THE ART OF KEEPING COOL

It is not by fretting or worrying or plying the fan that we can keep cool, but by taking up our work, doing it bravely and cheerily, with as little fuss as possible. " Take time by the forelock " and rise early, get- ting as much done as possible before the heat of the day. Never do any work after dinner ; if it cannot be done in the forenoon, let it go uutil the next day. You will live just as long and the family be as com- fortable.

It is a mistake to keep the house close as a cell all day, lest the sun's rays should enter it. Pure air must be allowed to circulate through the house, and this is of importance in keeping the body cool. Throw the blinds and windows open very early in the morning and keep them so until the dew has dried off ; then close them tightly, and the rooms will remain quite comfortable until evening, when the blinds can again be thrown open to admit the cool evening breeze.

Drinking large draughts of ice-water when the body is heated, or partaking too freely of food or ices, should be carefully avoided. Bath- ing when heated or in excessive perspiration is a good cause for illness ; but an ammonia or salt water bath once a day — but not directly after a meal — is not only a luxury but a positive necessity.

Also we should be careful in the food we eat ; very little meat is desirable, but fish, lamb, chickens and all white fleshed fowls are in sea- son ; also, all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Berries as well as stoned fruits can be eaten in moderation. Much is said against the unhealth- fulness of cucumbers and watermelons ; the first can be eaten without discomfort if allowed to stand a few minutes in salt and water, then poured off and vinegar put in its place. Watermelons can be eaten, if fresh and thoroughly ripe. Iced tea and coffee are very desirable ; as they act as tonics upon the system. Only enough should be cooked to be eaten the same day, for even if put in an ice box it will taste stale. All animal food should be eaten of sparingly; milk and fruit, bread and vegetables, ice cream (which now can be bought at a small cost), iced fruit, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs served in vinegar and salt, which have lately been pronounced by medical authority more digestible than soft boiled eggs ; ham sandwiches, dried and canned meats, jellies, fresh crackers and dried fish — all of these are good for summer meals, or for picnic lunches.

Why do not people when traveling make up their own lunches, mstead of depending upon hotels or the railroad stations, and then inDtead of being half starved or getting a headache with their hastily

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bolted food, they could travel comfortably to the end of their journey ? One can make their lemonade easily by rolling the lemons until soft, slicing them very thin and packing in sugar in a deep-mouthed bottle. All that would be necessary to have a glass of delicious lemonade is to take out a little of the lemon and juice in a glass, fill with ice water and you will have a different mixture from the compound of acid and water served out at stations and refreshment stands. Tea can be made by taking a quantity and pouring a little more hot water than enough to cover, over it. Then put in a glass case and fill up with hot water and allow it to stand till needed. A very little of this in a cup of ice water will make delicious tea, and serv« as an admirable tonic when wear)'' and half sick. Crackers with raisins or figs are good substitutes when fresh fruit cannot be bought. Pine-apple sliced and left to stand a few hours, with sugar sprinkled over it, makes a fine dessert.

Excessive heat is much like excessive cold, both will produce bad effects upon the physical system, but bad management oftener produces suffering and disease. Frequent bathing of the whole body is very essential, yet if it is not rightly administered it may produce disease. A bath before retiring or at rising can never be out of place. Going in swimming or bathing while in excessive perspiration is also a frequent cause of illness. Salt water bathing is highly recommended, but a daily bath is a decided luxury if not taken directly after a meal.

Drinking large quantities of ice water when the body is greatly heated, or partaking too freely of ices or stimulating drinks, should be carefully avoided. Iced tea and coffee are very desirable as a drink, as they act as a tonic on the system and are better than iced water. Ice is a luxury in warm weather, and is really quite essential, and ought to be obtainable by every family under the simple and economical method of storing now introduced. A small piece of ice will keep a long time if it is Vv'rapped in three or four thicknesses of woolen cloth and kept in a cool place.

We should be careful to keep the stomach in good order — free from acidity, which is often the cause of inflammation. A little soda water taken after a full meal, will often prove an antidote to this trouble. If you cannot obtain it at the druggist's in the form of effervescence, you can take a half teaspoonful of common baking soda dissolved in cold water and drink it.

The frequent changing and airing of all under-clothing and bedding is also very conducive to good health. When the sun shines out clear and bright, but not hot, and there is a gentle breeze, bring out the beds and pillows, place them on a clothes line, beat them strongly and let them remain a few hours, and you will be charmed with the elasticity of both pillows and mattresses. Children's beds especially need to be aired in this manner if you would have their sleep refreshing. Every room that is occupied in the house should be well ventilated daily.

