The Art of Living in Australia | Page 9

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 Australian cities, Southern Europe, and southern portion of United States--Australian food habits diametrically opposed to climate--Lamentable state of Australian cookery--Restricted choice of vegetables in Australia--Many other desirable vegetables never seen here, but in great request elsewhere--No possible excuse, as they would all do well--Extraordinary trouble in popularising the tomato in Australia--A protest against "boiling," and nothing but "boiling," in the cookery of vegetables--Cookery must be taught in Australian schools--No national Australian dish, a reproach to Australia

CHAPTER X
. AUSTRALIAN FISH AND OYSTERS--AND THEIR FOOD VALUE. No deep-sea fisheries in Australia, although her people come from a maritime stock--The defectiveness of our Australian fish supply--Our primitive methods of fish capture--The beam-trawl in deep-sea fishing--Drift-net and other deep-sea fishing--Benefits from the development of our deep-sea fisheries--Fish markets--The "middleman" controversy--The distribution of fish to the public--Fishmongers and the sale of fish-- The development