

or

if the flow is

not

checked.
One

of the many
of this subjectis
"complexities"
the exceptions
rule or
that have to be made
to every

girlsand

few

from
cream"

the

or

even

of

common

for this

one

of them.

will have

women

"June

and
varieties,

health
But

here is

And

statement.

yet

rose"

That

some

ideal complexions,
perfectly
to the "peaches and

defy every

known

rule of

sense.

biologyhas ready one

of its cold-

COMPLEXION

THE

207

explanations.A good complexion,a fine

colour, is not merely an index of health and vigour,
but an advertisement; and as the flower developsthe
glowing colours of its petalsto attract the bee or the
with his load of fertilising
butterfly
pollen,so wise
blooded

old Mother

permittedour
to

show

in the kindness

Nature
human
the

rose

observers.

That

much

nearlyso

young.

more

Far the

is

buds

and blossoms

in the cheek

why
than

of her heart has

we

were

as

in the
a

charm

time
springto

all beautiful

all

(or

present)when we were
greater part of this happy facultyof
at

the

springtimeof life is due to the greater wholesomeof our whole body and
and happiness
ness, freshness,
quently
mind
in this rose-coloured
period. But not infrefind some
we
daughter of Eve who has the
charmed
of keeping half her life-blood coursing
power
through her cheeks and glowing in her eyes.
Like all hot-house flowers,these are usuallythe first
But while they last they work
to fade.
havoc, both
hearts and hygieniclaws.
These are the cases
among
that destroy all the authorityof the doctors in matters
cosmetic,that reduce to a mockery our rules of
in despair
health,and make us throw up our arms
whenever
the question of complexionsis mentioned.
It is simplyone
of the exasperating
mysteriesof the
possibl
it so utterlyunmanageable, so immake
sex, which
and so charming. It is
about
to generalise
these exceptional
who
beautiful in spite
women
are
of themselves,no
do which
what they may
matter
they should not do or leave undone which theyought
the basis for the denunciations of
to do? that are
"

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

208

the

deceitful and beauty as

as
moralists,of "Favour
because,
vain."
They are the despair of the hygienist,
of their sex,
with a logic that is the privilege
they usuallychoose to regard this inborn and unesif not chiefly,
to
capablegiftof theirs as due largely,
the silly,
littlecanary-bird
fluffy,
thingsthat they do
their faces, from
lemon
to
juiceand buttermilk to
cold
have

much

as

face masks

and

creams

"flowers

to

do

that bloom

the

with
in the

of their less fortunate

all of which

"

case

the

as

combined

proverbial
two-thirds

spring." And

sisters imitate their

logicality
and imagine that by pathetically
infantile pattings
and splashingsof this sort
they can
reproduce in
themselves
these inborn, age-inherited
charms.
"Mrs.

So-and-So

has

complexion like a peach,and

she says she owes
it to bathing her face in lemon-juice
tor
a violet pillow." "Docevery nightand sleepingon
So-and-So tells me
windows
to sleepwith my
open,
take more
and I justhate
exercise and cold baths
a

"

'em

and

"

like

nose

he's got
beet."

skin like

nutmeg-grater,

and

It is easy to guess whose

advice will be followed.
who
Nevertheless
the fact remains that these women
are

beautiful in

and
every
men

You

have

small

one

spiteof themselves
"

not

more

than

are

two

or

an

exception

three

out

of

majorityof us,
ness
and women,
the best hope of beautyor attractivelies in playing the age-long rules of the game.
have good red blood in your body, and not
may
one

hundred.

it show

in your

And

face

for the

as

vast

much

as

you

could de-

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

2io

leavingthe remainder of it thin. If you want

line
to give a graceful
plumpness and roundness of outface the only way
to do it is to feed the
to your
is a homely Western
entire body. There
equivalent
and

invitation

for

an

set

down

known
A

up yer cheer and

dinner,to "draw

to

an' feed yer face,"but it remains the only

of accomplishingthis latter feat.
method
food"

"skin

is

as

utter

an

absurdityas

brain

food, a foot food, or a nose food. vThe only possible

of feeding the skin is from the inside!)
way
The
element in contour, the lines of the face,
next
the expression,
the possibility
of wrinkles,is due to
another vital activity
beneath, and to a considerable
degreeoutside,the skin itself.And this is the muscles
of the face.
of this

Here

alas ! we

which
complex subject,

confounded."

worse

is itself

division

"complexity

Suffice it to say that the whole

skin of the face is underlaid

broken

yet another

have

with

sheet of

muscle,
and fibres,

into

largerand smaller bands

each attaching
themselves at their deeper ends to the
underlyingbones of cheek, jaw, brow, etc., and at
their surface ends to the deeper layer of the skin.
Their purpose,
is to open and close the
very briefly,
different orifices,
have
eyes, nose, and mouth, which
made the face the face. It might appear at firstsight
up

that here

was

an

voluntary,we
and

hence

could
determine

expression.
"

if there

apparatus

But

control
our

which,

by

as

the muscles

exercise of

our

attractiveness

own

are

will,
of

nately
unfortunatelyor rather fortuthe matter
far deeper than this,and
goes
be anythingwhich is beyond our
control,it
"

COMPLEXION

THE

expression of
brief biological
reason
is the

of

needs

conditions

and

these

that

of

for

countenances,

our

muscles

relaxations

211

are

the

and

contractions

the

the

governed by the
canals or
openings

they close. The muscles of the lower half

of the face, roughly speaking, are
controlled by
and reand reflect the condition of our
spond
digestions,
to impulsesfrom
thirtyodd
every inch of our
feet of food tube. The muscles of the middle third,
yond
surroundingthe nostrils,are controlled entirelybeof interference by the conditions of
our
power
our
lungs and body tissues in regard to their oxygen
supply,while those of the upper third of the face
our
optic
respond to the impressionsmade
upon
tion
of smell,and as these are the foundaand sense
nerves
of our
brain, in a generalway upon our whole
and intelligence.
It is littlewonder
minds
that our
old ancestors
for hundreds
of generations
shrewd
past have attached great importance to the expression

which

of

man's

countenance

as

an

indication both

and his disposition.

Not
efficiency
like to be, but what we
are, is written

his

If

have

cheerful

what

we

upon

our

of

would
faces.

and

pleasingexpression,
can't get it by repeatingpatent formulae like,
we
"Papa, potatoes, prisms,prunes and plums!" but by
livingthe life,and playingthe game hard but fair.
If you want
to keep unpleasantlines from
appearing
of your mouth, do not skimp on your
at the corners
in order to spend on veils
butchers' and grocers'
bills,
we

want

to

and skin foods.

If you

wish

to

keep the

crows' feet away

from

the

AND

INSTINCT

212

of your

corners

eyes, live a

HEALTH

natural
wholesome, cheerful,

in the open air and the

possible
sunshine,instead of tryingto rub them out after they
Old
have happened with anybody'smassage
cream.
have had in mind these deadly lines and
Omar
must

life,as much

marks

as

the human

upon

when

countenance

he sang:

moving fingerwrites,and havingwrit,

all your pietynor wit
Moves
on, nor
Shall lure it back to rub out half a line,

"The

Nor
The

all your

onlyreal
the entire

of muscle

wash

tears

way

of

body

beneath

out

word

face is

exercising
your

and

mind.

the skin

are

These
in

of it."

constant

to

cise
exer-

little strands
and

sant
inces-

play during all our waking hours.

They give
the skin its only real and effective massage,
again
from the inside. If you want
to exercise and develop
it to its highestpossibility
of vigour,elasticity,
and
beauty,you must live and enjoythingswith every inch
of your body. And
twenty-six
pairsof these tireless
little workmen, pushing and pullingand twitching
it all day long,will do infinitely
if you will only
more,
give them a fair chance and head them in the right
a'nd smooth out
to improveyour complexion
direction,
elaborate pattingsand
your wrinkles than the most
rubbings and massagings ever thought of, which at
best

can

cover

mere

fraction of

an

hour

in the

twenty- four.
It is true

that various of these

methods, like

steaming,bathingin very hot water,

of alcohol,camphor, acids and

and

ing,
massag-

the applicati

irritantsof

THE

COMPLEXION

various sorts, will draw

213

the blood

to

the

surface,and

of blood circulating
increase the amount
temporarily
in the face,thus givingan artificialglow or imitation
can
"complexion." But they never
produce the real
over,
than a mere
thing or more
temporary effect. Morelowed
like everythingelse in the world, action is folby reaction. And the complexion that is perpetually
fussed with in this way, and steamed and parboiled,
half skinned and scrubbed, is very apt in a
or
short
of

time

to

July," sort

sure

to

do

so

and
hereditary
Last

of

second-hand, or "5th
distinctly
of appearance.
In fact,it is nearly
of those
unless it happens to be one
indestructibly
good ones to begin with.

get

all,there is the

skin itself

nature

be considered.

and
This

structure

is

of the

simply a great
electricity-resist
water-proof,air-proof,
cold-proof,
the entire body, for the
sheet,which is spread over
of shutting
external influences.
out
injurious
purpose
Its business is passiveresistance,
active participanot
tion
of any sort.
Its duty is to shut thingsout, not
take them
for the
in. It has glands,but they are
of pouring forth excretions,
the sweat
glands,
purpose
and the so-called sebaceous glands for the lubrication
of the hair. It has littleor no more
of absorption
power
than a mackintosh
coat.
Nothing save a few of
the very strongest drugs can
be driven through it
except under pressure of a powerful electric current.
Most
of the drugs that we
formerlybelieved were
absorbed through it,
and carbolic
like mercury, iodine,
known
to be volatilised by the heat of
acid,are now
the body and inhaled through the nose
and mouth,
to

INSTINCT

2i4

while
can

theyscarcely
penetrate

any

of

nutriment

through it.
pure

HEALTH

AND

Milk

Its very
made
up

used
clever

structure

of

sort

any

made

to

from

is

which

pass
are

and

superstition.
They are
tising
nowadays except as an adveractresses.

its outermost
significant,

three

to

layer
five successive layersof
are
comparativelyround,

cells,the deepestof which

the next
cuboidal, and the

shaped, from

be

baths, wine baths,and oil baths

relics of barbarism

never
practically
dodge by

the skin at all. Still less

next

flattened

or

tile-

they take their name,

lial,"
"epitheand the most
flat and scale-like.
ones
superficial
tion,
They are in continual process of growth and formaforming in the deeper layersand progressing
outward
the surface,flattening
toward
and drying as
they go. When finally
they reach the surface,which
they coat like the shingleson a roof, they are half
dead and rapidlyshrivel up, die and fall off. We
are
thus continually
discharginga shower of scales of
surface day and
dead skin from every inch of our
the surface
that we
saturate
night. Supposing even
like
meshes
of these with some
powerful mordant
ver
iodine or paintthem with a caustic like nitrate of silnitric acid, it is only the questionof a few
or
days or hours when the cells thus impregnatedare
shed and thrown
off from the body. Everythingthat
counter
run
attempts to enter through the skin must
this constant
outward
of living cells.
to
current
acids and
When
or
even
scrubbings,
by heat,friction,
caustics you
peel off this surface layer of cells all
of their rate of dyyou do is to increase the rapidity

THE

COMPLEXION

215

ing a littleand produce no effect whatever upon the

deeper cells.
In fact,the skin is one
for
magnificentmechanism
cleaningitself. As to cosmetics in general there is
littleto be said and that little,
like themselves, probably
useless.

they are

The

fault of

worst

of them

most

is that

that

utterlyineffectiveand

they delude those

who
them into the idea that by these superficial
use
and artificialtricks they can
of
escape the penalties
their generalhealth.
neglecting
Comparatively few
of them
who
have
Those
are
activelyharmful.
naturallygood complexions will get good results.
Those
Such

who
ones

have

them.

give artificialtints are of course

of failure and usuallydeceive few

frank

Those

wearer.

useful
in said

to

the

amount

poor

that have

into the

yard

If you

face cream,
and

to

of muscular

"rubbing in."

best result from

out

ones,

as

confessions
their

results from

poor

be

beside
in

rubbed

are

exercise involved

to get the
reallywant
buy it by the quart, go

rub it with

both

into the

hands

trunk of your favourite tree for an hour each day. It

won't hurt the tree, and it will do your complexion
far

more

good

than

if

directlyapplied.

defects of the skin,like

pimples,
blotches,roughness,chapping,scalypatches,
pustules,
birthmarks,are the results of disease,and, like other
diseases,can be treated and cured by competent physician
Diseases of the skin,or dermatology,form a
largeand importantspecialfield in scientificmedicine
and are no longer left to charlatans and adventurers.
the face as if it were
Wash
not
a window-pane
a
Real

blemishes

and

"

kitchen

oil,

AND

INSTINCT

216

floor.

poured

and

too

only
form

partly
you

to

of

by

direct

to

keep

gives

you.

The

best

opening

vegetables,

bread

and

care

in

"hansum

but

warm,

to

for

by

to

that

face

spurs

it

appetite

red

are

"

it

the

through

"

purpose

works

exercise
the

meats,

butter,

golden

in

cold,

is
This

by

your

fruits,

works

the

delicate

chap.

and

doses.

chiefly

apply

purple

of

the

itself.

through

partly

the

water

white

sugar.

care

of

liberal

in

effect,

provided

green

Take

air

colours

that

delicate

hot

leaving
crack

tonic"

"skin

cold

Too

this,

roughen,

to

known

is

sweat-glands.
remove

soaps

unprotected,

The

face-cream

own

the

by

out

strong

surface

the

Nature's

HEALTH

and

some

If

through
measure.

is."

you

the

and

body

want

and

to

you'll

"Hansum

will

complexion
look

beautiful,

achieve
does"

your
soon

take
be

tion
ambibecomes

it

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

218

and
the exquisite
adaptations
appreciate
foot.
mechanical
and beauty of the human
perfection
Indeed, it is only sober and most painfultruth to say
of the most
that one
tom
frequentfads of fashion or cusof morality has been to endeavour
to
even
it in tightleather
hide it from view, either by shutting
boxes or concealingit with skirts and drapery. In

seldom

We

"

"

many

tribe,in many

savage

civilised
"

court

it has been

barbarous

considered

nay, semi-

"

the

heightof

to refer to the existence of the foot at

impoliteness
bered
all,to even
imply that our high serenityis encumwith such a lowly,plebeianand discreditable
the delusion,
We
to keep up
fondlyendeavoured
organ.
in public,
at least,
that,like the fabled bird of
paradise,we had no feet.
Even
in this enlightenedage we
ruthlessly
deprive
and the pursuit
our
feet,though not of life,of liberty
of happiness
as
light.
regardsexpansion,fresh air,and sunthen we
And
that they so frequently
wonder
give trouble. Like every other "submerged tenth"
of servile class in a community, they take their revenge

their oppressors, and a bitter one it often

is. Civilised man
too often has reason
to be ashamed
upon

of his feet

result of the way

them.
and deformed

The

as

firstrequisite
for the

in which

treated
he has mal-

understanding
intelligent
of a structure
and mechanism
is to know
its,
problem,
the uses
which it has to subserve.
The
problem of
the human
difficultone
foot is a new
and exceedingly
in the animal world.
of
The support and propulsion
the quadruped is a comparatively
simpleaffair. He

THE
has

simplya
stand

SHOEMAKER'S

SINS

"at each

corner," upon

prop

rest, with

almost

219

which

he

the mechanical

stolidity
of a table on its legs. Like the table,three legswill
and he always has,so to speak,
support him perfectly,
one
leg left for other purposes, such as rest, repair,
can

at

attack, etc.

he wishes

When

to

move,

all he has

to

propel himself upward and forward in a

with his powerful hind legs,swing his
risingcurve
stick-like fore legs forward, and catch himself on
them, gather up his hind legs and repeat the process
Or, if slower movements
are
indefinitely.
required,
he can swing forward any pairof his legs,either on
the
the same
meanwhile
side or diagonally,
on
resting
other pair. Consequently,
he has been able to modify
his limbs in a score
of different ways, solelyfor speed
fivepurposes, and to alter his feet from the primitive
of
toed pad into every conceivable shape and number
the extreme
of restclaws and hoofs, reachingeven
ing
his entire weight upon
toe-nail,
a single
expanded
do

is

into

to

box-like

hoof, like the horse.

with his erect position,

the problem,though
In man,
first sight,is
similar than might appear
at
more

markedly altered,and

culty.
that in the direction of diffi-

In the firstplace,instead of
kinds of feet,one
other

to

catch and

to

lift and

support

being able
throw

him

him, he has

to

have

two

forward, the
to

make

one

perform both functions. This means

be laid flat upon
that a sufficient lengthof foot must
lever to lift and
the ground in order to serve
as
a
the body. As this lever must
have
throw
forward

kind

of

foot

AND

INSTINCT

220

an

spur-like
projection
heel,behind, as well as the

this makes

arm,

HEALTH
the

necessary

of the

or
posterior
arm,
in front of the
lever proper
anterior projection
or
jointor ankle.
weight-bearing
In the second place,
as the body is obligedto balance
itself fairly
securelyin walking or running upon one

broad

as

well

foot,to fulfilthe
the

foot-sole

should

be

words, the human

demands
imposed upon it by
be of generous
length for

long.

as

the

that

foot, it is necessary
new

In other

must
position,
leverage,and of liberal
erect

breadth

balance

for

and

support.

Againstboth of these requirementsFashion has persistentl

fought,with her usual inspiredidiocy.Why
she should have chosen to do it,is a mystery, except
that everywhere we
the
attacks upon
turn, in our
shape and outline of our bodilymembers, feet,hands,
head

waist, teeth, even

been

inspiredby

them

"look
as

nose,

we

firm determination

different."

None

justto

of them

are

before, few of them

they were

to

seem

as

as

have
make
tiful
beau-

efficient.

it has been the inveterate

yet from earliest savagery
and pinch its feet,
habit of the race
to cramp

And

to

and

amputate

one

of its fingers,
to knock

more

or

sharp point its front teeth,to

flatten its head by tightbandaging in infancy,or to
its waist to a wasp-likeslenderness.
The
compress
ther
study of the whims of "beauty" makers will go fardiscolour,or

to

file to

out,

make

else.

doubt

one

described
The

as

most

whether

rational animal

man

can

than

fully
be truth-

almost

puzzlingthingabout

the

thing
any-

prob-

SHOEMAKER'S

THE

is,that not only are

beautified feet, hands,
lem

efficientor

as

healthful

SINS

none

eyes,

of these

improved or

teeth, waists, etc.,

in their natural

as

221

or

as

unspoiled

condition,but that though their distortion has been

ferior
"beauty,"they are as inciency.
in beauty and gracefulness
as
they are in effiis ready to exclaim with
The
physiologist

committed

Mme.

de

in the

name

of

Stae'l:

in thy
committed
Beauty! what crimes are
!" The only consistent impulsethat appears
to
name
ent,
them has been the desire to look differhave inspired
which
to produce some
change in our appearance
of art, and admired
shall be recognisedas a work
accordingly.
is this absurdity
illustrated
Nowhere
more
strikingly

"O

in the earlier idea of what

than

constitutes

in the gentlersex.
foot,particularly
in

demand

feminine

foot

The

tiful
beaular
popu-

is that it shall be

pointed,elongatedbody, curved, or, more

accurately,
humped into a nearly horseshoe-shaped
of which are within a few inches of
arch, the pillars
each other and consist of the compressed tipsof the
heel brought forward
inner toes and a high, narrow
almost directly
under the centre
of gravity. Its functions

narrow,

as

an

organ

of support and

locomotion

are

lessly
ruth-

disregarded,and instead of a series of long,

low, gracefularches, it is distorted into the resemblance
of a link of sausage
pointedat one end, or a
banana
The
as

in

convulsion.

denounce
it
physician,the skilled pedestrian,
deformed, useless,painful,and almost disabled,

INSTINCT

222

and

the artist

unites
cordially

in their attack and

outlines that they do.

the very same
plan of the healthy,natural foot is an

The

of

combination
heel

HEALTH

AND

to

arches,one

long

and

low

mands
de-

exquisite
from

the balls of the toes, the other short and

the

high,

crossingthis at rightangles a little in front of the

ankle joint. These arches are built mainly of a number
of wedge-shapedbones, but there is littlethat is
"bony" or rigidabout them, as their form is mainly
preservedby the tension of three muscles of the leg,
whose
and

tendons
under

attach

surface

manner.

of
Thus

the upper
geniou
intheir keystonesin a most

themselves

the

to

weight

both

of

the

body

is

the intersection of two

naturallysupported upon
graceful,yielding,livingsuspension arches, hung
elastic cables of muscle, which by their expansion
upon
ticity
and contraction give a beautiful,springy elasto the gait. But in order to do this,they must,
like all other springs,
expand so that the foot ought
become
both
to
weight
longer and wider when
is placedupon it. For this change in form, the modern
no
"pretty"shoe makes absolutely
adequate provision,
but by throwing a ridiculous
and not only this,
peg-shaped heel far forward to give an appearance
of shortness to the foot,the longitudinal
arch is completely
the
broken, the weight thrown directly
upon
sensitive instep,
and the centre of gravityof the whole
stroyed
The
of the gait is debody disturbed.
elasticity
justas if a block of wood had been wedged
between the flanges
of a carriage
spring.
The physiologist
demands
a long,low, gentlyarch-

THE

SHOEMAKER'S

SINS

223

ing slopefrom heel to toes, with a broad, graceful,

fan-like expansionacross
the ball of the foot,and this
is precisely
the form which has been immortalised
by
Du
in "les beaux pieds de Trilby." MeMaurier
chanical
the human
foot is one
of the most
itely
exquisand enduring instruments
in
adjusted,effective,
the world; it will

down

run

and

tire

out

any

hoof,

for beauty of
pad, or paw that moves.
Artistically,
outline,harmony of curves, dimples,and grace of
it is equallyunsurpassed. Here
movement,
beauty
and strengthgo hand in hand, and fashionable deformity
feebleness.

and

Would

that

uses

would

and

the Man!"

sin.