34:4: SUMMER HINTS.

The kitchen sink-drains and cellar should be well attended to. Clean: out the drains and sprinkle well with a strong solution of copperas water; place chloride of lime in earthen dishes and set them on the cel- lar, bottom in some out of the way corner where it will not get dis- turbed. Chloride of lime and copperas are both good disinfectants. At this season of the year the old saw, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," should strike each one of us very forcibly, and we should act accordingly.

Among other annoyances in the summer are flies. A few branches of elderbush if hung in the room is said to keep flies out, for they shun it as we would a pestilence. Keep the dining-room free from crumbs or eatables only when meals are in progress, and every morning darken the room, except one window, and drive the flies out through the light aperture. A good " fly sweeper " can be made by taking wrapping paper, cutting it up into small strips, narrow but long, and tying one end of the paper strips to the end of a broom handle. A vigorous use of this will soon clear a room of flie-.

Mosquitoes can be got rid of in rooms by the smoke of insect-pow- der burnt on a hot shovel. When it is not easy to get fire, put a bit of gum-camphor on a shovel, light and the gum will catch as quickly as alcohol ; then sprinkle a tablespoonful of insect-powder (pyrethrum) on the flame, let it take fire and blow out the blaze, close the windows and let the smoke rise for five minutes. It will not injure walls or furniture and does not harm human beings, though obnoxious to insects. Hang- ing a cloth on which a teaspoonful of carbolic acid is poured, at the head of the bed, will keep mosquitoes away, and many have repeat- edly gained a good night's sleep by this means when others failed. Take care to place the cloth or sponge so that there is no danger of touching it with the face or hands in the night, as the acid burns like caustic.

A wash of fifteen or twenty drops of common carbolic acid in a half- pint of water will immediately relieve the smart of mosquito bites, hives, prickly heat and all irritations of the skin common in summer. As the strength of carbolic acid commonly sold varies, the dilution should be tested before using by wetting a small spot of skin. If it causes any burning in a moment or so, it is too strong and more water must be added.

A Large Sponge hung in the room at night or in the day time, if it can be, behind a convenient screen, and kept constantly wet, will greatly assist in keeping a room cold, or a wet cloth hung in the window over the blind will cool the room as if a shower had fallen ; all know how fresh water sprinkled on the pavement in front of the windows and doors will freshen the hot, dry air.

In Tropical Countries, where ice is almost unknown, the natives cool

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their drinking water by suspending earthen jars filled with it in a brisk current of air, which process is said to cool it thoroughly and rapidly. A wet handkerchief, sponge or green leaves worn in the hat, when one is exposed to the sun, will prevent sunstroke under the most intense heat.

B letter May Be Kept Fresh and sweet by putting it in a tin pail (suspended by a string) down in the well, or by setting the bowl con- taining it in a hollow vessel of water and covering it with a napkin, the ends of which are well immersed in the water in the bottom dish.

Filtered Water can be produced easily, by taking a large, sound common earthen flower-pot, and soaking in water twenty-four hours. Then fill the hole at the bottom with clean sponge, put in an inch layer of fine, clean sand, and on the top a layer of clean coarse gravel, and let the water filter through it.

When it is desirable to filter water quickly, for immediate use, employ the following method : Put a quart of clean water over the fire and just bring it to a boil ; remove it and strain it three or four times through flannel ; cool it and keep it for use in a covered jar or pitcher.

An Effective Ice- Box can be made by placing one tight box within another, leaving a space of three inches between the sides of the two, to be filled with pounded charcoal or saw-dust. Each box must have a tight lid, and between the space of the covers a piece of flannel of sev- eral folds should be laid.

The outflow of the drippings of the ice should be arranged at the bottom of the box, and it will be all the better if the pipe that is inserted for this purpose is curved or twisted a little to keep out the air.

A coarse woolen cover should be placed over the ice, and when the quantity is small it is an excellent plan to fill glass bottles with water early in the morning, and keep them well corked and laid upon the ice until needed for drinking. If no ice can be obtained, and there is no cold spring at hand, very cold water can be obtained by filling a large earthen jar with it, putting it in the shade in a good current of air and wrapping the jar in a very thick woolen cloth (an old coat will answer for an outer wrap) and keeping it constantly wet. This causes evaporation of heat and cools the water finely.

346 THE TOILET.