PROPER POSITION.PROPER POSITION.
5. Seats and Desks.—The seats and desks of school-children should be of proper height. The seats should be low enough to allow the feet to rest easily upon the floor, but not too low. The desk should be of such a height that, in writing, one shoulder will not be raised above the other. If a young person bends the body forward, he will, after a time, become round-shouldered and his chest will become so flattened that the lungs cannot be well expanded.
DESK TOO HIGH.DESK TOO HIGH.
6.Standing on one foot, sitting bent forward when reading or at work, sleeping with the head raised high upon a thick pillow or bolster, are ways in which young persons often grow out of shape.
SEAT TOO HIGH.SEAT TOO HIGH.
7. The Clothing.—Wearing the clothing tight aboutthe waist often produces serious deformities of the bones of the trunk, and makes the chest so small that the lungs have not room to act properly. Tight or high-heeled shoes also often deform and injure the feet and make the gait stiff and awkward.
8. Broken Bones.—By rough play or by accident the bones may be broken in two just as you might break a stick. If the broken parts are placed right, Nature will cement them together and make the bone strong again; but sometimes the bones do not unite, and sometimes they grow together out of proper shape, so that permanent injury is done.
9. Sprains.—In a similar manner the ligaments which hold the bones together, in a joint, are sometimes torn or over-stretched. Such an accident is called a sprain. A sprain is a very painful accident, and a joint injured in this way needs to rest quite a long time so that the torn ligaments may grow together.
10. Bones out of Joint.—Sometimes the ligaments are torn so badly that the ends of the bones are displaced, and then we say they are put out of joint. This is a very bad accident indeed, but it often happens to boys while wrestling or playing at other rough games.
11.Children sometimes have a trick of pullingthe fingers to cause the knuckles to "crack." This is a very foolish and harmful practice. It weakens the joints and causes them to grow large and unsightly.
12.When a man uses alcohol and tobacco, their effects upon the bones are not so apparent as are the effects upon the blood, the nerves, and other organs; but when the poisonous drugs are used by a growing boy, their damaging influence is very plainly seen. A boy who smokes cigars or cigarettes, or who uses strong alcoholic liquors, is likely to be so stunted that even his bones will not grow of a proper length and he will become dwarfed or deformed.
1. To keep the bones healthy they must have plenty of healthful food.
2. The whole-grain preparations furnish the best food for the bones.
3. Walking at too early an age often makes the legs crooked.
4. Hard work at too early an age stunts the growth.
5. Bad positions and tight or poorly-fitting clothing are common causes of flat chests, round shoulders, and other deformities.
6. Tight or high-heeled shoes deform the feet and make the gait awkward.
7. The bones may be easily broken or put out of joint, or the ligaments may be torn by rough play.
8. Alcohol prevents healthy growth.
1. The Muscles.—Where do people obtain the beefsteak and the mutton-chops which they eat for breakfast? From the butcher, you will say; and the butcher gets them from the sheep and cattle which he kills. If you will clasp your arm you will notice that the bones are covered by a soft substance, the flesh. When the skin of an animal has been taken off, we can see that some of the flesh is white or yellow and some of it is red. The white or yellow flesh is fat. The red flesh is lean meat, and it is composed of muscles.
2. The Number of Muscles.—We have about five hundred different muscles in the body. They are arranged in such a way as to cover the bones and make the body round and beautiful. They are of different forms and sizes.
3.With a very few exceptions the muscles are arranged in pairs; that is, we have two alike of each form and size, one for each side of the body.
4. How a Muscle is Formed.—If you will examine a piece of corned or salted beef which has been well boiled, you will notice that it seems to be made up of bundles of small fibres or threads of flesh. With a little care you can pick one of the small fibres into fine threads. Now, if you look at one of these under a microscope you find that it is made of still finer fibres, which are much smaller than the threads of a spider's web. One of these smallest threads is called amuscular fibre. Many thousands of muscular fibres are required to make a muscle.
MUSCULAR FIBRES.MUSCULARFIBRES.
5.Most of the muscles are made fast to the bones. Generally, one end is attached to one bone, and the other to another bone. Sometimes one end is made fast to a bone and the other to the skin or to other muscles.