But

poet would

if there be

implantin the
They are among
world.

leather cases,
and hide, or

And

one

human
the

and

in

loftymeas-

the

Man," but "Feet

is currently
reputed to be a

Pride

to

the

"Arms

sing not

arise who

sentiment

which

I would

bosom, it is pridein
most

yet

we

wonderful
cramp

our

mechanisms
them

into

like
feet.
in

tight

carefully
planned to diminish their size,
alter their shape, as if they were
even

ashamed
the
to
to
something that we were
expose
As they are now,
have made
as
we
lightof heaven.
them, perhaps we ought to be. But as we are born,
there is nothing under heaven
that we
have a better
rightto be proud of, and to exhibit on every possible
occasion.
It may "at first sightseem
almost absurd
for a physiologist
and hygienist
to seek to alter codes
of etiquette
traditions of minor morals.
But the
or
sober fact of the matter
is that there are few things
that do more
to prevent the proper
developmentand

the diseases and

promote

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

224

deformities of the human

forts
foot,with the serious bodilydisabilities and discomthan our
to which these give rise,
present mental
I had

and

"

feet.

said moral

almost

attitude toward

the years of innocence to be

in publicwould
probably fillmost

footed
caught bare-

After

livelier and

sense
irrepressible

more

than

embarrassment

almost

of

us

with

of shame

and

other

any

deshabille that could be conceived.

condition

Indeed, our

disgraceand mortification at being seen

anywhere except on the seashore would
that

which

petty crime
else. Like many
in

or

should

we

gross

of the

of

sense

barefooted

of

resemble

bare

nearly

more

feel when

detected

improprietythan anything
more

senseless of

our

deries
pru-

this dread of displaying

the foot
prejudices,
half vice and
feeling,
part of that extraordinary
mains
virtue,called modesty. But the puzzle still reand

is

half

how

it ever

came

to

be included

even

under

that

capaciousheading,except upon its usual ostrich-like

tendency,of insisting
hiding every portionof
upon
the human
the exposure
of even
body, and declaring
the face,hand, the hair of the head, the foot,to be
immodest.
Although, as we shall see, there are many
serious practical
in our Northern
especially
objections,
quette
climates,to going barefoot, as well as the purelyetiones,
yet there is very little questionthat we
shall never
and appreciateas they
learn to admire
deserve

the beauties of the natural

and

healthful

man
hu-

foot,until we get free of this morbid prejudice

in public
And until we
at all ages.
againstits display
do come
the natural beauty
and recognise
to admire

free from

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

226

stumps, thorns, stones, and other

of

sources

Certainlychildren under ten

of age and women
during the greater part
years
not
of the time that they spend indoors and
are
their feet
standing upon
actually working or
as
should be encouraged to go barefooted as much
possible.
it is pretty generally
Just as a counsel of perfection,
agreed that the ideal footwear, except in stormy or

danger

to

the

inclement

most

feet.

weather, would

elastic moccasin

and

soft,porous,

be in the

linen in the summer,

of cotton, silk,or

of woollen

and

of

nature

cloth,felt,or

during the winter, which should be worn

tened
constantlyindoors,with well-ventilated sandals fassimple clasp,which could be readily
by some
slippedoff and on at the threshold of the building,
buckskin

for outdoor

the

Grecian

real

But

wear.

this,like the divided

waist-line,the

brim, and

the other

about

appear

skirt,

soft, flexible hat

details of

rational

with
tume,
cos-

coeval with the millennium.

such footwear

adopted,and the feet permitted

to develop in their full natural beauty,we
might even
to
come
spend half as much time upon whitening,
and otherwise beautifying
our
manicuring,polishing,
Were

feet
of

as

we

do

now

upon

our

hands, for the purpose

displayingthem upon state occasions. It would

be quiteas reasonable from either an aestheticor a hygieni
to
more
pointof view, and would do infinitely
As it is,we
promote our comfort and our efficiency.
load our hands with gold and diamonds, and our
feet
with iron and sole leather,and then wonder
that we

SHOEMAKER'S

THE
have
upon

corns

and

bunions

SINS

upon

227

the latter and

never

the former.

of the gravest difficulties

of this subject
is that
its importance. Even when
do not half appreciate

One
we
our

attention

the fact that

is called to
touch

the earth

our

celestial

point,and
is of some
that the nature
of that contact
importance,
with some
such time-worn
dismiss it airily
we
antry
pleasas
importanceof a "good understanding,"and
fashionable shoes and
continue placidlyto hug our
of cold and uncompromising
As a matter
our
corns.
fact,until we either developwings or our intellects
become
sufficiently
powerful to walk alone and carry
their bodies with them, our
of a nov
onlymeans
ffrco,
of a leverageand connection with Mother
Earth, is
ance
through our despisedfeet. And the breadth and balof that contact is a factor of greatest importance
in not
comfort.
but
our
efficiency
merely our
flashes of
Kiplinghas put one of his most penetrating
wisdom
in the mouth
of the ever-delightful
"Mulrecruit on his first night
vaney," who advises a new
must
intelligence

at

some

in camp:
"For remimber, me
son,
betther than his feet!"
no

soldier

on

the marrch

is

aphorism that is fit to take rank with that of

Napoleon, when half reproached for spending time
details as bread and bacon for
upon such insignificant
of his campaigns:
one

An

"An

army,

belly."

sir,is like

serpent

"

it travels

on

its

INSTINCT

228

It will
who

apply to

has

AND

many

HEALTH

soldier in the march

of life

smelled

gunpowder.
of strong, elastic,
The vital importanceand necessity
of movement
and progress in
healthyfeet as a means
and of indoor ones
that have
all outdoor occupations,
is of course
obvious to the
to be carried out standing,
dullest.

never

Two-thirds

of

the

Breadwinners

of

the

and directly
dependent upon the
absolutely
of their feet for their ability
to continue
efficiency
their labour.
And
when
they are "off their feet,"
disabled.
as the phrasegoes, theyare
practically
do not properlyappreciate
is the immense
But what we
importance of firm, strong, well-expanded,
feet as a basis for the entire carriageand
pain-free
balance of the body. So littlemuscular
effort is required
of them
to
support a quadruped that some
take the major part of their sleepday and
habitually
the other hand, every
on
night,standing. In man,
of the erect positionof the
instant of maintenance
or
standing,is at the expense
body, whether sitting
of powerful muscular
effort. The
most
powerful
and incessant part of this effort is expended where
the greatest mass
of muscles lie in the body,viz.,the
small of the back.
They are like a great bowstring,
of the lower half of
subtendingthe forward curve
the spinalcolumn.
Pitch the planeof support of the
few degrees,as is done by a
a
body forward even
disturb all the delicate
high heel, and you instantly
relations and counterplayof these great balancing

world

are

muscles of the back

The

and

abdomen.

pains and penalties

attendingbad

shoes and

THE

feet

weak

SHOEMAKER'S

other

punishevery
with
small

the

percentage
apt to
whenever

are

confined

not

are

so

SINS

muscle

the

the

in the

maintenance
of

to

but
extremities,

body which

of

backaches

the

occurs

are

from

suffer,especially
among

upon

the

most

constant

and

is

cerned
con-

balance.

fatigued,are due to the

of balance by high heels or bad shoes.
the second commonest
pain from which
because the great muscles
body suffers,
sex,

229

which
the

No
we

gentler

disturbance
Backache

is

the human
in which

it

unrelievable

during our waking hours. Everything that

the comdisturbs the plane,the expansion,or even
fort
of the feet adds markedly to the alreadyenormous
of maintaining the erect
position,
difficulty
and
to
causes
thirty per
probably from
twenty
of this frightfully
and disablingpain
cent,
common
in the back, and
fiftyper cent, more
aggravates

strain all

of

it.

One

of the most

ance
illustrations of the disturbstriking
of the body-balancecaused by high heels is that
ridiculous marsupial-like
carriagewhich, under the
of the "Grecian
Bend"
the "Kangaroo
names
or
in
about
streets
our
once
Droop," appears
upon
of the periodicattacks
one
twenty years, whenever
of this form of foliecirculaire is at its height. And
if high heels must
be worn,
it is much
better
really,
from a hygienicpointof view to franklyabandon
the
this semi-quadrupedalone
erect
positionand resume
until the periodic
has subsided.
For the last
insanity
five years we
have been in the inactive phase of this
recurrent
delusion,and many of us had even been lay-

AND

INSTINCT

23o

HEALTH

souls that the short

unction to our
ing the flattering
skirt and the low heel and long last were
really
bicycle
in
and rationality
signsof an increasingintelligence
ready
the human
species. But, alas! There are signsalthe
that the curve
is again mounting toward
ready,
positivephase. The short skirt is almost gone aland the high heel is reappearing.
The

most

serious aspect of

the

sins of

the

maker
shoe-

degree to which they turn what should

be the most
of all exercises,
enjoyableand exhilarating
walking,into a labour and a punishment. Fully
half the difficulty
which
physicianshave in getting
their patients
to take a rational and healthful amount
of exercise in the open air depends upon the disabling
and punishingeffects of tight,
wedge-shaped
narrow,
and water-proofmaterial,
shoes, of shiny air-proof
with or without high heels,that not merelyetiquette,
but even
decency and decorum, have inexorablyprescribed
is the

for formal

during business

wear

hours

and

in

public.
This

is of
it must

course

doubly

shoes before you

comfort, you may be

going to

though
al-

divide the honours

with the undivided

crippling
to the point that you
have
your

effective in women,

of percentages of
skirt. When
it comes

to

go

home

and

change

take any real exercise with

certain that your muscles are
be permanentlyunexercised and your tissues
can

unventilated.
It

franklyrecognisedat the start that the

Great as is
shoe, though an evil,is a necessary one.
the damage which it can
and
inflictif unintelligently
must

be

SHOEMAKER'S

THE

irrationally
applied great
it not merely is subjectbut
"

it on

"

the whole

it renders

protects

liable

us

to.

SINS
as

are

the abuses

has almost

us

All

from

231

more

demands

to

which

constantlyled
dangers than
for

"return

primitivesimplicityof
faced at once
are
going barefoot constantly,
by grave
practicaldifficulties. Not only is there the obvious
of snow
and frost and slushymud, but there
difficulty
is the more
serious questionof first,
damage to the
comparativelydelicate tissues of the feet from rough
ties
ground, rocks, thorns,etc., but the further possibiliof infections of different sorts
through these
The human
wounds
or
foot,unfortunately,
injuries.
this point of view, was
from
born in the tree-tops,
and had a soft,prehensile,
palm-likesole and oppos- \V
able thumb
until within comparativelyrecent
years,
geologically
speaking. It had to retain this broad,
expanded palm surface when it assumed the function
of a hoof upon terra firma,and consequently
has been
unable to protect itself by hard hornlike boxes, by
thick leather-like pads. It is
of fur, or even
masses
to

the

nature," and

sweet,

true

goes

that in the earliest stages of savagery

of this horny thickeningand
amount
on

the soles of the

upon

able
consider-

hardening

feet,so that the savage

ble
rock,jungle,and stub-

will tramp unconcernedlyover

barefooted
that would
make
a

white

man

cringe

with this admitted

step. But even
compensation,it is doubtful whether the barefooted
and

flinch

savage

shod
One

is

white

at

every

ever

as

strong

on

his feet

as

the leather-

man.

of the earliest

uses

that he makes

of his dawn-

AND

INSTINCT

232

HEALTH

is to providesome
ing intelligence

sandal, or other footwear, and

fact,well-shod
run

down

moccasined
run

feet
and
snow

soft
shoe

down

in

as

civilised troops

long campaign

savage

unshod

kind of

bands

almost

of

matter
can

moccasin,
out

wear

barefooted
as

shod

cal
practi-

or

horses

and
even

will

simplyby wearing their

to the quick. Even
dogs that are to travel much
long over
rough surfaces or through ice and
do better and last longer with boots on.
A
and properly fitting
and reasonablyconstructed
is not only no disadvantage,
tage
but a great advanmustangs,

in every way
to the race.
Another
aspect of the questionis

one

which

we

are

at its full value,and

only justbeginningto appreciate
that is the danger and seriousness of the risk of infection
the bare feet and legs.
through wounds
upon
medical
medical
missionaries
and
Army surgeons,
tions,
explorersfind that when they extend their observa-

that the savage

barbarous
or
in the habit of going barefoot
or

tribes which

are

bare-leggedare
diseases
subjectto a largenumber of serious and crippling
through the infection of their feet and legs
from wounds, bruises,
and scratches. Many of these,
in the tropics,
occur
only in the barefooted
especially
quately
adeto use
peoples,and disappearwhen they come
it is
In other cases,
protected footwear.
found that they are
much
more
heavilysubjectto
septicand other infectious diseases,like tepticamia,
tetanus
(lockjaw),boils and carbuncles of different
of the deep
sorts, while ulcers of the feet,especially
or
common
penetratingvariety,are vastly more

AND

INSTINCT

234

Though

we

have

"Madura

foot"

temperate

belt,yet

no

other

or

we

HEALTH

plague or "Delhi boil"

soil infections in
tropical

have

the Tetanus

or

the

bacillis and

septicorganisms that are

this is well
found
in the soil, especially
when
in our
cultivated
as
manured, either intentionally,
So
our
fields,
or
as
citystreets.
accidentally,
upon
that probably,on the whole, an indiscriminate going
the part of boys and children,
barefoot,even
upon
of the
would
do more
harm
than good on
account
it might
and infections to which
danger of injuries
give rise. Intelligently
indulgedin, as on the seabeach or indoors,on the lawn or playground,it would
do much
effects of shoethe injurious
to counteract
wearing.
The
abuses of that double-edgedgiftof
principal
the gods, the shoe, consist in making it too tight,
turbing
disthe proper
balance and elasticity
of the foot
by thrustingblocks under it in the form of heels,
making it of an unnatural shape,so as to interfere
with the proper
of the foot in
pushing movements
walking,and making it of too impervious,too rigid,
man
thin materials.
Of course
too
or
livinghuevery
being will admit that shoes should not be too
tight,as readilyas that the whole is greater than a
a

of

score

part,

or

other

other

any

equally,of

course,

of the fundamental
"I

never

wear

my

axioms.

shoes

But

tight;I

Tight shoes are like

unorthodox
body
opinions. They always belong to someelse. Why, in the firstplace,we
be
should ever
is
ashamed
of a largefoot and proud of a small one
have

lots of

milder

room

in them."

THE
from

SHOEMAKER'S

SINS

235

dispassionate
pointof view one of those things
which, in the languageof Lord Dundreary, "no fellah
evah can
find out."
We
are
immensely proud of a
large head, of broad shoulders,a deep chest,or of
But of a No. 10 foot,which matches
six-foot stature.
with all the rest of these,and should accompany
accurately
A
them, we are almost as acutelyashamed.
well-arched,muscular foot is just
long,well-spread,
and of enmuch
durance
as
a
sign of vigour and efficiency
Nor
is of great brain power.
as
a big head
is our
in favour of a small foot a whit less
prejudice
absurd from an artisticpointof view.
From
the foot
of the Apollo Belvedere
and that of the Venus
de
Milo
"les beaux pieds de Trilby,"the pedal exto
tremity
lighted
which the sculptorand the artist have dea

to

immortalise

proportionsas
And
the red

hue

yet

it is
we

has

been

as

generous

in its

lines.
gracefuland vigorous in its outcan
bring the blush of shame or

of embarrassment

to

even

the manliest

cheek

pen
by jeeringabout the size of his feet if they haplimits of decency,No. 9.
to exceed the arbitrary
A
big, well-grown body should have a big, wellfoot if it is to be reallyvigorousand efficient.
grown
Though every one will admit that shoes should be
is in the degree of looseness.
worn
loose,the difficulty
of us, if on puttingon
with most
Practically,
a

new

shoe

we

can

force

our

feet into it without

too

effort and without

discomfort,we think
positive
it is loose enough, and proceed to "break it in." It
if we
would be much
accurate
more
appliedthat term

much

to

the foot instead of the shoe.

As

Uncle

'Rastus

re-

AND

INSTINCT

236

HEALTH

of his
to the squallsof one
marked, after listening
who
was
supposedto
recentlyarrived grandchildren
be teething,
lots of folks talk 'bout babies a-cuttin'
ob de
their teeth, but it peahs to me
dat it's a case
"Ah

heah's

teeth cuttin' the

Another
demand
floor in

baby!"

moiety of
that
a

we

new

us

should
shoe

will

perhaps go

be able
and

to

bear

put
our

our

far

as

foot

as

to

weight upon

to

the

it

without

positivepinching. Beyond this,however,

few of us are exigeantenough to go.
what the
Now, consider justfor a moment
precisely
function of the foot is,and we
how
at once
can
see
In the first
inadequateboth of these standards are.
but arched, for a perfectly
place,the foot is not flat,
obvious mechanical reason
to give elasticity
to the
gait,and to lessen the jarto the body and head. The
is by
only way in which an arch can give elasticity
expanding, as is illustrated in the familiar carriage
riage
spring. You might justas well put an ordinarycarspring in a rigidframe which pressedupon it
pect
firmly,above, below, and at both ends, and then exit to "give" or springas to expect the foot to
work
properly in a shoe which doesn't give it at
least three-quarters
of an inch of leeway or expansion
in length,and half an inch for expansionin width.
"

In

other

words, your

simply restingon
it ought to be
upon
short of the tipof

the

great

toe

when

your

foot is

ground without any weight

of an inch
at least three-quarters
inch is better.
your shoe, and an

THE

SHOEMAKER'S

Another

way

forward

upon

and

whether

see

contact

least

test

the

if in

is the

there

of the

quarter and better

weight firmly
the act of stepping
off,
sensation of
slightest
There

toe.

should

half inch of

237

the

it is to throw

foot,as

the end

at
a

to

SINS

be

at

leewaywhen

the foot is in this

position.
ter
lengthrequirementis not such a difficultmateither from yourself
from your shoeor
secure,

This
to

dealer

shoemaker, for the

or

dawned

upon

class,that

the
one

of
benightedintelligence

of the best ways

slim and

look

to

pretty is
its breadth.

increase its

to

So

that

as

make

to

at

last

ter
this lata

foot

length in proportion
rule,you will

fightvery vigorouslyin order to get a

shoe which is adequate in point of length. When,
to the other expansion
however, it comes
requirement
of adequate width, then the battle is on
in earnest.
Not only will the average
salesman
insist upon
ing
sellyou his idea of a pretty shoe for your particular
of pedal extremity,
form
and warn
that corns
you
and blisters of all sorts
of trouble and things will
chafe up on your feet if they slide about in the shoes.
shoemaker
But the average
can
hardly be induced
has decent width, except at
to give you
a shoe which
the point of a club, in the form of a curt refusal to
accept the firstpair of shoes which he makes for you
not

have

that it has

reason

which
It is

may

do
not

to

not

come

up

to

fair,however,

for

they know

say

about

to

standard

blame

well
perfectly

comfort

heart of hearts you

your

and

would

common

him

of comfort.
or

the salesman,

that whatever
sense,

like better than

you

in your

anything

else

AND

INSTINCT

238

that will make

shoe

HEALTH
your

foot look

pretty,

that at
And
according to fashionable standards.
of us
least three-quarters
always
present company
back and abuse them
will come
excepted,of course
shoe settles into an
comfortable
if our
ungraceful
"

"

shape or shows wrinkles.

of a broad
The
desirability,
nay, the vital necessity
low heel,placed well back, is so obvious as to admit
for the existence
The
of no discussion.
only excuse
of

heel

all is the desire

at

to

exaggerate

and

increase

height of the natural arch of the foot,

to give it a supposedly
more
gracefulappearance, and
time to shorten its apparent length. The
at the same
firstof these processes
is as unnecessary
as
painting
the second is injurious
in direct prothe lily. And
portion
the apparent

to

its success.

alreadyseen, the shorter the foot, the

the ground, and the higher
weaker
its leverageupon
the balance
the heel,the more
and radically
seriously
of the entire body is disturbed.
Nobody outside an
institute for the feeble-minded,
ultra-fashionable
or
would
for a moment
defend the high heel on
circles,
rational or hygienicgrounds. Closely related with
the heightof the heel,and indeed as the only excuse
for the existence even
of a low one, is the questionof
the arch of the foot. This is,of course,
maintaining
important. But it should be done from above, not
As

from
is

we

have

below.

