EPIGRAPH
A farmer being on the point of death, and wishing to show his sons the way to success in farming, called them to him and said—"My children I am now departing this life, but all that I have to leave you, you will find in the vineyard." The sons, supposing that he referred to some hidden treasure, as soon as the old man was dead, set to work with their spades and ploughs and every implement that was at hand, and turned up the soil over and over again. They found indeed no treasure; but the vines, strengthened and improved by this thorough tillage, yielded a finer vintage than they had ever yielded before, and more than repaid the young husbandmen for all their trouble. So truly is industry in itself a treasure.—THE FABLES OF AESOP.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. THE CLIMATE OF AUSTRALIA. Their semi-tropical climate hitherto unrecognised by the people of Australia—Reasons advanced for this statement; early gold-mining era influences still at work, and Anglo-Saxon heredities—Hot months and cooler months; temperatures of the Australian capital cities—Fluctuations of temperature and barometric pressure not extreme—Equability of Australian climate a marked feature—Not many successive days of great heat—Humidity of atmosphere in different colonies—A dry heat always preferable to a moist heat—Duration of the different seasons, and months apportioned to each season—Prevailing winds, and ROLE of hot winds
CHAPTER II. THE ALPHABETICAL PENTAGON OF HEALTH FOR AUSTRALIA. The Alphabetical Pentagon a convenient form of remembering that the FIVE essentials of health—namely, Ablution: the Skin and the Bath; Bedroom Ventilation; Clothing; Diet; and Exercise—occur in alphabetical order
CHAPTER III. ABLUTION—THE SKIN AND THE BATH. Important and numerous functions of the skin—The skin itself and its different parts—The use of the scarf skin—The structure of the true skin—The perspiration tubes—The tubes of the oil-glands—Great value of the cold bath—Importance of the rubbing down after the cold bath—The cold bath as a preventive of disease—The cold bath in the maintenance of health—The warm cleansing bath—The beneficial effect of adding salt at the end of a warm bath—Other interesting hints
Loss of hair in Australia—Structure of the hair, and its blood supply —The hair is not a tube—Management of the hair—Singeing the hair— Washing the hair—Description of brushes and combs recommended—Hard rim of the hat a factor in thinning the hair—Excellent applications for promoting the growth of the hair
Formation of the nail—Different parts of the nail—Growth of the nail—The care of the nails
Disorders arising from loss of teeth—The preservation of the teeth— An admirable recipe for a tooth-powder—Management of the teeth—Use of floss silk