Outdoor Sports and Games | Page 3

army and he attributed it to the fact that
his soldiers slept and lived in the open air.
[Illustration: A Child's May Day Party (Photograph by Mary H.
Northend)]
One can almost tell a man who sleeps in the open by looking at him.
His eye is clear and his cheek ruddy. There is no surer way to become
well and strong than to become accustomed to this practice. Then you
can laugh at the doctor and throw the medicine bottles away. In stating
this I know that many parents will not agree with me, and will feel that
to advise a boy to sleep in the open when the weather is stormy or
extremely cold is almost like inviting him to his death. It is a fact just
the same that every one would be healthier and happier if they followed
this practice. In a few years I expect to see outdoor sleeping the rule
rather than the exception. Progressive doctors are already agreed on this
method of sleeping for sick people. In some hospitals even delicate
babies are given open-air treatment in midwinter as a cure for
pneumonia. My own experience is that in the two years that I have been
an outdoor sleeper, with the snow drifts sometimes covering the foot of
the bed, with the wintry winds howling about my head in a northeaster,
I have been absolutely free from any trace of coughs or colds.
Thousands of others will give the same testimony. According to
old-fashioned ideas such things would give me my "death of cold." It
rarely happens that one begins the practice of sleeping out without
becoming a firm believer in it.
One of the children of a friend in Connecticut who had just built a
beautiful home was taken ill, and the doctor recommended that the
child's bed be moved out on the porch. This was in December. The

father also had his own bed moved out to keep the baby company. My
friend told me that after the first night he felt like a changed man. He
awoke after a refreshing sleep and felt better than he had in years. The
whole family soon followed and all the beautiful bedrooms in the house
were deserted. The baby got well and stayed well and the doctor's visits
are few and far between in that household.
By all means sleep in the open if you can. Of course one must have
ample protection from the weather, such as a porch or piazza with a
screen or shelter to the north and west. A warm room in which to dress
and undress is also absolutely necessary. If your rest is disturbed by
cold, as it will probably be until you become accustomed to it and learn
the tricks of the outdoor sleeper, you simply need more covers. In
winter, the bed should be made up with light summer blankets in place
of sheets, which would become very cold. Use, as a night cap, an old
sweater or skating cap. A good costume consists of a flannel shirt,
woollen drawers, and heavy, lumberman's stockings. With such an
outfit and plenty of covers, one can sleep out on the coldest night and
never awaken until the winter's sun comes peeping over the hill to tell
him that it is time to get up.
Besides fresh air, another important thing in keeping well is to eat
slowly and to chew your food thoroughly. Boys and girls often develop
a habit of rapid eating because they are anxious to get back to play or to
school. Slow eating is largely a matter of habit as well, and while it
may seem hard at first it will soon become second nature to us.
Remember to chew your food thoroughly. The stomach has no teeth.
We have all heard of Mr. Horace Fletcher, that wonderful old man who
made himself young again by chewing his food.
There is no fun in life unless we are well, and a sensible boy should
realize that his parents' interest in him is for his own benefit. It may
seem hard sometimes to be obliged to do without things that we want,
but as a rule the judgment of the older people is better than our own. A
growing boy will often eat too much candy or too many sweet things
and then suffer from his lack of judgment. To fill our stomachs with
indigestible food is just as foolish as it would be to put sand in the

bearings of our wheel, or to interfere with the delicate adjustment of
our watch until it refuses to keep time.
While we play, our muscles are developed, our lungs filled with fresh
air and the whole body is made stronger and more vigorous. Some boys
play too