The

business

of the arch

of the foot

how
"give." And no matter
high it is kept by
curved piecesof wood, heavy leather,or metal plates
in the sole or instep
of the shoe, its usefulness is deto

SHOEMAKER'S

THE
if
stroyecl
As

SINS

these resist in any marked

of fact,the arch
matter
a

239

scent.
degree its deof the

foot is

beautifully
developed in children who
have never
shoes at all,or only flat or springworn
heeled shoes, in sandal-wearingpeoplesand in savages.

best and

Nature
and

can

most

built the arch of the foot in the firstplace,

be

with

by

trusted
too

much.

to

take

care

And

it is

the crosswise tension of

group

front and the back of the

of it,if

not

fered
inter-

supportednaturally
of muscles

on

the

legproper (theshin muscles

and deep muscles of the calf) and in addition from
before backward, by the long and short flexors,or
itsunder surface
benders,of the toes which run across
from heel to ball of foot,like a bowstring across
the
arch of the bow.
of the most
Let alone, it is one
and resilient arches, in
elastic, yielding,
beautifully
But
proportionto its strength,in the animal world.
low
every attempt to "support it" mechanicallyfrom beinterferes with this bowstring and elastic suspension
and disabling
action. Even in the distressing
"flat foot," or "broken
condition known
arch,"
as
is lowered or broken and
when this supportingcurve
the weight of the body thrown down upon the ground
through the instep,while metal and other supports
in the instepof the shoe are valuable as a temporary
of depending
do not dream
means,
yet nowadays we
but on the contrary,
results,
upon them for permanent
exercise the foot in outward
vigorouslyand systematically
to tone
rollingand other movements,
up these
muscles and bringthe arch into its normal condition
,

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

24o

time
At the same
more.
suspensiononce
vigour
toningup the generalmuscular and systematic
the feet of any abnormal
of the patientand relieving
in the form of proand excessive strain,particularly
longed
standing. Unless we can restore the muscular

of elastic

tone,

fail of

we

Now

the

comes

of the

shape of

permanent

puzzling and long-debatedquestion

the shoe.

debate, authorities
should

be

with

as
an

cure.

are

nearlyas
additional

After

much

and

fairlywell agreed
"foot-form"
literally
of an
three-quarters

wrathful
that
as

this

ble
possi-

inch

to

length,and at least half an inch in breadth

allow for expansionunder pressure.
The
chief
to
point of disagreementis as to the shape of the toe.
One
school holding that it should continue forward
the natural outward
slope of the sides of the foot
from instep
to ball,ending in a broad, shovel-shaped,
The
other holding that after adequate
toe.
square
inch in

an

and

proper

of the
then
toes

breadth

foot,the

has been
border

outer

be diverted

to

in moderate

run

that

we

upon

curved

do

not

one

rest

the full breadth

line about

the heel behind

across
slanting

two

the ball

at

expansion.

lateral ends of

across

least of the shoe may

parallelwith the line of the

opinionis inclined more

for two
reasons.
position,
recognisedthat our two
as

attained

and

generalbalance

The

toward

more

of

the latter

First,that it is becoming
feet

to

are

be considered

arch

transverse

in either

or

walking

support, and
or

of the sole,but upon

inches

along the

outer

the ball of the

each

standing
a

broad

wide, extending from

side of the foot,and,
toes

to

that of the great

INSTINCT

242

AND

HEALTH

flat-boat toe is not

shovel-shaped,
only an offence to the eye, but a hindrance to efficiency
in rapidand enduringwalking. It by no means
sarily
necesfollows that anything which is ugly is on that
account
hygienic. This intoeing,bent-leggedgait,
by the way, is not onlybeingadopted in our gymnasia
but also by army drill
and schools of physical
training,
the French.
masters,
particularly
The pointof the toe must, however, be whittled off
For anything
only on one side,and that the outer.
So that the broad,

which

than

Last

tends

to

make

the inner side of the shoe other

straightand doubles
perfectly
is crippling
and deformingto

the great toe outward

the last degree.

of

all,a word as to the material of the shoe.

Here, in the main, the hard, practical,
sense
common
of

fashion.
And
we
triumphed over
and under the,
may
agree that for practical
purposes
there is "nothing like
majority of circumstances
leather."
and
Tough and impervious to stones
and within moderate
tic,
limits elasthorns,yet flexible,
of moisture,yet
imperviousto moderate amounts
fairlyporous, and capable of being readilycleaned
and dressed and resurfaced,it has won
its high place
in the regard of the shoemaker
the world over
stantial
subon
ever,
grounds. Like every other good thing,howithas its defects,
and has been used for shoe purposes
wholesale and unintelligent
in far too exclusive,
Its toughnessand strengthof fibre have
a manner.
been used to cramp
the foot as no woven
material,
Its
could be made to do.
except grass or hemp fibre,
of taking a polishor
high finish has been
power

humanity

has

SHOEMAKER'S

THE
abused

various

by

until

enamels

which

forms

of

almost

have

we

SINS

243

blackings,and
destroyedthe porousness

pastes,

it naturally
possesses,

and

which

is

of

one

In short,while recognisingits
its greatest virtues.
for something
valuable and substantial qualities
most
like one-half
more
an
come

to

two-thirds of human

completelywe
absolute bondage
to encasingour

porous

material

will

be

at

feet.

emancipate ourselves
it,the more
nearly we

can

to

feet in

some

softer and

from
can
more

least one-third of the time, the better

prospects

our

footwear, the

Certain

for

healthy

and

fortable
com-

leathers should

enamelled

be

altogether,
although it is only fair to say that
their own
the majorityof them correct
defect of imwithin a few weeks of vigorouswear
perviousness
by
crackingand opening at a dozen points. It is also a
disabuse our
cannot
to
great pity that we
manage
minds of the aesthetic prejudice
in favour of the "high
light"or other form of brilliant polishupon our pedal
extremities.
It has, of course, the great practical
advantage
that dust and even
mud
be wiped or
can
brushed off from it,as from any glazed surface.
But
it is artistically
absurd, and the soft,velvety-looking
dressed"
surface of buckskin, suede, or other so-called "unavoided

leathers is much

attractive to the

spoiled
un-

in
warmth
comfort, elasticity,
cold weather, and coolness in heat, on
of
account
their porousness,
they are far superiorto the various
hard-finished or glazedleather. Soft, Indian-tanned
eye;

buckskin

is

footwear

as

while

more

for

probablyas nearlythe
can

be devised.

ideal material for

AND

INSTINCT

244

HEALTH

longerin such deadly fear of the penetration

because we
of moisture through the shoe, first,
that most
colds,that were
supposed to come
recognise
We

are

from

no

due

feet,are

wet

and
infection,

to

by this form
onlybe precipitated

at

most

can

of

chilling.Second,
and even
fundamental, there is reallyno harm
more
in gettingthe feet wet so long as they remain warm
conscious of any chill. If we
and we
not
are
keep
with sufficient vigourafter
on
walking and exercising
feet are wet to maintain the circulation and keep
our
them warm,
if our
foot coveringis sufficiently
stantial
subor
and

weight woollen
other porous
when
wet, our
chill when

sock

shoe, and

to

get your

feet will

not

cotton

be one-third

yet

free

they from

not

medium-

know

that
sense

any

as

liable

to

fact,with this type

sock, it is quitepossible
In

feet well moistened

rain and

of the

by a felt,buckskin,or
remain non-conducting,
even

leather,to

even

case

covered

this has occurred.

of

are

in the

as

porous,

walking in the
they are wet, so entirely
of chill or penetration
when

of moisture.

should

We
uppers

of

our

utilise far more

certainly
shoes
nothingbetter

the soles has

"

yet been

discovered

"

freelyfor
than

the

leather for

canvases,

tightly

do. The
goods and felts than we now
that they
chief objection
is the aestheticone
to them
lose their shape and look "sloppy." Other than that,
except in bad weather and across
very rough ground,
healthful.
comfortable
tainly
Cerand more
they are more

woven

woollen

will vent
prethe free perspiration
of the feet.
and respiration
no

material

should

be tolerated which

THE

SHOEMAKER'S

This is the vital and

rubber

SINS

serious

in all its forms.

To

objectionto
put it in

245
the

use

of

nutshell,the

only danger in gettingthe feet wet is the possibility

the rapidity
of chill,
both of increasing
account
on
the nonand destroying
of the heat loss by evaporation,
conducting
sock and
of the originally
porous
power
shoe.

It makes

littledifference whether

the outside in the form

came

from

from

the inside in the form

If you

are

going to walk,

of rain water

of retained
in any

that moisture

real

or

perspiration.
sense

of the

likelyto
exceedingly
find your feet almost as damp and stickyfrom perspiration
of your
at the end
as
they would
tramp
have been from the rain or the slop without them.
as
a temporary
They should therefore only be worn
cise
protectionat times when little or no vigorous exeris to be indulgedin,or as a means
of protection
from
chill by invalids,
those in delicate health.
or
Except in those forms which are little larger than
sandals, they retain the perspirationand promote
various diseased conditions of the feet. They incline
to produce the very condition of moisture which
they
above
intended to protect against. And
all,
were
the wearing of thin-soled,
to encourage
they do more
and utterlyirrational shoes than almost any
flimsy,
other influence outside of fashion.
The vast majority
of individuals,
old, in anythinglike reasonably
or
young
ing
good health, would be much better off by wearsubstantial,firm-soled shoes,with a water-proof
layer incorporatedin the sole, good firm, porous
in the summer,
and wool, though not
cotton
stockings,

term,

and

wear

rubbers,you

are

INSTINCT

246

in

necessarily,
alone

as

Even

cold,
full

in

those
like

debilitating
constant

wear

to

boots,

of

and

of
rubber

than

take
be

the

completely

an

emergency

weather.

stormy

exposed

to

after
as

woollen

to

brought

the

constant

socks
of

chances

and

wet

lumbermen,

exposed

perspiration
boots.

as

as

rubber
thick

wear

and

rather
bath

or

abandoned

almost

wetting,

sloppy

fishermen,

preferring

leather

only

continuously

are

have

rubbers

them

wearing

hunters,

trial,

let

and

extremely

who

footwear,

heavy

winter,

possible,

protection

HEALTH

AND

an

and

sional
occa-

internal

about

by

XII

CHAPTER

THE

IRREPRESSIBLE

TENDENCY

OF

BABIES

TO

haze

has

GROW

UP

MYSTERY

cradle.

The

golden
colours at the edges.
lightsin it,but there are storm
Wherever
Mystery is,Fear lurks close. This tinyroseleaf life which has fallen so strangelyinto ours
may
The
fall out again as suddenlyand as irresistibly.
of a fingerwould
lightest
stop the ebb and
pressure
flow of that tiny breath tide, the faintest puff extinguish
that little spark. It has lived but one
day.
But stop a moment.
Why should it live another?
One
day old, did you say? It is a quarter of a
million years ! The
vital spark that is in its veins
has not been extinguishedonce
in that time
else it
would not be here. All that time it has been fighting
battles against adverse
circumstances
and
winning
them.
It represents the conquering strain of fifty
thousand
generations.Is it going to go down in the
firstround that happens to come
under your eye?
of its little body, every crease
of its
Every curve
surrounds

"

detail of its

skin, every

trick and

unconscious
battle

won

fights.Why
But it looks

movement,

Fate.

over

should
so

nervous

system, every
is the mark

It is the hero

it not

and
helpless

continue
so

of

little
of

thousand

conquer?
tiny. True enough
to

"

INSTINCT

248

AND

but that little pink morsel

HEALTH
of wrinkles

laces is

and

ity,
prepared to give you a test of his qualof his age-longpedigree,at the
demonstration
a
time to perform an athletic feat which
same
strong
in rivalling.
would find difficulty
men
into the palm of one
Work
a
carefully
forefinger
rose-leaf paw, and wait until he clamps down
it.
on
Do the same
with the other,and when both are firmly
clutched,liftslowlybut steadily
upward. You can lift
him not merely into a sitting
but completely
position,
clear of his couch, and there he will swing, his toes
six inches above the bedclothes, from
three-quarters
of a minute to a minute and a half,without the slightest
now
actually

apparent effort or
catch hold of
Now
both

hands,

Draw

up
can

you

your

hold

stay there
to

as

one

on

his part.

with
yourself,
if you were
going to "chin" yourself.
feet from the floor and see how long
in good trainingif you
You
on.
are
a

horizontal

bar

minute, and it will

this is

And

you.

discomfort

like

seem

hour

an

fair illustration of the

baby's

originof this singularhabit is,

of course,
an
question. It evidentlyis of no
open
stances.
his present circumto the baby under
use
particular
tell you that it
A cold-eyed
scientist would
survival of age-longancestral habits of clingwas
a
ing
in tropical
to branches
tree-tops. But to tell a
dotingmother that her darlingmidget shows even a
suggestionof blood kinshipwith a tailed creature
grasp

on

life.

The

"

arboreal

in itshabits

Some
as

to

"

takes

creatures
graceless

say that the immortal

more

courage

would

even

than I possess.
go

"Rock-a-byeBaby

so

far

in the

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

250

ing
and three to one of attainreachinghis fifth,
adult life. Surelythis is not an outlook to justify
serious worry
constant
or
anxietyfor fear that some
dreadful thingwill happen.
"But what can I do to keep my baby in the fortunate
that he won't fall
do I know
eightyper cent. ? How
into the luckless twenty per cent, without my
being

to

of

one

able

to

Don't

prevent
worry,

it?"
but

trust

the

baby.

He

is not

half

so

In fact,if you will

as he looks.
ignorantand helpless
study his little physiognomy carefully,
you will see
about the
that he is not
worrying in the slightest
A grave
of himself.
and is perfectly
sure
situation,
is the dominant
a calm
self-satisfaction,
complacency,
it isn't
And
expressionof the child countenance.
there by accident.
The
baby, the child, knows
what it wants
to do at any given time or under
exactly
and in nine cases
of ten,
out
any given circumstances,
if you
will let it do, under
reasonable
limitation,

pretty much

what

baby

wrong.

is

He

it

to, you will

he wants
when

wants

knows

not
to

go

far

eat, and

musical approvided with an excellent and most

paratus
for conveyingthat fact to your apprehension.
knows
what he wants, and will rejectvigorously

what

knows

doesn't suit him. And

far better than

most

you

may

be

adults when

enough.
This facultyis present from

his very

sure

that he

he has

had

earliest appearanc

During the first

three days of his existence the healthybaby cries but
littleand sleeps
have now
and we
almost constantly;
upon

the

stage of life.

THE
discovered

OF

GROWTH
that

BABIES

251

this

quires
period he not only refood, but is better of without it. He is
no
stilldigesting
and livingupon the nourishment
in his
blood derived from the veins of his mother, and until
that process is completed,food in his littlestomach
is a foreignbody. In fact,the impressionthat colic
"colickiness" in a baby is a natural characteristic
or
is chiefly
due to the senseless insistence of officious
and anxious mothers
nurses
crowding things
upon
into the baby'sstomach
during his first three days.

There

was

nature

of this

enough

to

another

see

days.

clear indication

on

the part of

fact,if we had only been open-minded

it,in that there is no natural supply

of nourishment

three

during

The

for the child until the close of these

horrible

thingsthat

are

poked

into

the unfortunate

baby'smouth in order to correct this

stupidoversighton the part of nature and keep it
from
almost
would
starving to death
stagger
credulity.
A mixture of lard and molasses,administered on her
old nurse
in
was
a favourite dose of one
dirtyfinger,
who had a wonderful
experience,
reputationin
my
her neighbourhood. The
by the way, given
finger,
used to introduce substances
to the child to suck, or
into the mouth, or to rub them on the gums,
is a fertile
of colic and other disturbances all through
cause
babyhood. The poor baby can't escape from it;but
how

would

you

like it if

some

old

nurse

suddenly to thrust her fingerinto

and compel you to suck it?
His faculty
of knowing what he wants

were

or

your

servant

mouth

in the way

AND

HEALTH

252

INSTINCT

of food

is equally
to be trusted. He

is

ture
largelya creaof circumstances here,and if what he reallylikes
doesn't happen to be offered to him, he, of course,
indicate no preferencefor it. He vastlyprefers
can
nature's own
of nourishment, and is a thousand
source
times justified
in his preference.Nature
has
taken a quarter of a million years in fitting
cow's
a
milk to grow
not
a baby, but a calf,and
a mother's
milk to grow
cannot
a baby, and
we
pletely
expect to comthe process in one
reverse
generation.Not
only is the natural supply a far better food, but it
is infinitely
freer from risks of contamination
and the

conveyance

The

of disease.

pains,and, if necessary, considerably

well worth while to secure
this
are
prolongeddelays,
of supply. If,however, this source
be
source
cannot
made
available,then cow's milk furnishes a fairly
substitute,and there are
exceedingly
satisfactory
few children who
be satisfactorily
reared
cannot
it, as is indicated by their distinctly
preferring
upon
greatest

form

it to

any

other

foods

and

patent foods

of food

that could be

offered.

Baby

of all kinds

and

scripti
de-

dislike and with

they instinctively
good
In the firstplace,they are made
not
to sell,
reason.
take the placeof fresh cow's
to eat.
They can never
milk, and are seldom even a suitable supplementto it.
In fact,the sole virtues that they possess are due to
the milk in which they are mixed
and administered.
Most
of them consist chiefly
of
of starch,on account
its cheapness,
which the salivary
glandsof the baby's

THE
mouth

GROWTH
unable

are

OF

digestuntil

to

sixth month, except in very

The

BABIES

milks
pre-digested

253

after the fifth

small

and

quantities.
milk-powders are just

undesirable, for part of their nourishment

as

in the process

usuallybecome changed
into what
or
preparation
while
lessened.
scurvy

at

the

are

has

of

digestion
waste
practically
ucts,
prod-

time their food-value has been

same

only place where

The

or

nowadays find

we

is in the children of the well-to-do

in certain

or

foundlinghospitalswhere they have been fed too

these prepared foods.
on
exclusively
They are for
the most
compared with
part frauds of the firstwater
their claims,and the most
ble
expensiveand least desirafoods upon which a baby can be fed, all of which
have

would

we

avoided

the face that the

to

taste

one,

Afterward,
as

boy

and

years

ago

healthybaby makes

if

we

when

had

watched

he is asked

had

acted upon
the hint.
of course, he learns to like them,

does tobacco

or

man

alcohol.

The

just
baby is

which must
liquidflesh,
be given to him
alive,without even
pasteurising,
of its valuable
which kills milk, and deprivesit of some
It should only be resorted to where
qualities.
the only milk to be had is hopelessly
dirtyor liable to
a

born

contain

carnivore,livingupon

disease germs.

securinga suitable brand of milk he will

remain happy and contented,and consequently
grow
weed for months.
like a young
Then, justbefore his
he develops
teeth begin to show through the gums,
solid food, shown
an
unmistakably
appetitefor more
by his determination to clutch anythingwithin his
After

once

AND

INSTINCT

254

HEALTH

reach,thrust it into his mouth, and chew hard on it.

Now, for the first time, his saliva is ready to digest
juicehas been capable
starch,although his pancreatic

dealingwith
previous. The
of

of it for some
time
quantities
firstand keenest appetite,
however, in
small

the line of solid foods

any

is

not

for bread

of starch,but for meat,

form

and

or

crusts

this should

amounts.
given him freelyto chew in moderate
The
widespread belief that starchyfoods are

proper

and

natural

or

diet for children,and

meat

be

the
gerous
dan-

"heatingto the blood," is a pure and most

attended everywhere by disastrous
deplorablesuperstition,
results. It seems
have been due partly
to
of the greater cheapnessof
account
to stinginess,
on
the starchyfoods,and partlyto the rigidold puritanical
that leads us to distrust our
likes
own
superstition
and dislikes,
and to argue that if we
long for a thing
it must
be bad for us.
The baby'sstomach
very much
for the firstyear is almost purelycarnivorous
in size
of his diet should consist of
and shape. Two-thirds
In fact,during his
flesh foods, either milk or meat.
firstthree years the starchyfood should be littlemore
than padding and exercise stuff for his growing teeth.
The
of malnutrition among
commonest
singlecause
the children of the poor is the excess
of starchyfoods
which they are reared; and milk and beef juice
upon
and

are

our

potent medicines

most

It
his front

or

not

was

meat

teeth

by

in the children's dispensarie

accident that the

and his
first,

baby cuts
grindersor starch

teeth later.

