Vegetarianism (Vol. 27, p. 967), by Dr. Josiah Oldfield, describes the various systems of diet which reject flesh, the most extreme of which exclude everything but nuts, fruit and cereals, all to be eaten raw. Cookery (Vol. 7, p. 74) shows how the digestibility of food is influenced by methods of cooking, and unhesitatingly condemns the general practice of baking meat. Adulteration (Vol. 1, p. 218), by Dr. Otto Hehner, describes the dangers to health which arise from the use of preservatives as well as substitutes. For the use of boracic acid, which has been proved to be slightly unwholesome, but not really dangerous, there is at any rate the excuse that it keeps food from spoiling, but the article has nothing but blame for the “coppering” of vegetables. “Many years ago some artful, if stupid, cook found that green vegetables like peas or spinach, when cooked in a copper pan, by preference a dirty one, showed a far more brilliant colour than the same vegetable cooked in earthenware or iron. The manufacturer who puts up substances like peas in pots or tins for sale produces the same effect which the cook obtained by the wilful addition of a substance known to be injurious to health, namely, sulphate of copper.” Food Preservation (Vol. 10, p. 612) also shows the risks of using carelessly canned goods. Temperance (Vol. 26, p. 578), by Dr. Arthur Shadwell, tells the story of the reforms that have been effected since the 18th century days when London bars used to put up signs inviting customers to get “drunk for one penny” or “dead drunk for twopence;” and Liquor Laws (Vol. 16, p. 759) describes temperance legislation in all parts of the world, with a most interesting section on prohibition in the United States. Drunkenness (Vol. 8, p. 601) deals specifically with the effects of excess on the health.
Alimentary Canal (Vol. 1, p. 663), by Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, describes all the organs of the body that deal with food. Digestive Organs (Vol. 8, p. 262), by Dr. Andrew Gillespie, shows how indigestion arises, and Dyspepsia (Vol. 8, p. 786) describes the symptoms caused by habitual indigestion. Metabolic Diseases (Vol. 18, p. 195), by Dr. Noel Paton, covers all the maladies arising from defective nutrition. Corpulence (Vol. 7, p. 192) tells about the reduction of superfluous fat, while Fasting (Vol. 10, p. 193) and Hunger and Thirst (Vol. 13, p. 931) discuss the intentional or accidental cutting down of the usual food supply. Famine (Vol. 10, p. 166) gives a most interesting account of the disasters with which crop failures still threaten Asiatic countries. The feeding of young children is, of course, a distinct subject, and is treated in great detail in the article Infancy (Vol. 14, p. 513), by Dr. Harriet Hennessy.
Sleep and the Want of it
Sleep (Vol. 25, p. 238), by Prof. McKendrick, is an elaborate study of the curious changes in the action of the brain and other organs which take place during slumber. Insomnia (Vol. 14, p. 644) is a practical article on the causes and treatment of sleeplessness. Between absolutely lying awake and obtaining a really good night’s rest there are many intermediate stages, and the article Dream (Vol. 8, p. 558) contains a great deal of curious information about disturbed sleep. Somnambulism (Vol. 25, p. 393) shows that when dreams are vivid enough to produce sleepwalking there must be nervous trouble calling for immediate treatment. Narcotics (Vol. 19, p. 239) describes the dangers of the drugs to produce sleep; and in Hypnotism (Vol. 14, p. 201) and Suggestion (Vol. 26, p. 48) there is a full account of the treatment frequently used for sleeplessness and other nervous disorders.
The Right Kind of Air
The effect of climates upon health is the subject of a special section (Vol. 6, p. 526) of the article Climate. Ventilation (Vol. 27, p. 1008) shows how to secure fresh air in the house without draughts. Dust (Vol. 8, p. 713), by Dr. Aitken, the inventor of the ingenious machine for counting the particles of dust floating in the atmosphere, gives a very full account of the impurities in the air. Heating (Vol. 13, p. 160) contains descriptions and diagrams of the best methods of warming houses, and there is at the end of the article an account of the system of steam heating employed at Lockport, N. Y., where buildings anywhere within three miles of the central plant are heated at a very moderate cost.
General Hygiene
Baths (Vol. 3, p. 514), and Hydropathy (Vol. 14, p. 165), and Balneotherapeutics (Vol. 3, p. 284) describe all the bathing treatments in which water, steam and hot air are employed. Electric baths are described in Electrotherapeutics (Vol. 9, p. 249), and Aerotherapeutics deals with compressed air baths. Massage (Vol. 17, p. 863), by Dr. Arthur Shadwell, describes all the systems of rubbing. Gymnastics (Vol. 12, p. 752) gives an account of the Swedish and other systems of hygienic exercise; and out-door exercises of every kind are described in the articles mentioned in the chapter of Readings in Connection with Recreations and Vacations. Two other articles which relate to general hygiene are Disinfectants (Vol. 8, p. 312) and Antiseptics (Vol. 2, p. 146). The proper care of the hair is indicated in the article Baldness (Vol. 3, p. 243), where prescriptions for lotions are given.
Various Diseases
The articles already named cover very fully the application of medical science to the ordinary routine of life, and will help you to regulate wisely your habits in regard to eating, sleeping and to the general care of your body. It may be the case that you wish, for your own sake, or for the sake of some member of your family, to carry your reading further in respect to some one disease or some one part of the body. In the list of articles at the end of this chapter you will find more than two hundred, each of which deals with one disease, such as rheumatism, catarrh, malaria or neuralgia. In the case of a very simple trouble you will find directions for treatment, as for example in the article Corn, where you are advised to use a solution of salicylic acid in collodion, or, for a soft corn, to paint it with spirits of camphor. Where the trouble is anything more serious, you should of course consult a doctor, but you will understand what he tells you all the better, and worry less, if you have read an article, which describes the usual course of the disease.