The Art of Living in Australia | Page 9

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

CHAPTER IV
. BEDROOM VENTILATION. The bedroom the most important room
in the house--necessity for proper ventilation--Extra allowance of sleep
in hot climates--Crowding of articles in bedrooms condemned--Results
of breathing vitiated air--Injuriously affects the heart as well as the
lungs--The proper dimensions of a bedroom--Regulation of the
ventilation--Mosquito nettings for summer months--Fresh air equally
required in the cooler months

CHAPTER V
. CLOTHING, AND WHAT TO WEAR. No clothing actually creates
warmth of itself--The varying powers of clothing to detain air in its
meshes--Two or three layers of clothing always warmer than a single
garment equal to their combined thickness--The transmission of the

body-heat to the clothes--The different fabrics are either good or bad
conductors of heat--Permeability of clothing to air--The vegetable
kingdom; the properties of cotton and of linen--The animal products;
the properties of silk and of wool--Wool one of the best materials to
wear next the skin--Recommendations for wearing woollen
under-garments --The way to prevent them from shrinking--The
modern pyjamas immensely superior to the old-fashioned
bed-gown--The clothing would be modified according to the season of
the year.

CHAPTER VI
. DIET--IMPORTANCE OF BREAKFAST, FRUIT, TEA, COFFEE,
ICED DRINKS, TOBACCO. Breakfast usually scampered
through--Monotony of the ordinary breakfast--A plea for something
better--Butter during Australian summer months--The ice-chest an
absolute necessity-- Breakfast should be a substantial meal
Fruit fortunately abundant in Australia--The agreeable qualities of
fruits reside in three factors--Fruit must neither be over-ripe nor
under-ripe--The anti-scorbutic properties of fruit--Changes in the blood
in scurvy--Mild forms of scurvy not uncommon--Symptoms of an
excess of uric acid in the stem--A word for olives
Abuse of tea by the gentler sex--Protest against lunch of tea and broad
and butter--An admirable opportunity for philanthropic efforts-- Tea to
be enjoyed, and not misused--The making of tea--The anti-tannic teapot
The three active principles of coffee--Coffee stimulates the brain--
Coffee relieves fatigue and exhaustion, whether mental or manual--The
virtues of coffee--Coffee as a remedy in different diseases--The details
of coffee roasting--The art of making coffee--The cafetiere, or French
coffee-pot--Proportions of coffee and of chicory in "cafe noir" and
"cafe au lait" respectively--Minute instructions for making coffee
Universal use of ice in America--Ice indispensable in hot climates--
Expert opinions upon the value of ice in India--Medical authorities
practically unanimous in favour of ice when used with discretion--
Purity of the ice must be ensured
Proportion of smokers to non-smokers--Five out of every six men
smoke --Amount of tobacco used in Australia and in other

countries--The effect of tobacco on the system provisionally divided
into three classes--The principles contained in tobacco--Different
results of combustion from a cigar and from a pipe--Effect of tobacco
when it is unsuitable--Symptoms following excessive smoking--The
smokers heart-- Men of middle age often compelled to give up
tobacco--Effect of tobacco upon the palate--Power to appreciate good
wine lost after the first whiff of cigarette, cigar, or pipe

CHAPTER VII
. EXERCISE. Effect of exercise upon the muscles--Exercise removes
debris from the system--Bodily health the great desideratum of the
present day--Will power increased by exercise--Exercise improves the
quality of the blood--Exercise strengthens the heart and lungs, and
benefits the nervous system--Every one must perform his own exercise;
no carrying it out by proxy--Walking six miles a day the orthodox
amount of exercise--Early morning exercise not beneficial to
everybody--It is only by exercise, and by exercise alone, that the
different organs are brought to the perfection of health

CHAPTER VIII
. ON SCHOOL COOKERY, AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE
AUSTRALIAN DAILY LIFE. Enormous consumption of meat and of
tea in Australia--A contest between a semi-tropical climate and
Anglo-Saxon heredities-- Progressive changes in the theories of
education--The purpose of education--School cookery instruction in
England and in Australia-- Cookery in its relation to health--Cookery as
a preventive of drunkenness--Cookery in the formation of character--A
national plea on behalf of Australian school cookery

CHAPTER IX
. AUSTRALIAN FOOD HABITS, AND THEIR FAULTS--A PLEA
FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT. Food usually in harmony with climate,
except in Australia --Isothermal lines of