About

the second

or

third year,

or

even

the fourth

THE

GROWTH

fifth,if allowed

or

strong

to

BABIES

255

he
developnaturally,

for sugar.

taste

careful observation
this sugar

OF

among

instinct does

play
will dis-

convinced,from
unspoiledchildren,that
I

am

develop so early or so
violentlyas is popularly supposed. In unspoiled
children
that is,those that are left largely
to their
devices
unless it is put in their milk or baby
own
foolish
food, or given them as a "treat" by some
adult, they displaylittle or no excessive preference
for sugar over
meat, milk, or bread, until the fourth
fifth year.
Even then, if they are allowed to have
or
plenty of it in pure form at opportune times, they
not

"

"

will seldom

they are

way

usuallysupposed to

thingscould

Few

attitude toward

our

surfeit themselves

or

gorge

be

do

imagined more

sugar

in infant

with
if

it in the

they are

restrained.
un-

irrational than

feeding. Regarding

luxury ourselves,we teach them to take

it as such, and then, by stinting
them
of it,bring
unnatural
and
an
overmastering hunger for it.
After these many
workers assure
us,
years, laboratory
it

upon

of

our

as

most

growing

evidence, that sugar is one

for
singlefoods, and especially

incontestable

most

valuable

children.

the best and

It is readilyabsorbed,

refreshing,

fatiguethat we know
of, beingprobablymore
nearlythe form in which the
food fuel is burned
in our
muscle enginesthan any
It has justrecently
found
have.
other that we
even
its way

safest reliever of

into that

most

cold-blooded

and matter-of-fact

regimen upon the face of the earth, the German

Field Army Ration, and that by ounces, daily.

Yet

might have
only been

we

had

ears

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

256

guessed this
open

to

the

years

wisdom

ago

of

if

our

babes.

only defects are its overmasteringattractiveness

which is m itself a high-class
to the unjaded palate,
certificateof merit from a biological
point of view,
and the fact that it lends itself rather readilyto the
of any fermentations
which may
pen
hapencouragement
in the alimentarycanal.
If only
to be going on
the precautionbe taken to allow children to satisfy
the first keenness of their appetite
less cloying
upon
or
foods, like milk, meat
bread, they may then be
given as a dessert almost all the pure sugar or sweet
fruit or pudding that they will eat, not only without
harm, but with great benefit. The only reason
why
be safelyallowed
with
to begin a meal
they cannot
of its cloyingquality,
which clogsthe
it is on account
of actual
appetitelong before a sufficient amount
fuel value has been taken in; but this cloyingquality
is precisely
the thingwhich at the end of a meal will
Its

be

sure

The

only

protect us from excess.

soundness of the baby'sinstinctsfor
to

be

to

mentioned

parents who

admitted.

Yet

I have

the
over
seriously
of time their baby wasted in sleep,
amount
enormous
when
he ought to have been developinghis intelligence
in preparationfor his life struggle.One word
of warning, however, might be given don't wake
the baby for anything,short of the house being on
not
fire,
to feed him.
even
Clock-work
in feedinghas been a fetish
regularity

known

anxious

be

to

sleepneeds

worried

"

at

whose

shrine

many

luckless

infants have

been

AND

INSTINCT

258

taint of the old

pectinga

Nixies, that
of very

needs

fresh air in

does

The

air of heaven

should

play all

catch

seldom

cold.

the

are

which

Where

around

and

child whose

many

hopelessin
conditions.

the

on

the ward

below

day

and

be dreaded

hopelessand

most

bronchitis
of

the

in babies

hospital,with

all around

snow

has

been

has recovered

them,

given

up

as

only the consumptive who

sleepin the open air nowadays.

is put

he

live in

night,with

like

our

these

it, and
in his

as

much

he

fresh, pure milk

it,as much

wants

take, all the sunshine

let him

prevent.

under

whenever

and

case

the

to

dows,
win-

high-walled
eases
respiratorydis-

It is not

live and

wants,

roof

them, and

over

short,give a child

feels

of

Closed

and

bedding

imagined

Out

In

infection.

breeders

nowadays?
only a canopy

to

of

thick

they are

it will

and

the contrary, it will become

form

surest

the fresh

Let

the littleone

do you suppose
we
put
of pneumonia or
cases

serious

out

be abolished.

On

proof against this

stuffyrooms,
cots

gentle
of self-heating.
even
basket, is a relic

high powers
deep, tub-like cradle,or

of barbarism, and

it

its weight than

proportionto

it has

as

tense
in-

child's tissues,that

adult,and isn't in the least afraid of

an

draft,

of fact,so

matter

Jinns and

of

off with the souls

swoop

As

activities of

the

more

to

children.

young

are

spook dread,

anxious

were

HEALTH

can

get in northern

gentlecurrent
plentyof room
most

sleepas

of

the

horoscopewill

as

he

he will

latitudes,

of pure, fresh air

he
to kick when

possibleevils

be averted.

to

CHAPTER

THE

NATURAL

THAT

GROWTH

the child has

forward

carry

But

deny.
illumine
be

and

XIII

its

that he

OF

CHILDREN'S

instincts that

MINDS

be trusted

can

to

physicaldevelopment,few will
has any such "lightwithin," to

direct his mental

doubted.

Yet

there

progress,

few

are

would

haps
per-

thingsmore

the germ
of the flower is contained
in the tiniest seed and will reveal itself with as absolute

certain.

Just as

will rootlets and leaves when proper

as
certainty
conditions of heat,moisture,and lightare accorded,
so

the germ

of the mind

little body and

of

child is present in his

will develop and unfold
itself with
a

growth of the latter.

The onlyway to stop the growth of a child's mind is
to
growing. Appetite is the
stop his body from
the

mother
lowest

of the mind
estimate

and

muscle

is its father.

the

body with its brain

the mind, and good work
be
cannot
while opinionsmay
good tools. And
whether
control

our

systems
mind"?or

of education

At

its

is the tool of
done

have

without

differ

as

to

the

greater
in later life,
in childhood

body
there is little questionthat we
do three times as
can
much for the body as for the mind
directly and we
can
now
pointto the overwhelminglyunanimous and
that children
consolingresult of practical
experience,
over

"

"

AND

INSTINCT

260

reared and educated

for the

be done
and
and

planof doing all that can

as
superiorin the clearness
as
they are in the strength

are

vigourof their minds

beauty of their bodies.
of children

Hundreds
never

the inside of

seen

periodof
ten

this

on

body

HEALTH

or

mental

formal

twelve

even

are

now

on

record

who

have

schoolroom, or had a single

as
such,until eight,
training
of age,

years

and

yet have

with children of their age in the classrooms

within two years of
generallyahead of them

up

"

been

and

"

ing
enter-

school.

and answer
Keep children growing healthily
their questions
far as you can, and you have
so
fulfilledthe whole duty of parents and will have little
need to worry
about the mental developmentof your
offspring.
look at the pink,
that as we
Yet it is littlewonder
sleepymorsel in the crib,and think of the tremendous
that has to be bridged between
that and
full
gap
manhood
womanhood, a gasp of dismay or a shiver
or
of apprehensionstrikes us.

There
hand

"

is

excellent and

an

the child

as you
intelligently

times out

of

his face.

Do

ten.

you

himself.

most

reliable aid

Just

follow

first

at

his lead

as

and you will find success

eight
If you don't believe it,justlook at
can,

see

any

doubt

or

hesitation

or

wor-

if
particle.His expression,
he has been properlyfed,is one
of the blandest and
most
placidself-confidence. And he has a rightto
the expression.As we
his bodily
in considering
saw
growth, he is millions of years older than he looks.
As a matter
of fact,he is older than you are by the
riment

there?

Not

CHILDREN'S
amount

Time's

of your

own

MINDS

age

at

his birth.

noblest,but nature's latest and

of his brain

product. Two-thirds

261
He
most

is not

only

finished

buildingis already

done.

Though

the child's body

twentieth of its adult

at

birth

weight, his

will have reached

third,and by five years of

age

tenths of its final bulk.

In other

child
any

enters

school

of the formal

at

all,or

processes

weighs barelyonebrain weighs one-

has
of

nine-

words, before
been

submitted

the
to

education,two-thirds

development is accomplished. And if

you will try to get him to admit you to his intimacy
his equal,which he may be induced to do, although
as
instead of
knowing at heart that he is your superior,
gazing down upon him through your pince-nezwith
that ludicrous air of condescension
based so naively
in inches,you will find that the
upon
your superiority
littlerascal seems
tude
of it. His attito be fully
aware
is well illustrated by the story of the five-yearand his
old, who, after much tribulation on his own
mother's part, had succeeded in mastering the magic
of one
and was
art of words
syllable,
beginning to
of the animals on
apply this master
key to the names
his blocks and in his favourite picturebook.
His
of the
mother, who had been pityinghim on account
rocky and uphillroad to learningwhich stretched
before
his tiny feet, came
unexpectedly into his
in front of the hearth
and found him sitting
nursery
with his back toward her, and one of his picture
books
his knee, his pudgy fingertracingthe mystic characters.
on
Suddenly he closed the book, put his hand
of his mental

to

his

"Great

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

262

forehead, and ejaculatedin an

Scott,how much I know I" And

awed
his

tone,
was

the

rational attitude.

more

The

correlation between

mind

in the earliest days of life.

and

The

muscle

is obvious

firsttest of muscular

vigour,the hand grasp, is an indication of the mental

Not one
child out of a hundred
as well.
possibilities
who
at ten
days of age grasps firmlyand clingsto a
fingeror pencilrubbed againsthis pink little palm
will ever
fall below
the average
of his
intelligence
The
absence of this or even
race.
a feeble or
flabby
hand grasp in a baby is a serious and menacing sign
either of low vitality
of mental defect. Even
at
or
birth the mental
machinery is all there, the fire is
the
starts
lightedunder the boiler,his firstmovement
piston. All he has to do, so to speak, is to limber
it up by exercise,tightenthe coupling belts as each
division of the machine
into action,and
new
comes
in a littlewhile the whole engineis runningsmoothly,
and efficiently.
the beauty of this
And
noiselessly,
wondrous
body-brain-machineis that all you have to
do is to start it up, keep fuel under its boiler and
in it,and it will slowly but surelyadjustand
water
develop and balance itself,
working off the friction
its different rates
of revolution
points,co-ordinating
in the different parts until finally
it is working at full
speed, full power, and in full harmony.
"

Natural

of its
will call for every one
velop
deafter another, and inevitably

conditions

potentialities,
one
interfered with.
them, unless fatally
an

immense

amount

of time

and

In short,

effort is wasted

"

CHILDREN'S
and

MINDS

velop
teachinga child to deevitabl
indo thingswhich it would
of its own
accord, in its own

than wasted

worse

and

powers

and

do

to

learn

263

"

in

good time, if left to itself.

such a simpleprocess as learning
Take, for instance,
to walk.
tion
By the average, dotingmother the acquisiof this marvellous
accomplishmentby her baby
is looked upon
as
somethinglittleshort of a miracle,
pected.
exa
thingto be hoped for, prayed for, but scarce
Other common
or
ordinarybabies,of course,
have done ittimes out of mind, but her precious
one
curled up!
so
oh, he is so little,
soft,so kittenishly
Can he ever
straightenout and stiffen those chubby
legs of his until they will bear him erect and carry
him wherever
he wants
to go?
Consequently,from
the moment
that his back is stiff enough to enable
all kinds of
him to support the weight of his intellect,
half-adoring,
half-despairing
experimentsare tried
"

upon

He

him

to

is held

this end.
so

that his feet will

justtouch

the

floor,

gradually lowered until he can bear a little

weight on them.
Usually he has the eminent good
to go down
sense
"sodge !" whenever this happens.
months
But sometimes, at six or seven
old, he may
make
a
feeble,wabbly step or two, supportinghis
weight on two legsinstead of four, as is natural and
and

proper
So soon

at

this age.
imitation
this first flickering
as

of

drous
won-

probablybe placed
in a runabout, supportinghim under his armpits,and
allowing him to propel himself by pushing on the
he will
feat has been elicited,

INSTINCT

264

HEALTH

AND

floor,or suspendedin a life-preserver

ring at the end
bounce
of a spiralspring,in which he can
up and
down
and kick, and give his delightedmamma
the
to walk," all of which
impressionthat he is "learning
is

for
charming amusement
and fairly
relatives,
good fun
of time.

waste

And

the littleone
limbs
have

even

he

earlier than

two

or

without

so

doting
a

pure

if in any way successful in inducing

balance his entire weight on two

month

done

to

the parents and

for the child,but

is all
interference,

to

would

the bad.

It is hard

tire
enough all our adult life to have the enstead
weight of the body thrown upon two limbs inof four,and the bad eminence of the knee joint
in pathology,the terrificfrequency
of flat foot,weak
ankles, and pain in the back are chieflydue to it.
But to throw this abnormal
man
strain,to which the huadjusteditself,
specieshas hardlyyet fairly
upon
the soft,gelatin-like
and
bones, tender joint-surfaces,
soft,almost unarched feet of the young baby is utterly

wrong.

weak

of many

foundations

The

ankles and of bow

althoughthe

latter will

case

flat foot, of

of

legsare laid at this period,

not
quence
usuallyappear in conse-

unless the nutrition of the child fall far below

par.

Let

the

scuttle

baby follow
vigorouslyabout

rapid as

all your

clutch

on

until he discovers

content

up

his ancestral

means

all fours

and
instincts,

that,admirablysafe

of locomotion

this may

hands, and doesn't giveyou

thingsor

to

reach

his heart's

to

and

be, it takes
a

chance

objectsoff
interesting

to

the

HEALTH

AND

INSTINCT

266

as
naturallyand as inevitably
feet longby the time he is two
What
language he will talk
particular
years old.
will,of course, be determined by that which is spoken
most
constantlyin his hearing. But, unless confined
of deaf mutes, he will inevitably
speak
to the society

to talk just as
grow
he will grow to be two

some

language

well-meant

attempts

and

natural
his mind

before
to

he

is three

teach

his

own

to

talk before

The
his

nothing but distract

of solvingthe
littlemethod

appointedtime

from

him

old.

years

do

problem.
irrational than
ludicrously
Nothing could be more
the prevailing
impressionthat in order to teach a
child to solve the mystery of speech it is necessary
to talk "baby talk" to him.
for adoring relatives
It is a delightful
amusement
take to it with astonishing
and nurses, who
facility,
vehicle
and appear to find in it a rich and never-failing
of their ideas. But pitythe poor
for the conveyance
baby ! The prevailing
impressionthat he understands
it better than he does plain,
ful
direct English is a shameof those
and one
aspersionupon his intelligence
knows
where.
superstitions
grown
up from heaven
As a matter
of fact,growing to talk by a baby is
but it spreads
a comparatively
simpleand easy affair,
over
so
long a periodand reaches such a wonderfully
complex result at last that it is apt to impressus as
more
thing
complicatedthan it reallyis. This is someof the line it follows:

The

first sounds

that

absolutely
spontaneous,

baby

makes

but unconscious.

are

not

I have

only
seen

CHILDREN'S
very

young

children

by

the shrillness of

or

fear.
It is

MINDS

267

repeatedlyfrightenthemselves
their own
cry, either of delight

of a
long before the pink littlepossibility
man
beginsto notice that his cries are responded to,
the hunger yellby food, the fear cry by petting,
the
"Goo, goo!" of satisfaction by answering gurgling
sounds and ticklings
and pattings.He gets the idea
not

that he
So

can

far his

make

himself

heard

and

attended

to.

the
comes
speech is inarticulate. Now
of it up into sections,
which, of course, is done
cutting
by the muscles of the lipsand the tongue. Naturally,
his firstand most
of the pleasfrequentinterruptions
ure
gurgle are by the opening and closingof the lips
in the familiar movements
of taking in food, giving
rise to the "Mum-mum-mum"
and "Pap-pap-pap"
series.
And
generationsof proud parents have
eagerlyadoptedthese sounds as their names.
Graduallyit dawns upon him that certain forms of
this babblinggurgle are
gant
responded to with extravanary
signsof delightby certain strange and extraordifeatures of the landscapesurrounding him,
which
perhaps he has justbegun to pick out from
their background. He consequently
is apt to repeat
these babblingswhenever
into
these apparitions
come
his neighbourhood. And
the proud father and
now
the doting mother
are
quitesure that he recognises
them and calls them by name,
which is perhaps true
in the same
that he recognises
the fire in the
sense
grate, or the brightred table-cloth.
nursery
His next step probablyis to imitate the sounds that

INSTINCT

268
he hears

made

vicinitythe
the mewing of
"

his window.

AND

HEALTH

objectsin his
interesting
his dog, toy or otherwise,
the crowingof the cock under
kitten,

by the more
barking of
his

These

tellig
manifestations of in-

marvellous

hailed with

such

delightand regarded
as
imitated,and they are
callingfor the creatures
promptly brought within his reach. This naturally
strengthensin his mind the association between the
sound and the object,
and suggests to him another
of gettingwhat he wants.
A littlelater he begins
way
to notice that these strange, big,irrational creatures
he is surrounded
are
tain
by whom
apt to make cerother noises in connection with things that interest
are

him, such
and
"trot-trot,"
is apt

to

cause

as

"drink,""water," "bread," "out,"

unconscious
the

again another magic

whole

objector
word

imitation
action to

of the

sound

appear,

and

is put in his session.

poshe goes on, step by step, until the
And
so
gloriousgiftof speech is in his grasp.
or

power

The
"

whole process is a spontaneous, self-initiated one

of unconscious babbling;then of noticingthe
first,

effects of
made

the

the sounds
sound; then of imitating
and seeingthat
associated with, objects,

by, or
these objects
when they are called.
appear
Nothing that the most devoted nurse or mother can
do in the way
of "teaching"will hasten the process
than the fraction of a degree. I have been able
more
to watch
the developmentof several children whose
parents

much

had sufficientself-control to refrain from

in the way

of

ing
do-

tryingto teach them to talk,

althoughwell-meaningand horrified relatives would

CHILDREN'S

MINDS

269

break in, for fear the poor child would

occasionally
In
The results were
interesting.
grow
up speechless.
both

the littleones

cases

littleor

made

no

effort

to

of the term, excepttalk,in the ordinaryacceptation

ing,
of course,
the usual gurglings,babblings,and
of sounds, until they were
nearlytwo years
imitating
old; and then they fairlyburst into speech,developing
their words
with astonishing
rapidityand much
child of their age,
greater accuracy than the average
who had been goaded into attemptingto make sounds

which

his littlevocal organs

are

entirelyunfitted

to

produce.
Here

brought the child fairlyinto possession

of the power
of thought by purelynatural and
means.
chiefly
Language in its most complicated
physical
adult form is a muscular product,
breath sounds
of the lipsand
cut
up into sections by the muscles
The only thing that remains is to connect
tongue.
these sounds with objects,
and how loosely
and casually
and with what
infinite varietyof results this
has been done, the languages of the world bear witness.
This

have

we

bringsus

to

the last and

most

sideration
important con-

is,that all the time that our little

and dimples has been swinginghis
bundle of nerves
ting
hitlittlefistsabout in front of his face,occasionally
himself in the nose
the eye, clutchingat his
or
pink toes, and graspingat the sunbeams, bumping into
things and balancinghimself on his sturdylegs,he
"

has been
and

that

developingnot only his body, but

his mind

as

well.

his brain

INSTINCT

270

of that

Every inch
which

of

to

established between

be

of

areas

thought

senses

or

the

muscle, and the relations and correlations

some

that have
very

brain

the exercise of the five

dependentupon,
use

of grey matter
is built up by, and

mass
magnificent

call the human

we

HEALTH

AND

the brain

built

are

by

which

are

muscular

the

two.

later used

action.

When

The
for
the

child grows
nation
under the domia littleolder, and
comes
of nature's greatest schoolmaster,the play instinct
then this process
redoubled
pace.

The

of brain

buildingproceedsat

sports of a child are the imitations of the life

of his savage
His hidingsand chasings,
ancestors.

work

his mimic

his
sieges,
his trappingsof plume and
slaughters,
are

unconscious

which

his

brain up
are

battles and

imitations

and

belt and sword,

of the very

processes

by

lived in the past, which built their

the level which it had attained,
and which

ancestors

to

requiredto develop his

twentieth century.

equalof

ambuscades

No

up

to

the threshold of the

schoolroom

nature's great school of

ever

built is the

master
play,and no schoolhalf so sagaciousand effective
born was
ever
as the great play instinct. The
meaning of play goes
how
deep. We are onlyjustbeginningto appreciate
it is.
subtle and far-reaching
We
are
beginningto grasp the truth of the epigram
loses
"It is the time one
of the French philosopher,
that one
worth
playing can be
gains." No game
imagined which does not with muscular strengthand
accurate
or
quicknessdeveloppowers of perception
calculation and
keen, quick, sound
judgment, to

CHILDREN'S

nothing

say

of

MINDS

self-control

1271

co-operation with

and

others.

Five

years

child

of

born

brought

up

in

would

papers

defence

I ventured

ago

and

born

are

well

of his

read

to

Since
with

then

and

from

I have

illiterates and

and

books

accord

own

in self-

his

family at the
the experiment

seen

successful

most

of

only

belief that

supplied with

little assistance

rightmoment.
made,

home

the

express

reasonably intelligentparents

learn

with

to

results.
can

grow

Illiterates
up

only

in

illiterate homes.
The

years

of age,
his

preserve

leads

which

justto

love

His
of

him

and

explore the

to

him

into

and

of the story takes

of literature.

history and
biologist

his

answer

at

ten

than

read

to

write

eight, and

fore
be-

before

questionsand

own

self-respect. The

own

will lead

child will grow

before

"cipher"

seven,
ten

American

average

instinct

same

orchard

and

woods

yond
be-

"through" geography.
him
right into the heart
He
most

is

better

botanist

conventionalised

grown-ups.

of the

One

most

and
intelligent

progressiveschools

pedagogic thought to-day,the Herbartian,

its motto
all through the curriculum, "Study

of

has

for

and

low
fol-

he

and

the interests of the child."

Trust
Mother

your

child, follow

together will

Nature

through, even

his

to

Commencement

lead, and

bring
Day.

you

safely

CHAPTER

AND

CHILDREN

REASON

old

OR

CANDY,

TO

SWEETS

THE

SWEET

always tryingto play tricks upon instinct,

its grandmother how
to suck eggs," as the

is

"teach

to

XIV

saw

Instinct is

runs.

old

as

as

the

hills,reason

hatched

only yesterday,and has the boundless

self-confidence of youth. Its favourite
is to
game
times
someimprove upon nature, sometimes
successfully,

was

not.

of its latest

One

the

candy, on
Now,
Of

like the

course,

reasons

public. So
and

puts

that

the

years,

have

succeeded

one

in

on

real

to

be avoided.

better than

sugar

spoil the

much

is "bad

as

they differ

medicine"

and

againstsugar is little
sham, for the business of a good food is
appetite,temporarilyat least. If it

particularargument
a

air of scientificwisdom,

agreeingupon,

everythingelse,is that
this

an

Until within very

supporters.
thing that most food reformers

in

to

give its

"sugar spoilsthe appetite."And

plentyof

it has

recent

But

for us."

conclusion?

it won't

us,

ing
eat-

all

reason

announces

here

of

most

our

usuallymake up our minds to a

personalgrounds, then proceed to cast about
why we do it which will sound pretty in

first. We

thing on
for

did it reach that wondrous

however

reason

playsis to solemnly forbid

ground that "sugar is bad

INSTINCT

274

AND

HEALTH

crackers, potatoes, rice, beans, mush, cakes. All

if "liable
with suspicion,
these must
be looked upon
As a matter
of fact,
is to be a taboo.
to ferment"
two-thirds of the abnormal
in the food

occur

tube

acid fermentation
due

are

and
starches,

to

which
not

to

sugar.

So

far from

being less

easy

starches,every starch taken

changed

to

cane

sugar,

even

more

sugar

into

before it can

of course,

of

than
digestion

the mouth

be assimilated.

but grape sugar,

easilysouringsubstance.

or

to

be

Not

glucose,an

charge againstsugar of "souring the

unless we are prepared
stomach" collapses
completely,
of
incriminate equallyall the starches,and most
to
the fruits. All fruits,
the sourest, contain considerable
even
of sugar.
quantities
the stomach,
In short,it is not the sugar that sours
that sours
the sugar.
Take
but the stomach
plenty
of exercise,
plentyof time at your meals, plentyof
sleep,live in a draft,and you can eat all the sugar
It will do you good, not harm.
you want.
that it causes
To the next
allegation,
decay of the
teeth,we set up the same
defence,"Not a bit more
than the starches." The only way in which either of
them can
harm
the teeth is by souringthe stomach,
the blood with the acid productsof
or
by "overloading
defective carbohydrate assimilation. These
at
are
least three times as likely
to be caused
by starches
Its direct effect upon the teeth is good,
as
by sugar.
both antiseptic
and cleansing. If the teeth are
not
properlycleansed after sugar or candy has been eaten,
So

that the

has

the

CHILDREN

CANDY

AND

275

theyshould be after any meal, fragments of food

lodged between the teeth and saturated with sugar
furnish a superb culture medium
for the bacilli of
fermentation
and dental decay. Lactic acid is the
acid of dental caries,serving as an advance guard
for the bacteria of decay, and this is readilyproduced
by the fermentation of starch,milk, or sugar.
as

Moral:
as

to

Brush

teeth well after every meal, so

leave nothing between
them
ferment
and
to
your

decay.
has well-marked
Sugar locally
as
antiseptic
powers,
shown
by its universal use in preserving
fruits,
vegetables
and meats.
It has even
been used as a dressing
for wounds
with excellent results,
cidedly
except that it is deThat
is why it burns and aches
irritating.
it gets into a hollow
when
tooth.
so
Indeed, this
aching and the fact that the temporary, or "milk,"
teeth are naturally
looseningand apt to decay about
the time the child's appetitefor sugar is keenest are
the chief bases for the ridiculous superstition
that
"sugar makes the teeth decay." It is one of the
bogies of the nursery.
As Dr. Robert
Hutchison, the well-known English
it,"The fear that
authorityon dietetics,
expresses
injurechildren's teeth is largelyillusory.
sugar may
who
live largelyon
The negroes,
have
sugar-cane,
the finest teeth the world
The

can

accusation that sugar

show."

playsany specially
tism,
productionof rheumasurd.
only baseless,but ab-

causes

important part in the

gout, or diabetes,is not
Its onlyrelation to them

or

is that like any

other

INSTINCT

276

food, if taken in

HEALTH

AND
excess, it may

the symptoms

aggravate

the digestion. A more

beautiful
by upsetting
conclusion
example of infantile logicthan the naive
due
that the glucosein the urine of the diabetic was
much
too
to his having eaten
sugar could hardly be
imagined. It has only two fatal defects in it: First,
that such of it as
from

starch.

doesn't

come

from

comes

the food

chiefly

comes

Secondly,that the serious

from the food at all,but

part of it
the

from

and
conversion
into sugar
of the
breaking down
tissues by this strange disease process.
own
patient's
It is precisely
to absorb
inability
sugar and burn it up
dies
He
in his body engine that kills the diabetic.
of sugar starvation
of sugar.
To

the final count

and

its consequences,

that sugar

not

of

feit
sur-

is

tive
dangerouslyattracto say child,we
to the natural
not
plead
man,
guilty. But why? Simply because the experienceof
of
thousands of generationshas proved it to be one
useful and important foods.
That
is what
most
our
"tastes good" means
in biological
dietetics. Scientists
are
justbeginningto wake up to its true value. A
two-year-oldtoddler sucking a bit of honeycomb, in
the days of the cave-man,
it already,though he
knew
couldn't have spelled
it to save
his littleneck, let alone
analyseit.
As Robert Hutchison
of the most
says, "Sugar is one
be added
importantforms in which carbohydrate
can
to

the diet of children.

The

has

great
taken

reduction

place in

priceof sugar which

of
years is probablyone

in the

recent

CHILDREN
the

of

causes

AND

the

CANDY

277

improved physiqueof

the

rising

generation."
The

most

show

action
moves

researches
physiological

recent

bodies

our

that

of the

most

from

comes

the

cular
mus-

upon

which

energy

burning of

sugar

in

muscle

and the food which will most

cells,
rapidly
relieve the sense
of fatigue
and start the body machine
No other
going again is a few lumps of pure sugar.
food that we
take is so rapidlyabsorbed with so
can
littleeffort or givesoff its contained energy so quickly
for the use of the body. We
eat and utilise sugar
can
when
tired to digestanything else. As a
too
we
are
"pick me
up" it is better than alcohol, and far
cheaper. This is why every diet that the wit of man
our

has

devised

of

course

in

some

contains
it

crave

form.
and

raccoons,

eagerly. All

Even
wild

put

stews

would

trappers of

month's

with

and
and

eat

hashes

of

salt and

try

savages
to

small

bag

meat

in

get it

the

sap
berries,
rasp-

The

season.

frontier would

of salt and

shirts,and

tribes would

with

of

greedilyof

American

our

trip. Indian

out

melons

inside their buckskin

sugar

and

animals

will drink

cats

box of matches,

maple
for

and

and

wolves, foxes,bears,badgers,

troughs in sugar groves,

cherries,
grapes,
hunters

Children

sugar.

maple

season

sugar,

cake of
set

off

their
as

we

pepper.

To-day the most

utterly,matter-of-fact,boileddiet on
the face of the earth,
down, unsentimental
the German
sands
Army Emergency Ration, after thoucontains several ounces
of trials,
of sugar in the
form of chocolate tablets. The other ingredients
are

INSTINCT

278
bacon

HEALTH

package of this compound

small enough to be readilycarried in the knapsack
will keep a soldier in marching trim for four days.
No
other ingredients
of the bulk will fillthe bill.
In

and

AND

meal.

pea

is,after meat, bread

short,sugar
next

our

importantand

most

put the

can

matter

to

test very

and butter,easily

necessary

food.

You

easily.Justleave

off

the

pie,pudding, or other desserts at your lunch or

find how
You'll be astonished
to
mid-day dinner.
ished"
quicklyyou'llfeel "empty" again,and how "unfinthe meal
to

man

he's
the

will

accept

can't get any working

dinner pailwithout piein it. And

You

seem.

absolutelyright. The only thingthat can take

placeof sugar here is beer or wine. It is a significant
fact that the free-lunch
with

furnish every
the restaurants

bars

Even

sweets.
to

of any

saloons

and

sugar

alcohol he

The

more

candy

United

the

ton

cost

to

it in the

wants.

will tell you

and

tion
connec-

imaginablethingexcept
and lunch grills
attached
to

their business!
takes

desserts

serve

The

more

meal, the less

Conversely,
nearlyevery drinking

sweets

man

The

know

in

run

bars often refuse

or

They

sort.

counters

man

at

that he has lost his

a

nation

consumes,

taste

for

sweets.

the less alcohol.

States Government

shipsit to

the

the soldiers in the

buys pure candy by

to be sold at
Philippines

canteens.

All

men

crave

and the more

tropics,
theyget of it,the less
"vino1' and whiskeytheywant.
In fine,
the prejudice
againstsugar is born of puritanism and stinginess,
dren
chilequal parts. Whatever
be bad for them, accordingto the
cry for must

CHILDREN

AND

CANDY

279

sin ; besides,it costs money.

pure doctrine of original
I know
families in the rural districts yet where
the
head of the familygroans over
every dollar's worth
of sugar that
"unwholesome"
Give

Indeed

into the house

comes

as

sinful and

luxury.
children plentyof pure sugar, taffy,
and butterscotch
and they'll
have little need of cod-liver oil.
eminent

for years

doctors

have

advised

the substitution

The

only check to be imposed is to

keep them from eatingit at the beginningof, or as
substitute for, a meal.
Like any other food, they
a
of it than is good for them, if not
eat
more
may
watched; but they simplywon't thrive without it in
form.
if the children of largergrowth
And
some
would
make
"pamper their appetites"a little more,
careful study of flavours and
and
more
qualities,
choice foods and delicacies,
on
spend more
money
they'd spend far less on stimulants,narcotics and
medicines.
The
that keeps his boyhood taste
man
and candies isn't half so likely
for cakes,pies,
to crave
alcohol to excess.
The
warden
at a great penitentiary
said that if a prisoner
could stillrelish apple
once
Perchance
it is the
hope for him.
pie there was
from
drink.
women
candy habit that saves
So don't be afraid of the Christmas
and birthday
the mince
even
candies, the fruit cake, or
pie.
hydrates
carboThey're readily assimilable, disaccharid
of high caloric coefficient. If they hurt
past.

it will be your fault not theirs.

In the main, what has been said of sugar

you,

candy,since

sugar

appliesto
is its principal
ingredient.Its posi-

INSTINCT

280

tion,however, differs in
other

HEALTH

AND
two

thingsbesides

tains
respects: in that it con-

that it is

and

sugar,

eaten

only at or after meals, as a food, but also apart

from meals, as a pure luxuryor means
of enjoyment.
It is,therefore,the most
generallyabused form of

not

in two

sugar

senses.

Most

of

hurled

againstit are unfounded.

food of high
readilydigestible
box

of

chocolates

the
It

denunciations

is,when

pure,

nutritive value.

strength
weight
longerthan almost anythingelse of the same
and bulk,except pure fat. There is nothingpositively
that is beneficial. Its
about it,and much
injurious
lies in its attractiveness,
only danger of any consequence
which

allures

will sustain

to

life and

excess.

popular impressionwhich I believe to be

is that candy is particularly
unfounded
subject
largely
to
dangerous adulteration. Of course, it is often
than
but not a particle
more
adulterated,
frequently
Nor
its adulterations,
are
any other prepared food.
in my judgment,as apt to be as dangerous as those
of such ordinaryarticles as butter,cheese, preserves,
and canned goods. In fact,candy is practically
tected
prounexpected
againstadulteration in a somewhat
of its tastingsweet.
namely,by the necessity
way;
other substance which
no
Now, there is,fortunately,
ceive
has this property in a sufficiently
high degree to deis nothThere
ing
the dullest palateexcept sugar.
Another

that the wit of

man

has been

able to invent which

chemical
imitate it. Those
respectably
which taste sweet, like glycerine
charine,
sacor
preparations
detected by their disagreeable
are
instantly

will

even

INSTINCT

282

AND

HEALTH

with only a few minor

(saccharose),
such as not being so intensely
differences,
sweet, and
and whiteningmore
crystallising
perfectly.
As to the other materials that enter into candy,their
is legion,
and one
deal only in the broadest
can
name
in regard to them.
generalities
Roughly speaking,
they may be divided into three classes : those that are
added
for their physicalproperties
to give a certain
such as cream
ters
mator
a paste, colouring
consistency,
and flavouring
extracts.
Contrary to popular impression,it is in the first
class that the danger lies. Though
of the
many
would
be poisonous
flavouring
extracts, for instance,
if taken in large doses, they are used in such minute
that the danger from them is comparatively
quantites
slight.A terrible bugbear has been made out of the
of them are the productsof the distillation
fact that some
of sawdust, rags, coal tar, and heaven only knows
as

cane

what

sugar

other

unsavoury

substances.

But

while

this is

curiouslyenough, many of these ethers,esters,

and aldehydesare almost absolutely
identical with the
chemical compounds which give to fruits and flowers
the flavours and odours
which
we
prize so highly.
I need not remind any practical
cook that the flavours
of
used in the higher artisticcombinations
ordinarily
the kitchen,such as almond, vanilla,and many
forms
of lemon extract, are poisonousif used in excess.
Candies are not a whit more
tards,
dangerous than cusThese artificialextracts
puddings,or creams.
are
so
exceedinglycheap that they may be used in
than necessary, for good measure,
amount
a larger
so
true,

CHILDREN
this

CANDY

283

cise
easilybe avoided by the exerof a littlecommon
that commonest
sense, especially
but most
importantsense, the sense of smell,and
rank-flavoured
candies alone.
letting
ger
High flavours in both candies and cookery are danand should raise a suspicion
of what they
signals,

to

may
or

speak,but

AND

can

conceal in the way

spoiledmaterials.

made

of offensive odours
A

few

with
are

from

poor

cheap candies that are

ter
gelatineor rancid but-

spoiledeggs, poor
"doped" with these pungent

flavours

to

ceal
con-

the fact.
The

same

be

may

said

These, in the better class of

animal

which
grows

are

upon

or

of the

colouringmatters.
less
candies,are usuallyharm-

vegetablematters,

cochineal, derived
the wild

red, brown, and

but blues and

fig,and
yellow can

greens

of flowers and

used

to

the

from

insect which

an

All shades

saffron.
be

derived

be made

of

commonest

from

from

leaves, like violets and

of

these,

fresh infusion

spinach.

Now, however, harmless vegetablecolours of all tints

of their production,
preparedby firms making a specialty
relied upon.
almost exclusively
are
sively
Horrifying as it may sound, aniline dyes are extenin the production of those
used, especially
stripeswhich rejoicethe youthfuleye, but
patriotic
after chemist
has
analysed this
expert chemist
in
"painted"candy, buying the samples at random
the open market, only to find the dyes present in such
devoid of danger.
infinitesimal amounts
as to be entirely
inherent source
of danger
This bringsus to the one
in candies,namely, the materials used to give body to

284
it.

INSTINCT
These

are

AND

HEALTH

white
chiefly

of egg, cream
or
milk,
natural gums,
like those of

starch,butter and
gelatine,
the mallow
the pulp of quinceseeds.
or
or
tragacanth,
Most
of these are, in themselves,not onlyentirely
and even
add to the nutriharmless,but digestible,
tiousness of the compound, such as the butter in taffy
or
butterscotch,and the milk or white of egg in
The
creams.
only objectionto these is that unless
they are well mixed with sugar they are likelyto
spoil;and in fact it is the rancid butter and cream,
or
spoiledeggs chemicallytreated,or poor quality
of gelatine,
which are
used in cream
mels
pastes or caraby some
unscrupulousmakers, that are the chief
dangers in eatingcandy.
The
better the cream
or
caramel, however, the less
materials of any qualityare used.
of these extraneous
An
sired
produce almost any deexpert candy cook can
with pure sugar, by regulatingthe
consistency
of
and the amount
temperature, the lengthof boiling,
of cream
of tarwater.
tar
Occasionallysmall amounts
or
glucoseare added to "break the grain"and prevent
"setting"or hardening.
Here, however, it is a questionof the honestyof the
and knowing the brand of the candy you are
maker
of candy are
makers
better-known
eating. The
particularin this regard, and
usuallyscrupulously
here, as everywhere else in the food market, it never
ingly
exceedpays to buy cheap stuff. If you do, you are
liable to be cheated or to be ptomaine poisoned.
risks run
The
not
are
a
particle
greater than those
in eatingpies,
braved
puddings,cakes, or any other

CHILDREN
article of food whose
sure

AND

CANDY

pedigreeyou

are

285

absolutely

not

of.

candy is not half so dangerousas hash,

bread pudding, or any other
soup out of a stock-pot,
of the sacred mysterieswrought out of stale and decaying
odds and ends,which are worshippedby many
model
housekeepers. The substitution of starch for
butter or cream
to give body to the cheaper creams
is harmless,and
and pastes, while very disagreeable,
like the use of rancid butter,
or
even
cheaperfats,such
and lard, will promptly reveal itself to the
suet
as
unblunted
palate. In fact,candy is peculiarly
protected
from many
adulterations and dangers by the
delicacyand purityof the flavour demanded
very
At

its worst

of it.
At
green
was

To
and

time

one

colour

was

said

to

be used

give a
candy, but it

the

to

cheaper grades of
and has passed out of use
never
tirely
encommon,
since the introduction of aniline dyes.
in moderate
eaten
amounts
sum
up, candy when
the close of or shortlyafter a meal is a
toward

harmless

The

arsenic
to

and

risks from

often beneficial addition

its adulteration

are

to

our

diet.

small, probably

in any other elaborately

preparedfood.
lies in its attractiveness and its power
to

Its

less than

danger
the appetitebefore
other food

sufficientamount

of

itself

or

has been absorbed.

natural and wholesome,

likingfor it is perfectly
ease.
excessive cravingis generallya sign of disan
said to live chiefly
ladies who
Those young
are
their pallorto the
do not owe
candy and pickles

While

upon

kill

INSTINCT

286

they

candy

the

in
be

then

try

to

eat

that

their
The

person

by
their

will

foods

to

than

normal
bad

who

their

condition

eats

of

supply

nothing,

effects

this,

Failing

of
it.

which
is

candy

or

for

appetite

it

is

their

cise
exer-

proper

This

should

means,

substantial

perfectly
They

be

tion,
condi-

medical

more

candy.
will

of

sleep.

hygienic

normal

return.

off

cut

sufficient

proper

morbid

lack

upon

of

or

definite

some

based

air

open

corrected

and

but

eat,

generally

most

HEALTH

AND

had

idle

to

better

choice

until

restored.

are

chiefly

the

fault

of

the

CHAPTER

PLAY

AS

FEW

AN

EDUCATION

thingsare
of

livingforms

the great

by
the

Whether

of rich wheat

acres

SCHOOL

THE

"

it be

born

soil swept

out

rivers,in the awful

to

It has

held

been

ever

study it the

clearer

apparent, and the

stands out.
Death
but
the materials

used

be

to

enabling her
with

to

friend and
down

abyss of

not

by

Nile

us

on

or

the

every

of the chief

one

of

enemy
or

more

be

no

more

most

or

structi
de-

earth, thence

perfectforms, thus
extensive experiments

of material.
nature

loss

returningof
unsuccessful experiments

form,

of mother

the

handful

an

hour

every

Death

instead of

of life.

The

tons

flood,sink
Mississippi

is one
waster,

of silt,
into the

onlyto reappear in miles of broad

wheat
for millions,
or
by
furnishing

ocean,

fertiledelta

and

new

of the chief economists

of

in nature's

conduct

mere

to

seen

change

up

again in

emerge

swept

now

the great crucible

to

in the

closelywe
it becomes
that the waste
is only
more
plainlythe good beneath it
is

only

countless

slaughterof war
to gambling or

blots upon
the fair shield of nature.
But like all other blemishes, the

sea

misery and ruin due

habit, it confronts and saddens

hand.

to

in the

fulness
waste-

only to perish,or

wanton

drink

PLAY

OF

than the apparent

striking

more

nature.

millions of

XV

and
their

INSTINCT

288

AND

HEALTH

land
weight upon earth's elastic crust to upheave far inand sea-bottom, to form
kingdoms of swamp
the corn-fields of
The

new

fierce ordeal of

nations.
is the

war

stern

of all the

nurse

and effective
manly virtues,drunkenness the constant
eliminator of the unfit,
gambling but the noble daring
of the empire-builder,
the explorer,
the trade-prince,
run

wild.
of

The

their

loss involved in all these is but

gains; the

future economy.

healthy life,the
live

in

same

us.

We

our

existence is spent

ears

and

to

relaxed

move,

odd
to

see,

with

tion
frac-

steppingstone
the pulsatingrhythm

waste,

Even

contradictions
to

hear, but

to

of

confront
a

third of

closed

eyelids,stopped
cally
muscles,kinetically
dead, only stati-

alive.
We

live

speak,think; but two-thirds of our

lives are devoted solelyto acquiringand devouring
the food
burned
in our
fuel,'which when
body
engineswill give off these manifestations of energy.
but we
also live chiefly
We
eat to live,
to get enough
Three- fourths of our life is apparently
to eat.
spent
merely to gain the privilegeof continuingto live.
We
eat food to get strengthto earn
more
food, and
ad infinitum.
so
and transcendentalists in all ages have
Philosophers
mourned

to

over

move,

the fearful

amount

of time

wasted

in

and caringfor this dull body of ours

resting,
feeding,
""my brother the ass," as Francis D'Assisi tersely
put it. To-day we are beginningto grasp the conception
the
that mental
are
giftsand spiritual
graces
perfectflower of our modest body-plant. Aiming

INSTINCT

29o

naturalistic times the

beginsto

least

at

to

command

strengthof the impulse

mere

feel it to be entitled

respect. We

fair

HEALTH

AND

and study. We
investigation

are

coming to the conclusion that whatever the natural

man
uniformlywishes to do has a decided element of
good in it. One of the first and silliest uses man
"

of his

made

reason

to

was

all that
quiterecently,
impulseor action was to

Until
an

of "mere

brute

instinct."

"

look down
was

upon
to

necessary

say that it was

The

moment

instinct.

condemn
the result

begin to

we

the pedigreeof instinct we

find that it is
investigate
the crystallised
result of the experience
of millions
of generations.
It is worth while to remember, what
a

moment's

reflection will show

for that which

us,

that

is seriously
can
injurious

which

no

instinct

develop. A
thing
wrong

tended to do the
invariably
would promptly eliminate itself.
Nay, the same
process is going on in the life of the
The
formation of good habits,of which
individual.
hear so much, is merely the struggle
the
to turn
we
ence
promptings of reason, based upon the mental experirace

of the race, into instincts in the individual.

This,

makes
of course, is not to say that instinct never
a
does.
It makes
almost as many
mistake.
as
reason

instinctwhich

An

up

under

one

and
mind

an

set

of conditions

injuriousunder changed surroundings,

the human
like any other impulsethat moves
if followed to excess,
moral, or divine
physical,
tionary
it may
become
injurious.But from the evolufact of the existence
pointof view, the mere
considerainstinctentitlesitto a most respectful
prove

may

of

grew

"

"

THE
tion.

of

Many

done

best and

our

that instead

of

strengthwould

very

should

And

the

utmost

to

it upon

our

pointof

291

useful actions

are

view

the play impulse,its

distrusting
in its favour.

us

prepossess

at

We

least,have been of

in the

struggleof the past.

as
certainly,
pedagogues, endeavour

to

should

we

PLAY

most

that it must,

conclude
value

high

OF

instinct.

upon

So

our

SCHOOL

race

"hitch

our

this star" and

to

wagon

list
en-

side in the process of education.

Our
has changed entirely.
No longerdo we

education,but rather to fit

education to the child. We
are
beginningto believe,
with Browning, that the impulsesof the natural child,
like all else in the unspoiled
world, "mean intensely
strive

and

fitthe child

to

to

an

ally if

good." We mean
instead of
possible,

This

mean

in

with its wave

trainingthe
often

"

can

our

the "New

to

no

hitherto.

Education"

"break

better

him

means,

about

probablyall remember

when

"no

meritorious,unless it was

hard.

than

reason

in,"

nonsense"

was

as

enemy

our

child-study.
much
has consisted altogether
too
child to do justwhat he didn't like

for littleor

him,
there

this force

make

of

Education

do

is what

word

to

teach

to

to

him

in
to

cipline
disthat

learning. We
counted no study
we
enjoyedwork

real
we

If

it wasn't

study.
presumptiveconfidence

of

is

supportedat
the pedigree of the playwhen
to
turn
we
once
impulse. If there be any one character whose degree
from the animals,
of development distinguishes
man
and the higher animals from the lower, it is play.
This

ours

INSTINCT

292

With

the

birth

AND

HEALTH

of

comes
infancy, helplessness,
and all that this implies,
the one
on
parentalcare
the other.
hand, and intelligence
on
Play signifies
of intelliIt is the mother
gence
of education.
possibility
love is in the parent. The
in the offspring,
as
one
physicalcharacter which varies absolutelyand
constantly
part passu with the degree of intelligence
pendenc
of the animal form, is the lengthof its periodof deAnd
the length of its period
this means
of play. Play is the voluntaryrehearsal and practising,
of the actions and
under
parentalprotection,
accomplishmentsupon which, later,existence itself
will depend.
A littleconsideration will show this clearly.The
frog needs no parentalcare, for it is able to
young
its own
fend for itself and secure
livingfrom the
of hatching.Hence
it spendsno time in play,
moment
Its part is so
but so to speak,goes to work
at once.
be
simplethat it needs no rehearsal. It may even
compared to that of the subordinate actor in the play,
the bills,
but whose
who had the gloryof his name
on

sole part

was

to say,

of said dinner

"Dinner

is served."

The

nition
recog-

(and mate when the time comes)

it comprisepretty
and the chemotactic lunge toward
much the "whole duty of frog." They are drawn by
food, and by the mating impulse,much as the toy
in the bowl is drawn
swan
by the littlered magnet.
chemical
than a bundle of delicate electroThey are littlemore
reflexes. There is a vague popular impression
but
that theyplayat least one
"leap-frog,"
game,
this is an error.
It took boys to invent that. Every

SCHOOL

THE

leap of
food

frog

or

The

an

escape

staff was

is

And

293
to

he makes

capture

it,as Fal-

instinct.

upon

of affairs prevails
in

state

same

PLAY

serious business effort

enemy.

coward,

OF

fishes,
although

these,later in life,go through some

very pretty little
be
to
darting and chasing evolutions,which seem
of the

are

joy of

sheer

from

of

nature

and hence

movement,

play.

But

to

that

extent

the tiniest silver flake

flash away
from a
or
fry will dart upon a worm
the King
duck's beak as promptlyand intelligently
as
and hence
himself.
Fishes have no play-time,
Salmon
are
incapableof education. The utmost
practically

of

that has

trainingof

the
at

been achieved in this direction has been

ever

of

the sound

carp

and

to
gold-fish

to

come

be fed

bell.

In the basin of the great fountain at Fontainebleau,

the fat old carp
Benedictine Brothers, all but the
"

girdle will rush toward

of something to eat, the

rope

"

falls
as

the water,

on

from

as
pestilence,

ingeniousfriend of
time

to

instead of

the endeavour

mine
to

you

in the

moment

your

from

dartingaway

mountain
devoted

carry

expectation
shadow

trout

will.
months

many

it
An

of

ther.
step far-

one
gold-fish

He

to a certain
readilytrained them to come
of the aquarium to be fed at the sound of a
corner
bell. Then, droppinga string
from the lever of the
tied to it,he led
clapperinto the water, with a worm
them
to ring the bell themselves
by tugging at the
But though all the rest of the group
would
worm.
run

for the food

in his

whenever

onslaughtson

one

the worm,

of them
he

never

rang

the bell

could get

INSTINCT

294

AND

HEALTH

their littleimaginations
to vault the gap
the tug on
the stringwith food.
No

hungry he let
for
bell-string
a

and

connect

matter

how

them

would
pull the
get, they never
food.
Their intellect was
capableof

one-step association process, but not of a two-step.

Fish"
It might be said in passingthat the "Educated

"SingingFish" of
is merely a seal.

the penny

or

There
for

is littleneed

to

shows

lower

go

circus bills

and

down

in the scale

basis,as most observers are now

in spiteof the remarkable
invertebrates,
our

attained
and

those wonderful

by

ants,

are

in

which

of

that

community of

for social ends, is

or

almost
action.

or

ants, for

and

with all its woninstance,

drous

and

of combination

power

merely a horde of

class of which

is born

group,

automata,

each

with certain definite and

irresistible impulsestoward
One

association

of

power

equivalent
physiological
"intelligence."

division of labour

one

the bees

is the modern

of "consciousness"
A

littleautomata,

reality
incapableof education,and

devoid
practically
memory

agreed that
complexity

the nurses,

are

certain line of

drawn

to

the eggs

steel

drawn
to
are
a
filings
magnet;
of every sort; others,
to food
another,the foragers,
the warriors, are
similarlyattracted by the literal
pupae,

"smell

as

of battle,"the odour

ant-tribes.

You

may

cut

any

of the bodies
one

of them

of hostile
into

cessive
suc-

during the performance of their

duty,and what is left of them will go righton with
fix her jaws in food,
the process. Let a forageronce
warrior in her enemy'sbody, cut off her head
or
a
little bits

SCHOOL

THE
her

and

jaws will

tribe is said

lipsof

The

warrior

to

stillhang

the wound

remain

on.

295

South

American

surgicalsutures.
brought together,a large
fasten her forcepsacross

are

is induced

ant

PLAY

ants' heads

use

the line of union, her

jaws

OF

to

body

as

is cut off and her head

and

"lock-stitch" until the

permanent
has healed,when
they are broken and lifted

wound

as

off.
It

at

was

time believed that

one

ideas

forager who

careful

her

first case,

comrades

to

has

is the smell
the

and

could

pungent

attacked
her

taste

odour

with

by

the

More

aid.

revealed
or

municate
com-

the fact that

shortlyreturn

warrior

experiment,however,

that is communicated

the

will

fellows,or

will draw

enemy

another, from

one

finds food

of her

swarm

to

ants

that

of food
of

all
in

angry

recognisetheir friends
after long absences,and promptly tear to pieces
even
but
strangers introduced into their nests or territory,
of an enemy's body, and
rub a friend with the juices
strangers in the other.

he will be attacked
with the

with

extracts

open

These

Ants

at once,

of

dead

stranger flavoured
comrade
will be welcomed
while

arms.

creatures

are

devoted

to

their work

and

to

community about as an acid is devoted to a base.

Their industryis a signof what from a human
point
gence.
rather than intelliof view we should term
stupidity
Yet
the "little busy bee" is justas bad.
And
have held both up to the young, for centuries,
as
we
that they refused
wonder
moral
examples! What
to follow them?
Philosophersmay reason, but chilthe

INSTINCT

296

dren know
the

AND

HEALTH

to hate
by instinct. We used fairly
littleinsect prigs. We
there was
were
sure
thing
somewith them if theynever
played. And so
wrong

there

better

was.

Even

in

animals

as

charming and

so

birds, with

accomplisheda

their wealth

of

class of

colour

and

find

littleof the playinstinct.

comparatively
from
the
They are, however, the more
interesting
fact that they may
be divided into two great groups,
in one
of which (Altrices)
the play instinct is present
to a limited extent, while in the other (Pracoces) it
is almost totally
absent.
The
firsthas a fair possibility
song,

we

of education,the latter littleor

none.

The

first

and

largerof the two comprisesthose birds which

build usuallycup-shapednests, commonly in trees or
other elevated
in which
the young
are
positions,
hatched naked and helpless,
care
requiringthe utmost
and attention of both parents to keep them
alive.
The

other group

builds

its

nests

for the most

part

ground, and the young are hatched, clothed,

selves
open-eyed,alert,and ready to run and feed for themfrom the breakingof the shell,some
even
ready
to fly.
A familiar example of the pracoces is the chick,
which will peck vigorouslyat food, or any lightwithin twenty minutes
coloured or shiny particles,
after hatching. This group
have practically
no
play
approach being fightingfor
period, their nearest
worms.
They go to the serious work of life at once,
for education
and as for their capacities
well,every
In spite
brains a hen has.
much
how
knows
one
upon

the

"

298

INSTINCT

AND

fightingand chasing

HEALTH

the

crease
play impulse rapidlyinwith each rise of type and intelligence,
until
in the highestgroups
its vigour has become
bial,
prover"playfulas a kid," "friskyas a kitten." And
here its propheticcharacter is so obvious that one
needs only to have his attention directed to it,as in
Karl Groos's charmingwork.
The bundle of fur and
call a kitten darts after the tipof her own
purr we
her sister's tail in precisely
the same
fashion that
or
she will dash after every sign of fur that she sees
slipthrough the brush and bracken later in life. Her
the rollingball of yarn or spool is a
pounce
upon
vivid rehearsal of her fatal leap upon
ludicrously
come
mousie or bunny, when meat
at dinner has bepoor
Her eldest brother springs
to her.
a necessity
and threatens her life
mamma
upon his much-suffering
fashion as he will
the same
in precisely
and ears
fightfor the championshipof the roofs in the full
dignityof cathood and whiskers, even
ing
accompanycomical
the process
by prowlings of most
ferocity.
The gambols of the young
lamb jerk those absurddirection,
looking legsof his about in every possible
until they come
to really
belong to him and will carry
him
wherever
he wills. His playfulbuttingsand
plungings are a preparationfor future battles for
lordshipof the flock. His tendency to rush to the
hillock that he can
find,and from
top of the highest
"

that post of vantage

butt down

of-the-castle" fashion,is
ancestors, the

an

identical

all assailants,
"King-

inheritance from
manoeuvre

which

tain
moun-

Seton

THE

SCHOOL

PLAY

OF

299

Thompson has immortalised in the splendidstand of

"Krag, the Kootenai Ram," againstthe wolf-pack.
Nor
is play a whit less preciselyprophetic and
admirablyadaptivein the young of our own
species.
It is educational in the highestsense
of the word.
The joy of the child's heart is to mimic the pursuits
of its parents and
a

feeble imitation,often

great School

Formal

ancestors.
a

is but

education

of Nature's
counterfeit,

of

Play. When the child playsit is not

merely relaxingitself,
gettingan appetite,getting
health,it is literally
buildingand organisingits body,
A quaintold story used to
nay its brain and mind.
born shapeless
run, that bear-cubs were
lumps, and
licked into shape by the mother-bear.
Children
are
born
little amorphous bundles
of possibilities
and
even
why educators
played into shape. The reason
Froebel
have never
recognisedplay at its full value
of
is that the child's imitations begin with the pursuits
The child of to-dayis not born in the
its ancestors.
twentieth century, but in the Glacial Epoch, on the
edge of the receding ice-sheet. It is born not an
Its mind
is contemporary
Anglo-Saxon, but a Cave-dweller.
"

"

with

the

play impulses have

mammoth.

Hence

its earliest

bearing
practical
whatever.
The
child's mind
begins where that of
the race
did, and passes through absolutely
parallel
stages in its development. This has been recognised,
in the Herlamely and inadequately,
though most
but that,
bartian doctrine of "The
Culture-Epochs,"
Plato remarks, in phrasethat most
as
amusinglysuggests
a

very

modern

no

apparent

instance,"would

appear

to

fur-

INSTINCT

300

AND

nish forth material

I

hope
From

for another discussion,"

one

undertake

to

HEALTH
which

day.

some

this

point of view all his playsbecome

"prophetic"and rehearsal in character.

the division into stages of human

ingly
striking
Bas-

in both

progress,

the child and

the race, upon the methods

of food-getting,
for numerous
basis which
of which
reasons,

space

forbids discussion
and

fundamental

venient
con-

we

I have ventured

designate
the Hunting, the

"Root-and-Grubs"

the

and
Pastoral,the Agricultural

Into the firstof these

movable

our

is

littletwentieth

is born.

test

it; his

one

him

To

possiblearticle of

he will

to

the Commercial.

dear

mannikin

Neanderthal

hazards

most

find five stages

roughlyspeaking,every civilised race

most

through which,
and child has passed. These
as

both

here, seems

diet.

and

At

tury
cen-

thing
every-

ever
what-

only criterion

is his tinymouth.
Into that rosy openeverything
ing
is thrust,impartially
and justas far as it will go,
that his chubby paws can clutch,from the
everything
of the coal-bucket to the painted monkey
contents
His are the dietetic impulsesof the Digon
a stick.
ger

of

Indian

and

the Bushman.
he

foraging
His earliest delightis lunging
of exploration.
tours
and clutching
at glittering
or
objects,
bright-coloured
such as his father's watch-chain or his mother's ring,
and unless promptly rescued from that clutch their
ing
fate is sure.
A littlelater the rolling
spool or bouncball attracts
him, justas it does the kitten,and for
the same
This lands him in the Hunting
reason.
The

moment

he

can

crawl

starts

on

THE
stage.

SCHOOL

Even

awakes
be utilised

as

before
within
a

he

OF

walk

can

him.

PLAY

No

301

the instinctof

objectis

too

shelter;he hides beneath

bush
am-

small

to

his blankets

agonisedsearch be made for him;

he lurks behind the door, the chair,under the table,
his pursuer with terrifying
out
to pounce
roar.
upon
If nothing else is available,up goes his little pink
more
palm before his face,or, with even
charming
he is
naivete, he simply shuts his eyes and is sure
"Hide-and-seek," "Tag," and
securely hidden.
"Bear," whether he eats or is eaten, are a neverwearying delight.
he takes his walks abroad he peopleshis
So soon
as
demands

and

modern

that

environment

with

the wonders

(cavevariety)in
a
jabberwock has
potato-cellar,

There

is a lion

wolves

and

"bufflers"

swarm

of

the far
its

past age.

of the

corner

nest

in the

mow,
hay-

justbeyond

the

garden hedge, a "booger" lies in wait for him every

under the attic stairs. He
night,in the dark corner
for all these emergencieswith clubs,
goes about armed
swords, and

even

charms.

Hunting stage he rapidlygraduatesinto

His darling ambition
is to be a
that of Warfare.
a
"pirut." He demands
gun, a sword, a drum, a
uniform, and proceeds to organise an impromptu
with its thrilling
militia. "Prisoners-base,"
episodes
of capture, imprisonment and rescue,
"King-of-theCastle," "Forts," with their mock assaults and sieges;
obvious than the both atavistic
could anythingbe more
From

and

the

rehearsal

is divided

character of all these?

off into districtsnot

The

recognisedon

town

the

city

INSTINCT

302

HEALTH

AND

gang" invades,only at its personal

of the "Badgers." Each gang has
the territory
peril,
actual war-whoop
its rallying
or
even
a whistle,
cry
within hearingto battle
which calls every member
ite
its favourand to the rescue, its password,itscaptain,
the "Hill

maps;

"

"

weapon,

of

its rude

Tammany,

Side

by

is the birth

ety,
campaign club, the fraternal socisocial organism,as well as the school

and

war

Here

the

yes, of the

of real

court-martial.

colonisation.

side with these martial

movements

has gone

development of the peacefularts: he

from his horse,
earlybecomes a centaur, inseparable
whether of the wooden
driving
or
play-fellow
variety:
and coachingis his delight. He
acquiresgarden
adjacentvineyards of table-cloth
plots and covets
did Naboth's.
size as eagerlyas Ahab
He plansand
houses of fearful and wonderful
constructs
design,
with amazing atavistic fidelity,
of all in
usually,
first
the

forward

trees

and

caves.

He

hankers

after every stray puppy

kitten that he sees, and fillsthe rear

wandering
premiseswith a motley menagerie of luckless tame
toads, guinea-pigs,
turtles,repeatsquirrels,
crows,
ing
the
the ancient experimentsof the race
toward
domestication of every living
thingthat could be captured
and kept. When
they die, as they usuallydo
he buries them with weird rites,and erects
speedily,
or

cairns and

their memory.
Last of all he emerges
into "Time's
noblest
the Commercial
Stage,in which we are so

to

be

monoliths

livingin

to

this twentieth

checkers,and shells become

century.

his wampum,

product,"
proud

Marbles,
the swap-

THE

ping mania
keeps" or

SCHOOL
his

possesses

OF

PLAY

soul,games

303

played"for

are

for

prizes. He loads himself down with

articles of barter,tillhis pocketsbulge like potatosacks.
He begins to grasp the idea of the value of
his labour, and bargainscraftily
for wages.
Every
of the family for personalservice is met
demand
fashion

Yankee

gimme?"

with
his

Even

the

"What'll

query,

moralityis

turned

yer

profitable

to

(quiteunlike that of his elders); he will be

good for sixpenceand better for a shilling.He is
for Wall Street,for "success in life,"
now
qualified
account

and what

could

more

one

ask of any

tion?
system of educa-

short,the School of Play in fifteenshort

cave-man
brought him from the root-digging
of the Stock Exchange, the modern
"Bear"
of Industry.
In

But this

will at
objection

be raised:

once

years

has

to

the

Captain

even

ing
grant-

that play will furnish a

for the sake of argument
valuable
trainingin physicaldevelopment, in the
and
bread-winning crafts, and in the arts of war
what bearinghas it upon intellectual development?
politics,
Can it ever
be regarded,from the point of
the training
view of education in its narrower
sense,
of the mind,
a

as

than

more

simpleinterlude
again

our

mere

in serious

valve for the mental

Here

engine?
point of

necessary

a sort
pursuits,

view

has

relaxation,
of

shifted

safety
mously
enor-

of late years.
have little hesitation in
We
claimingfor play well-nighas importantan influence

in

as
brain-building

it obviously
has in

body-building.

AND

INSTINCT

3o4

HEALTH

and
questionof origins. Both ontogenetically
there can be no longer any possible
phylogenetically,
with all its wonderful
questionthat nerve-tissue,
sibiliti
posform
of ordinary
is merely a specialised
tire
protoplasm; and that every ganglion cell in the enIt is a

brain
needs of

into

came

part

some

beingin

or

response

tissue of the

considered,the brain is the

to

the economic

body. Physiologically
and

creature

servant

phone
telegraphsystem or telebody. It is a mere
exchange, capableof transmittingmessages,
them.
It receives impressions
seldom of originating

of the

from

the

muscles.

sense

organs

and

transmits

them

It is the veriest "middle-man."

discriminates between

to

It

the stimuli messages

the

usually

it receives

by obeying the strongest.

Whichever
battle

over

side

we

may

take in the old-as-the-world

the relation of mind

all agree that the mind needs

which
with, and that everything

to

matter,

brain

tool

we

to

can

work

and supplies
enlarges

the central nerve

machine
increases its
organises
as
a thoughtengine.
possibilities
the ancestral historyof this nerve-telegraph
Now
and suggestive. Its first
interesting
system is most
is a diffuse network
in the outer
layer
appearance
(ectoderm) of the Hydra, gatheringup sense stimuli
from
its external
surroundings and transmitting
them to the muscular cells which change the animal's
lassos which shoot out to
shape,and to the stinging
paralysethe tinyorganismson which it lives. In the
these strands become
jelly-fish
organisedinto a double
ring around the margin of its bell,an obvious teleand

INSTINCT

306
with

AND

HEALTH

further

The
anterior knots or
specialisations.
brain have become
much
and we
largerin proportion,
have not only a distinct eye-lobeand nose-lobe,but
also a third or superiorpaired nerve-mass,
the brain
cup or "mushroom-body," the rudiment of cerebral
hemispheres.
In this condition the

nervous

system

enters

the

brate
verte-

phylum. There are such curious

and striking
changes of relation (the organism, for
example,having,so to speak,turned a somersault, so
that the nerve-cord
stead
runs
along the upper dorsal inof the lower ventral aspect of the body, and the
gullethavingslippedout of the embrace of the nervering) that we are unable clearlyto trace the line of
blood-relation between the two
forms ; yet the general
the same.
have a brain
We
working plan is precisely
into a cord,
justabove the mouth, taperingbackward
sive
running the lengthof the body, composed of succes(though no longer distinct)
segmentalganglia.
or

back-boned

"nose-lobe,"
and a hind or "ear-lobe,"
middle or "eye-lobe,"
a
while from the nose
(olfactory)lobe buds off (for
the firsttime in the lamprey) a tinypairof cerebral
changed
unhemispheres.This basal plan remains practically
in all successive forms up to our own
species,
the chief changesbeing the degree of overgrowthof
the cerebral hemispheres. These, startingfrom the
receive communicating
nose-lobe
(rhinencephalon),
The

brain is made

fibres from

up

of

an

anterior

each of the other two,

as

or

more

and

combination
active,extensive and complicated
become

necessary,

more
ments
move-

until in the lower fishes (gar-

THE

SCHOOL

OF

PLAY

307

pike) they become as large as the nose-lobes;in the

higher (salmon) twice the size; in the frog almost
and eye-lobes
as
large as the nose
together;in the
lizard,largerthan all three primary lobes combined;
in the bird, about

one-half the entire brain

mass;

in

three times the weight of the primary

dog, some
basal ganglia;and in the human
or
speciesnearly
eighttimes.
To briefly
the nose-brain grows
recapitulate,
up just
in front of the mouth, to pass judgment upon
the
food; the eye-brainfollows it,because this mouthend of the animal
"goes first" and is first
literally
and most
thrust into danger. This fixes
frequently
of the body-state,
the "capital"
terest
and every other inhastens to get a representation
there.
The
correlation and sortingof all these nerve-messages
and muscle-orders
demands
bureau,
a
systematising
and the cerebrum
so-called brain proper is created,
or
built up, of quotas contributed by the three primary
imbedding
lobes,welding them firmlytogetherand finally
the

them

in its mass.

everywhere else in the body, this ancestral

in the
historyis repeatedwith extraordinaryfidelity
of us.
individual historyof every one
Our
nerve
cord,
system begins in the embryo as a thick,plate-like
running along the dorsal surface of the body-areaof
itself along its borders,
the yolk. This curls upon
and sinks into the tissues trough-fashion,
to become
sunk
thick-walled tube. Before it has fairly
a closed,
below the surface it beginsto bulge out at its anterior
form
"head" end.
The front pairof projections
or
And,

as

AND

INSTINCT

308
the

HEALTH

(olfactory)lobes (fore-brain)
; the next
lateral pair form the eyes, opticnerves
and optic
lobes (mid-brain); the third the auditoryand balancing
lobes (hind-brain).From
the fore or nosein the crayfish
brain spring,
the ant,
as
or
precisely
the cerebral hemispheres;
ballooningrapidlyupward
and backward
they crowd over, around, below, behind
nose

the mid

hind-brain,until the entire

and

the skull

imbedded

are

cerebral cap, which

their bulk.

forms

well be

This, it may
and has grown

up

and

enveloped in
eighty-five
per

urged,isthe

in response

to

organ

of

contents

the

huge

cent,

of

of the mind,

the demands

of the

increasingintelligence.Granted, for the sake of

that it is
argument : but the fact remains indisputable
also,in well-nighevery part, the organ of the muscles
and of the senses.
One of the most
singularthings
vances,
adin modern
neurologyis,that in spiteof enormous
about the functions
all that we
know
positively
is that certain
of the brain, physiologically,
largeareas of its surface represent certain groups of
A large area
muscles and certain sense-perceptions.
in the central (Rolandic) regioncontrols in map-like
of the body
order of succession the muscle groups
from

the tongue

to

the

toes.

ity
Stimulate with electric-

of the little"centres"

(often no larger
the corresponding
than a sixpence) and you cause
of muscles in the thumb, the lip,the eye, to
group
A
contract;
destroy it, and you paralysethem.
"stroke of apoplexy,"or paralytic
attack,is simply
smaller number of these
the destruction of a larger
or
any

one

THE

SCHOOL

PLAY

OF

309

or
by the bursting
pluggingof the blood-vessel
which supplies
of epilepsy,
them.
In some
cases
we
tell precisely
the point where
can
a
spiculeof bone
the littlegroup
is pressingupon the brain by noticing

centres

of muscles

the "fit"

in which

foot, the

face

in the hand, the

"

trephiningdown

and

"

starts

upon

its

"centre."
is this localisation confined

Nor

still higher relations

activities;

frontal lobe

involved.

stroy
De-

an

ished
Broca"), and speech is abolonce
(motor aphasia). The patientcan
itwhen
word he wishes to use, can recognise
it written,but speak it,
it spoken, or sees

at

think the
hears

He

never.

less than

area

of

"centre

or

he

are

merelymuscular

inch square in the

volution
(posterior
portionof third frontal con-

small

one

to

make

can

every

sound

that he

could

ever

of sounds he
before,but the particular
group
wishes to pronounce
is absolutely
beyond his reach.
alalus" and
He
has sunk at one
plunge to "Homo

make

his

babble

eager

himself, his
at

word

his

come,"

and

frenzied

disappointment and
to
hopelessinability
are

one

of the

most

desire
even

"make

to

express
tion
exaspera-

the

right
patheticsightsin

life.
Touch

another

of these

tinyareas

and

the power

vanishes
recognise or recall the spoken word
read
to
(amnesic aphasia);another and the ability
the
and
disappears (word-blindness)
; yet another
of forming the written word with pen or penfaculty
cil
vanishes (agrapkia),
and so on through the entire
series of the language-mechanism of thought and
to

INSTINCT

310

AND

HEALTH

speech. This part of our brain

keyboard of a type-writer.
Outside

the central motor

almost

seems

like the

nitely
fairlydefilocate a visual centre
in the occipital
(posterior)
lobe, an auditorycentre on the outer and an olfactory
the inner aspects of the temporo-sphenoidal
on
lobe,
grees
injuryof any part of which will produce varying deof

area,

we

loss of smell, respectivel

blindness,deafness,and
But

these sensory

can

areas

and

the

motor

taken

one

of the
of

the

for about one-third

togetheronly account
cerebral surface (cortex),leavingtwo-thirds
matter
counted
entirelyunexplained or unacgrey

for, except
and

as

association

collaboration

for the

areas

of the sensory

or

bination
com-

motor

areas.

Our

first impressionwas

concerned
especially
of the reason,

that these

were

the

areas

in intellectual processes, the organs

the memory,
the judgment; but

certing
by the disconposition
discoverythat large portionsof any one of
these areas
could be removed
or
destroyedwithout
the intellectual powers
in any appreciable
affecting
thetised
respect. Pigeons,rabbits,and dogs, properlyanaesand protectedagainstshock, could have a
and
considerable portion of the cerebrum
removed
without any appreciable
recover
impairment of their
the whole frontal
In dogs, for instance,
intelligence.
lobe (anteriorto the motor
area
alreadymentioned),
we

were

soon

driven

from

this

nearly a third of the entire brain,can

and

yet the

friends,come

animal
when

on

recovery

called,seek

be removed,

recognisehis
and relish his food,
will

THE

SCHOOL

OF

PLAY

311

avoid

danger, almost as readilyas before; the only

difference being that all these processes are
little
a
more
slowlyor less perfectly
performed. The same
is true in man.
A large part of the frontal lobes,
which ever
since classical times have been regarded
as
closelyassociated with intellectual power, may be
destroyedby accident,by tumour, or by cuttingoff
their blood supply,and yet the mental powers
be in
no
important degree affected.
In

the

there is

of the

museum
a

famous

Harvard

skull which

hole in its frontal part.

was
tamping down the

Medical

shows

School

huge ragged

It

belongedto a miner who

blastingpowder into a drill
hole with a heavy crowbar, when the chargesuddenly
exploded and drove the crowbar completelythrough
his skull. It entered justbeneath
the eyebrow and
came

out

of the head.

little in front of the middle

The

bar

tugged

was

out

of the top

by

his

rades,
com-

justso that it would not have to be buried

with him, but to their astonishment
he recovered and
lived for many
years in apparentlyperfecthealth.
Nor was
it a mere
vegetativeexistence. He drove a
of Pennsylvania
stage-coachthrough the mountains
for years, and the onlychange which his friends could
notice in his mental
was

that his memory

his temper a littleshorter

condition

less keen
slightly

and

was

than before ; changes which might

any shock of this magnitude, or

specialcause,
And

in

examination

equallyextensive

after
and

death

serious

without

even

after middle

man

after

readilyoccur

has

life is
now

any

passed.

revealed

to various
injuries

areas

INSTINCT

312

of the brain

duringlife no

HEALTH

AND
in

cortex

number

of cases,

in which

distinct impairmentof the mental

whatever

esses
proc-

could be detected,except that in

some

performed more
they were
slowly and with
their generalrange was
ished,
diminor
greater difficulty,
cases

so
were

have

that

of

some

the

difficult feats

more

longer possible. Linguists,for instance,

lost the use
of their foreign (acquired) languages
while retaining
full command
of their native
no

tongue.
In

fine,the brain stillremains

in the realm

mystery
one-third

of its surface

while
that

of

of

the

the

most

physiology. To
can

fascinating
only about

definite functions

remainder

be

signed,
as-

know

nothing,
destroyedwithout

we

large areas of it may be

with any mental function.
As for the
interfering
localisation of any of the specialfaculties of the
in any particular
area
mind, let alone of disposition,
of the brain,we
have not a fragmentof evidence in
againstit.
support, of it and much
distinctnes
One
fact,however, stands out with startling
and that is,that large parts of the brain,
be
and these far from the least importantones, can
it
And
directly
developedby muscular movements.
of the
is almost certain that a considerable proportion
is secondarily
affected by the same
remainingarea
of the
the mother
Exercise is literally
processes.
of our
brain. As one
most
thoughtfulgymnasium
directors puts it,"the fieldof training
is the nervous
velops
desystem." Every play and sport worth the name
not merelystrength,
endurance, and fleetness,
save

314

INSTINCT

AND

HEALTH

that manual

traininghas fought its way up to such

a prominentplacein education.
As Cunningham has recentlypointed out, it is in
this "hand-region" that the human
brain is most
differentiated from all lower forms.
The size
clearly
of the lower half of the Rolandic area
is itsbest single
characteristic e. g., from the higher
distinguishing
anthropoids.
It is of course
be objectedat once, that
true, as may
the child is born with a brain most
man
hudistinctively
in shape, and far larger in proportionto his
body weight than that of the adult. So that at first
sightit appears all ready-made,a blank cheque for the
mind to signat its leisure. But the brilliant researches
of Flechsig
have shown that this huge and apparently
"prophetic"aggregationof nerve-stuff is simply so
much
of mind-pulp. Probably
virginsoil,a mass
which will be
every ganglion-cell,
every nerve-fibre,
found in the adult, is alreadypresent, but the fibres
isolated from each other and organisedinto
not
are
They are a closesystems and association groups.
the nerve
packed tangle of naked wires, "spilling"
until they undergo a process
in all direction,
currents
of insulation and organisation,
enablingthem to carry
in certain definite directions and
impulse currents
This is
without spilling,
known
as
"myelini/ation."
actual physical
der
an
change which can be followed ununtil
forward
the microscope,and goes steadily
the seventh or tenth year of age, but if any area
of
musclethe brain be cut offfrom its sense-organ
or
it regroup, or the latter preventedfrom developing,
"

THE

SCHOOL

OF

PLAY

315

When
at the day of birth.
as
un-myelinizcd,
the child plays it is literally
organisingits brain,
myelinizingits mind machine.
If then play be such an
important factor,in not
merely bodily but also brain development,is it not
time that it was
more
formallyand extensively
nised
recogmains

in

our

systems of education?

I say recognition,
and officialat that,not
and supercilious
toleration. Is itwise

gent
indul-

mere

continue

to

regard it as merely an interlude in the "serious"

work of education,a necessary but regrettable
safetyvalve,by "blowing off,"through which children will
be able to absorb largerquantities
of Latin conjugations,
to

rules of grammar
Need
and arithmetic?
we
longer feebly and shamefacedly defend athletics in
school

crease
collegelife,on the ground that they inof the school,and
the popularityand prestige
keep the boys healthy and contented, so that more
and

"work"

can

be got

out

of them?

The

argument

is

high compliment to the sound judgment of the

but is it enough?
Why not frankly recognise
young,
the boy or girlis engaged in vigorous,
that when
joyousplay,he or she is carryingout an important
a

part of the actual "work"

preparation for
accordingly?

of

sense

credits"
This

he

of education, in the broad

was

the idea which

life, and
was

give

glimpsedby

"course

the

derful,
won-

though fitful genius of Froebel, and which

into that charming institution,
a monument
crystallised
perennhts"zre} the kindergarten. His conception
was
superb in both its beauty and its truthfulness,

AND

316

INSTINCT

that

the little human

tended
plantlet,
into manhood

and

HEALTH

bud, like any other healthy

naturallyto grow up and blossom
womanhood.

All that

was

needed

gratifythe instincts of the one for air and

and of the other for play and "finding
out
sunlight,
about things."
My only criticism of the system is that it has become
ceremonial,and
a
system, almost a cult,a religious
it is,it does not go far
advance
that, enormous
as
enough. It does not trust nature quitesufficiently
yet.
It is a littleinclined to load the natural play of the
child with certain "instructive" elements, especially
moral
and mathematical
(the square, the cube, the
and their esoteric implications),
far in advance
circle,
of his grasp.
And
surely a real "child-garden"
should be in the open air! Modify it in these three
was

to

aspects, and it would

the

be ideal.

problem into debatable form I would

submit a few practical
suggestions.First,that every
schoolhouse should be providedwith a playground,
at least ten
yards for each pupil.
containing
square
This would make, roughly,for every fortychildren
a
city lot (30 by 120), for 400 children half
block.
For every dollar spent on the building,
half
dollar ought to be spent on the playground,and
a
I can
hardlyconceive of a better investment for the
if I had to take my choice
community. Personally,
for my own
between a
child,in one of our largecities,
out
school without a playground and a playground withchoose the playground.
a school,I would
All these spaces should be real playgrounds,not
Justto get

THE

SCHOOL
lawns

OF

PLAY

317

miniature

and

parks. I love
longs
flowers,but when I see them usurpingspace that beand drivingthe latter out into the
to children,
into the hallways and basements,
still,
streets, or, worse
I would preach a crusade of extermination
to play,
floral
at once.
They are no better than parasites,
vampires, sucking the sunshine and air needed so
human
kinsfolk.
sadlyby their pale-faced
partmen
Second, let there be organised,as an auxiliarydeof the kindergartenand primary grades, a
who
shall
and play-masters,
class of play-mistresses
be so distributed throughout the school district that
each will have charge of from
dren.
twenty to fortychilornamental

Then

for

each

division

let
district,
in geographically
small,
of

the

playgroundsbe provided; or,

for each age-group
of
one
denselypopulateddistricts,
the children.
These
be purchased
grounds may
the district can
wherever
afford it,but in the vast
there are
abundant
vacant
lots,
majority of towns
blocks and
the

use

on

the

areas

of them

which

could be leased;or, if need be,

by the city. These could

rather roughed down, cleared of rubbe levelled,
bish,
or
weeds, and garbage, parts of them sanded or
gravelledfor use in wet weather, and then theywould
In short, raise children
be ready for the children.
vacant

confiscated

lots, instead

of

potatoes,

as

under

Mayor Pingree'sadmirable plan,in Detroit. Many

would
be willingto proneighbourhoods of course
vide
and equip their own
playgrounds,and some
vate
prigrounds might be offered for the purpose.
Nor

is this arrangement

one

whose

would
utility

INSTINCT

318

AND

HEALTH

districts
solelyconfined to the congestedtenement
of our
spectable,
largecities;far from it. Many a most rearistocratic,
neighbourhoodwill
nay, even
have no real playgroundcapableof accommodating a
dozen children within a mile square; down-town
parks
of
for begonias,
for babies,and many
not
are
an
area
detached
houses, in ample grounds, has so much
spread of immaculate lawn and superbfoliageclumps,
of littlefeet
that there is no placefor the heel-prints
the litter of tinyhands.
or
The
equipment of these grounds should be of the
simplest. A rough shed-roof coveringpart of the
be

for

space,

in

use

either board
the north

on

and

days in
be

the year
much
better

than

cooped

up

or

west

movable

breaks,
wind-

could be put up
able.
sides in winter, would be adviscanvas,

which

of

assistance of these, the number

the

With

weather, and

wet

healthychildren would not

playing vigorouslyout-of-doors

which

on

off

in the house

be reduced

would

to

Any physicianof experience

will cheerfully
testifythat children kept constantly
catch cold as comin the open air extremelyseldom
pared
and coddled, as fully
with those over-housed
very

small

minimum.

half of them

are

utterlymisnamed,

at

In

present.

and

is caused

fact, a

by

"cold"

is

foul air instead

of fresh.
For

the

younger

children

capacioussand-pit,

they can grub and dig to their hearts' content,

blocks and short boards of all
load of "tailings"
a
ing
sizes from a saw-mill or carpenter's
shop, for buildthe Robinson
purposes, a few cheap accessories for
where

THE
Crusoe

SCHOOL
"Indians"

OF

PLAY

319

play, would suffice.For the

larger youngsters, plain,strong swings, bars, ringstructed
etc., could be consee-saws,
trapezes, vaulting-horses,
and, of course, largespaces kept always clear,
levelled and free from mud
or
standing water, for
base and all the
rounders,prisoners'
hockey,football,
running games.
Then
the space could be secured, corners
where
could be set apart for garden plots,
for those agriculturally
disposed,for littlehutches and sheds for the
a
keeping of pet birds and animals; perhaps even
small pool,arranged for fishes,
and craynewts
frogs,
fish.
But these should be kept well out of the way
of even
possibleoverflows of hearty,reckless play.
Let the grounds be emphatically
placeswhere children
could race
and tear and scuffle as hard as ever
they
liked,without breaking or spoilingthe looks of anything.
Where
theymight even "make a mess," within
without reproof. And with the
any reasonable limits,
magnificent
alreadymade toward securing
progress
ciation,
such conditions,
by the National Playground Assoheaded
by President Roosevelt and pushed
forward
by such leaders as Dr. Luther Gulick, Miss
Jane Addams, and Mr. Frederic Lee and its sister
Humphry
organisationin England led by Mrs.
Ward, the day of their coming is not far away.
As for the duties of the play-mistress,
they would be
in that quaint but expressive
largelysummed
up
for the presidingofficer,
tor":
"moderaterm
Presbyterian
of all sorts, to prevent
to guard againstexcess
infant tyranny, to assist in settling
questionsof preceand

dence

AND

INSTINCT

320

HEALTH

rightof occupancy, to lead, and, if genuinely

in sympathy with them, to joinin the more
orate
elaband approplays and games, to suggest new
priate
and

seasonal

amusements.

In the

highergrades of the play-school,

gardening
and botany could be undertaken, construction
and
fortification practically
studied,excursions organised
lakes and islands,
to fields and woods, to rivers,
hills,
and
available, to art galleries,
quarries;where
and libraries. All the neighbourhoodindustri
museums,
could be visited
mills, factories,enginedocks, depots. Houses, bridges,
rooms,
press-rooms,
"

boats
The

could
broadest

be
and

studied
most

in process
of construction.
valuable of foundations could

be laid for

geography, history,
engineering,
physics,
chemistry,agriculture,
botany, zoology, sociology.
In the make-up of play-mistress
and play-master,
refinement of
cheerfulness,
tact, sympathy,kindliness,
sound physiqueand buoyant
speech and of manner,
health,should be the chief considerations. Just those
in fact,which are so difficultto "grade" prequalities,
cisely
nation,
examiof a competitive
and reduce to the terms
and be safe
and hence so difficultto recognise,
of securing under
our
present "mental-contents"
of selecting
teachers.
method
of the weightier
As for one
to the scheme,
objections
that of expense, this is not so formidable
as
might at
firstsightappear.
For while it would
a
mean
large
also
addition to the listof outdoor teachers,it would
of indoor
permit a very considerable diminution
teachers and

economy

of schoolroom

space.

It is the

INSTINCT

AND

If this be true, then the

same

322

force which
maintain

tots

is

HEALTH
indoor teaching

and

room

requiredto keep awake and

semblance
of industryamong
thirtywriggling
for four hours a day could provide for
now

three and, if necessary, four times that number

batches,for one-hour sessions. In older
where
to

be

five-hour

school

day

the present number

taught, and in the six-hour
the number.

planning,double
the indoor

of children

grades, by

Nor

cessive
suc-

grades,
prevails,two

now

three times

in

would

teachers,for the real

could

this

little
work
over-

of

nerve-wear

from

teaching,but from
teacher will
the disciplinary
duties. Every thoughtful
that both the receptivity
and the manageabletestify
the schoolroom

of the child

ness

not

comes

their maximum

at

are

of school

fifteen minutes

within the first

rate
hours, and rapidlydeterio-

with each successive half-hour after

certain very
utes,
ninetymin-

period,varyingfrom twenty to
accordingto age.
avoid
Rationallymanaged modern schools carefully
attemptingdifficultor new work in the latter third or
half of any school period. A child kept working
even
for one
hour will accomplishas
at concert-pitch
three hours' steadydrudgery.
much
in two
even
as
or
moderate

The

child-mind
than

he

hang

on

flash has done

it has

smelted

no

fitted for continuous

more

thoroughbred race-horse

can

concentrate

justabout
the work.

the ore,

as

plicatio
ap-

is for hauling

that he is defective in

It is not

stone-boat.

and

is

centration;
con-

chain-lightning
long. But the lightning
like

"

In the fraction of
it has

welded

the

second

iron, as

THE

SCHOOL

OF

PLAY

323

safelyand surelyas could a blast-furnace in an hour.

To
keep on puffingthe bellows and pilingfresh
coal upon
the cooling metal is superfluous,
if not
absurd.
In

fine,the plan proposed would

givethe child full

opportunityto develop naturally,healthfully,
metrical
symaccording to the law of his being. It
would

also

soon

enable

to

us

settle

once

for all the

much-vexed

questionwhether a child's mind has the

irresistibletendencyto develop
same
natural,definite,
and mature
has his body. Personally,
I firmlybelieve
as
that it has. As we have seen, physiologists
now
no
longer speak of a child "learning"to walk or
"learning"to talk. He grows to walk and he grows
ings,
to speak. A
healthychild,under normal surroundthe muscles of his legsand
as
will,justas soon
back and their corresponding
in the brain have
centres
reached a certain stage of development,proceed to
his
walk, unless forciblyprevented. As soon
as
mouth-parts and his right hand, with their central
he will (imitating
differentiated,
are
sufficiently
areas,
the word-sounds
he hears made
about him)
of course
the efforts of his adoring
begin to talk. Not even
relatives
small

to

amount

in school
mental

And
no
prevent him.
children
of the instruction lavished upon

"teach"

him

can

effect upon
their
of the nursery
has the "baby-talk"

has

about

as

much

growth as
their learningto speak. I believe that the child
upon
has to guidehim in this field of his growth an instinct,
rather two
real and as dependableas
as
instincts,
or
that of hunger or thirst. These are, on the one hand,

INSTINCT

324

the
curiosity,
and
to
as

on

AND

desire to

know, the "want to find out,"

the other, restlessness,
the resistless desire

something,the
Loeb
finelyterms

"instinct for

do

it.

mind, like that of matter,

line,not toward rest.
I fear that such of the
as

have

will
perusal,
not

even

HEALTH

mentioned

school of
"discipline"
this brief sketch

honoured
raise

workmanship,"
The
natural tendency of
is toward motion in a right

with

tors
educatheir

of protest, because I have

the (to them) chief pointat issue,
chorus

learn to
how, by pursuing play,a child can possibly
In other words, how, by doing,no matter
how
work.
be taught
the thingit likes to do, it can
vigorously,
This last they hold is
to do the thing it dislikes.
the chief purpose
because

The

of education.
in my

view

the

omission

is intentio

questionis not really

viz., that the

positionhere taken
child in playshapesand sharpensthe tools,both mental
How
and bodily,
with which he is later to work.
is another
from play to work
the transition is made
question.
involved

But

in the

"

for the comfort

of those of my

critics who

have

justand proper lust for battle a I'entrance, I don't

lief
bemind confessing
a lively,
though quiteirrelevant,
for hard, effective,
that the best possible
preparation
is a keen, overmasteringinterest
tireless work
the problem to be
in the subjectto be mastered
or
a

solved: that
or

most

men

work

not

from

force of habit,still less because

"taught"to, but

from

for the rewards

fierce

of toil
"

love of work

they have

been

ing
desire,yes, vital cravbread, power, knowl-

THE

edge,
of

fame.

There

hundred
the

it, for

Industry

breathing
And

SCHOOL

this

comers,

contention.

is

failing

is, in
is.
I

It

one

though

325

ninety-nine
to

work

out

men

and

keep

at

reasons.

merely

with
it

of

"learn"

sense,

is

will,

fear

no

to

of

sternest

PLAY

OF

has

my

no

of

more

action

an

to

do

than

virtue
to

necessary

defend

body,

nothing

against
with

my

life.
all

main

CHAPTER

THE

HEALTH

at

MAN

The

years

from

MIDDLE-AGED

MAN

justenteringupon
fortyto sixtyare the

his harvest.

be

dominant

of the rulers of the world.

Jahren," the years of struggleand

of painfulpreparationand laborious training,

"Wander

stress,
are

should
fifty

THE

of life,the ages

decades
The

OF

XVI

the fields are

over,

can

white

before

his sickle.

How

he best preserve his vigour and conserve

his capital?
Conditions
have changed, and he must
adjust

himself

to

them.

First let him

He
earned

the

work

recognisethe advantages of his position.

has graduated from the school of life,
has
rightto let his degreesof skill and experience
for him.

What

his muscles

have

lost in

elasticity
they have

gained in practicedsmoothness
of action and massive strength.
His heart has lost the
bounding leap of the deer,but has gainedthe tireless
swing of the swift Narragansett pacer "that eats up
the long miles like fire." His thought enginethrobs
but has gainedimmensely
with less violent pulsations,
in cool, orderly,
harmonious
vibrations.
What
we
could do only by laborious effort and constant
once
attention we
and with the easy
do unconsciously
now
"second nature."
deftness of instinct,
or
Let

the young
forests. The man

men

blaze

the trails and

of the dominant

clear the

decades, in

our

MIDDLE-AGED

THE

MAN

327

Western
idiom, "don't have to." (He has
expressive
for somethingbetter!)
Let him clearly
see
qualified
this and

"bank

it," and

on

he has solved two-thirds of

problem of preservinghis vigour till old age.

efficient and quiteas enjoySound
maturity is more
able
as
youth. Don't sigh for the days that were,
count
or
yourselfinferior to the callow stripling.
than he is,of higher horsepower,
You
are
a better motor

the

sides,
greater endurance and less friction-waste. Behe may
the scrap-heap
before he
be laid on
reaches your age.
The gloryand triumphsof manhood

them
future.

Don't
down
feel

Live

regrets for the past

at

you.

bump,

farther

or

cut

Keep
at

down

on

fears for the

die suddenly.

thingsuntil they

full steam

on

least

or

joy
En-

yours.

pitch,and plan to

concert

begin to
on

without

are

cut

ahead

until you
distinct grating. You'll go

happier and far more

usefullythan by
the lookout for rocks and shoals
anxious straining
on
which often don't exist,
though they may be down on "
the charts.
There
are
plentysuch.
First and most
vital,keep up your exercise and
the latter. Don't drop any of
recreations,especially
ones
your outdoor interests unless you can acquirenew
in their places. Change your sports in qualityif you
in quantity,
must
(but not tillthen),but never
except
to increase.
Drop tennis when you find it exhausts
and

hurries your heart afterward

sleep,but take an hour a day more
you,

or

disturbs your
golf in its place.
or

If the riflewith its long,heart-straining

tramps

over

INSTINCT

328
mountain
react

and

from

There

tires you,

take
trip,

to

the

that you

so

don't

the stubble-field

shotgunand

If the gun becomes

ous,
too strenuthe rod, but don't give up your outdoor

copses.

fall back
life on

HEALTH

dead-fall

the

and

AND

on

any

is no

account.

need

take

much

anxious

thought
about these problems. Nature
has a guiding instinct
for middle age and declining
vigour,justas she has
for youth and growing powers.
As long as you like
to

too

take active exercise and sport, and feel exhilarated

and refreshed (even if a little stiffened)
by them,
to

keep them

they are doing you good. When you

for you,
feel that they are gettinga littletoo much
when you don't feel fresher for them next day, cut
little in intensity.
down
them
on
a
Qfn short, be
study of your own
feelings
guided by an intelligent^
and preferences.
They are your best guideiS
Let your motto
be the advice of the Quaker apostle,
ing
George Fox, to William Penn, in regard to the wearup ;

of the dress-sword:

"Wej^it^sJIongasthou

canst."
Indoor

tance.
gymnasticsare reallyof secondary imporFirst,because they lack the chief benefits of

exercise,the open

air and

sunshine.

become
they almost invariably

and

are

soon

Second, because
and

monotonous

discontinued.

For

these

teresting
uninsons
rea-

of experience
regard them as
physicians
littlebetter than a farce. Certainlythe
practically
for them by highlyadvertised systems
claims made
of physical
culture are of this character. A good five
minutes' arm-swinging,
back-bending,side-stretching,
most

INSTINCT

330
what

kinds and

what

do

Most

amounts

AND

HEALTH

of food

agree

with him

and

not.

after

after fifty,
or
forty-five,
certainly
will notice a slight
but distinct falling
off in appetite.
This is a hint that the body cannot
utilise as much
food as before,and should be acted upon.
Although
this diminution of appetiteis a sign of cessation of
it is not
growth and the beginningof failing
vitality,
of diminishing
On
the contrary, by
one
efficiency.
men

virtue of its

reserve

expertness, the

power,

and

momentum

body-machinemay

do

more

trained
work

in

to fiftyproportionto its fuel-needs from forty-five

than in any previousdecade.
five,or even
sixty,
in a
Experiencedgeneralsprefergrizzledveterans
how
tryingcampaign to youthful troops, no matter
well drilled or conditioned,because they stand more
knocking about on shorter rations and less sleep.
doesn't need so much
fuel
However, when nature
Till
to run
your body engine,she'll let you know.
then giveher all she calls for. It is a very good sign
for a middle-agedman
dicate
to have a big appetite.It in-

that he has lots of work

The

in his

motor

yet.

dangers of overeatinghave been enormously

diac
exaggerated. Gout, rheumatism, kidney disease,carliver trouble, even
occur
degeneration,
obesity,
undereat
quiteas often in those who from necessity
in those who "live high."
as
A
moderate
and
comfortable
increase in weight,
after the age of forty,is a natural and healthful
process, a layingby of capitalagainstthe evil days
that are
coming. Unfortunately,
shortlyafter the

THE

MIDDLE-AGED

which

MAN

331

this

the
occurs
depositof fat-surplus
and
body engineis apt to begin to show signsof wear
tear, and originaldefects in tubing, boiler,steam
and
gearing reveal themselves under the
gauge,
strain. With
infantile logicwe
say the first change
caused the second.
As a matter
fat
of experience,
age

at

men

of middle

less

age

show

these strain defects less frequently,

early and

them

bear

than

better

thin

ones.

Obesity is
ten

not

normal

Fat laid

disease,but in nine

process,

is

"Anti-fat"

beneficial rather than

is usually
lost
forty-five
neither a sign nor
a
cause

advertisements

the

to

out

cases

after

on

enty, and

harmful.

before
of

contrary

of

sev-

"!^

disease,
notwith-

fa

standing.
The

dreaded

liver has

fattydegenerationof the heart and

do with general in- t~r
to
nothing whatever
It occurs
body weight, however generous.

crease

in

more

often

in

the

emaciated

Therefore, don't hesitate

to

than

laugh

in

and

the

grow

obese.

fat,or

yourselffor fear the "fat will get round your

heart."
ments
Nearly all weight-reducingdiets and treatreduce strengthalso and are dangerous if long
quite Falstaffian propersistedin. fatness of even
portions
is perfectly
compatiblewith jfae~humest
starve

grade of efficTehi
lext, taw

sleepis never

The

wasted.

find that he cannot

he tends

this should

spent in sound

plenty of sleep. Time

make

to

take
wake

him

man

of middle

quiteas much
earlier and

the

more

more

age

will

merly;
sleepas forbut
easily,

insistent to take

all

INSTINCT

332
he

that

He

possiblycan.
sleep as he once

of

the

hours

sma'

wee

HEALTH

AND

did.
he

is

stand

cannot

If he

has

apt

more

the

been

to

loss
till

up

feel it

next

day.
The

fewer
in bed

should

we

the

As
1

Half

an

hour

to

an

hour

and

at

an

rest

after lunch

day's efficiency
wonderfully. It
sleepin the middle of the day than
uncivilised and

lighter

made

the
better to

The

take.

sleep at night becomes shorter

the middle of the day should be

in

nap

bed

few

completely in a
recuperating
of sleepis the prerogative
of youth alone.
hours of sound sleepwe
can
get the more

hours

of

power

unsociable

hour

tom.
cus-

will increase
is much
to

at

go

to

night.

"rise up at the voice of the bird" is very pretty

unless you
physiologiceconomy,
poetry, but poor
should happen to be a farmer.
Sit up as late as you
To

keep up an interest in any sensible subjectand

sleepas late as you can in the morning. Early to bed
and early to rise is an
for the unexcellent motto
progressive.
the man
of middle age should keep
Above
all things,
more
pointsat which we touch
up his interests. The
can

human
the

life and

the
interests,

more

alive

we

are

and

If you have any taste

longerwe will remain so.
for music, cultivate it;don't let it decay. You
may
and
have given up singing,
but go to the best concerts
Develop any likingyou may have for pictures,
operas.
landscapes in the original;read
especially
plentyof good poetry. All these will tend to keep
resourceful,not only mentally
responsive,
you elastic,

MIDDLE-AGED

THE

physically.Life

but

that diminishes

when

is response
we

environment;

to

begin to die.

Our

duty.

spare

as

earth,and as a civic
and we
own
positionis fairlyestablished,
the
littletime to help others,especially

diversion,the finest game

can

333

Is the natural time of life for politics,

both

JNow
a

MAN

on

risinggeneration.
If the

of the dominant

man

is so

nate
unfortu-

let him beg,

hobby, by all means
indoor and
Better still,
two
borrow, or hire one.
one
outdoor.
to keep him young.
one
Nothing will do more
Roses, chrysanthemums,cherries,
Orpingtons,Games,
collies,bull-terriers,
Angoras, wild flowers,birds,
shells,butterflies,
bookplates,first editions,clocks,
old blue, andirons, stamps, brass, bric-a-brac no
interest enmatter
what, so long as they arouse
tirely
an
as

have

decades

to

no

"

"

apart from

their monetary value.

Next to outdoor
sports they are the best Elixir of Youth known.
Don't plan to retire from business unless you have a

hobby
Don't
make

to

retire on,

count

them

your

as

grey

well

as

hairs.

less in number

competency.

First,because it won't
slower in

coming.
Second, because it will do you harm, which they never
will. This is an allegory,
the meaning of which goes far.
Grey hairs are nature's accolade of knighthood for
service rendered.
It may not be much, but it is surely
does not exist
something. Be proud of it. The man
outside of jail
has not done
Wall Street who at fifty
or
something for the race, as well as for himself. Often
much
it be a little pushing of the
Whether
more.
ploughlandfarther into the flanks of the wilderness,
any

or

INSTINCT

334
the

doingof

AND

HEALTH

bit of work

some

better than it was

ever

done

before,a house built,

a well dug, a road
opened,
pricelowered,a child trained,a song sung, or written,
or
lived,an evil faced or beaten back, another

life made
which

we

This

happier
"

say, "This

can

is the

have

continue to

Use

move

it

I done

tinysprigof

laurel

abreast of the young

as

our

the world

tillthreescore and
our

always somethingoF
for the world."

vantage-ground of middle

mental, moral.
may

there is

cal,
physi-

"

fulcrum

and

we

with the lever of

Make

ten.

and

count

age

we

perience
ex-

skill and

our

stillkeep

can

men.

Live in the present and don't dread the future. Old

but a natural,
painless
age is not a disease,
process, as
and inherently
vitally
necessary
other

natural
The

welcome.
wavelets

same

it

forces which

raised

the great sea of life will

into its cool,calm depthsagain. The

down
no

when

process,

youth.Like
actuallycomes

as

more

upon

to

be dreaded

than

the

upward

us

every

it is
up

as

plunge us
plungeis
curl.

We

shot
sparkleand glow for a few brief moments,
then fade away
of eternity,
throughwith the sunlight
into the fathomless blue again,but the moments
were

well worth

while.

happy (orbrief and happy),

and in that thought die,glad for what was."
It is
pure selfishness to wish to live again or longerthan
is best for the following
generation.Our life is not
for ourselves,
but for the race, and if we
Japveset
that the tiniestnotch higherupon its upward course,
it is enough.
We

can

"live longand