6. The Tendons.—Many of the muscles are not joined to the bones directly, but are made fast to them by means of firm cords calledtendons. If you will place the thumb of your left hand upon the wrist of the right hand, and then work the fingers of the right hand, you may feel these cords moving underneath the skin.
7. What the Muscles Do.—With the left hand grasp the right arm just in front of the elbow. Now shut the right hand tightly. Now open it. Repeat several times. The left hand feels something moving in the flesh. The motion is caused by the working of the muscles, which shorten and harden when they act.
8.All the movements of the body are made by means of muscles. When we move our hands, even when we close the mouth or the eyes, or make a wry face, we use the muscles. We could not speak, laugh, sing, or breathe without muscles.
9. Self-acting Muscles.—Did you ever have a fit of sneezing or hiccoughing? If you ever did, very likely you tried hard to stop but could not. Do you know why one cannot always stop sneezing or hiccoughing when he desires to do so? It is because there are certain muscles in the body which do not act simply when we wish them to act, but when it is necessary that they should. The muscles which act when we sneeze or hiccough are of this kind. The arm and the hand do not act unless we wish them to do so. Suppose it were the same with the heart. We should have to stay awake all the while to keep it going, because it would not act when we were asleep. The same is true of our breathing. Webreathe when we are asleep as well as when we are awake, because the breathing muscles work even when we do not think about them.
10.The stomach, the intestines, the blood-vessels, and many other organs within the body have this kind of muscles. The work of these self-acting muscles is very wonderful indeed. Without it we could not live a moment. This knowledge should lead us to consider how dependent we are, each moment of our lives, upon the delicate machinery by which the most important work of our bodies is performed, and how particular we should be to keep it in good order by taking proper care of ourselves.
1. The flesh, or lean meat, is composed of muscles.
2. There are five hundred muscles in the body.
3. Muscles are composed of many small threads called muscular fibres.
4. Many of the muscles are joined to the bones by strong white cords called tendons.
5. Muscular fibres can contract so as to lessen their length. It is in this way that the muscles perform their work.
6. All bodily motions are due to the action of the muscles.
7. Most of the muscles act only when we wish them to do so. Some muscles, however, act when it is necessary for them to do so, whether we will that they should act or not, and when we are asleep as well as when we are awake.
1. How to Make the Muscles Strong.—With which hand can you lift the more? with the right hand or with the left? Why do you think you can lift more with the right hand than with the left? A blacksmith swings a heavy hammer with his right arm, and that arm becomes very large and strong. If we wish our muscles to grow large and strong, so that our bodies will be healthy and vigorous, we must take plenty of exercise.
2. Effects of Idleness.—If a boy should carry one hand in his pocket all the time, and use only the other hand and arm, the idle arm would become small and weak, while the other would grow large and strong. Any part of the body which is not used will after a time become weak. Little boys and girls who do not take plenty of exercise are likely to be pale and puny. It is important that we should take the proper amount of exercise every day, just as we take our food and drink every day.
3. Healthful Exercise.—Some kinds of play, and almost all kinds of work which children have to do, are good ways of taking exercise. A very good kind of exercise for little boys and girls is that found in running errands or doing chores about the house.
4. Food and Strength.—A great part of our food goes to nourish the muscles. Some foods make us strong, while others do not. Plain foods, such as bread, meat, potatoes, and milk, are good for the muscles; but cakes and pies, and things which are not food, such as mustard, pepper, and spices, do not give us strength, and are likely to do us harm.
5. Over-Exertion.—We ought not to exert ourselves too much in lifting heavy weights, or trying to do things which are too hard for us. Sometimes the muscles are permanently injured in this way.
6. The Clothing.—We ought not to wear our clothing so tight as to press hard upon any part of the body. If we do, it will cause the muscles of that part to become weak. If the clothing is worn tight about the waist, great mischief is often done. The lungs cannot expand properly, the stomach and liver are pressed out of shape, and the internal organs are crowded out of their proper places.
7. Tight Shoes.—People are often made very lame from wearing tight shoes. Their muscles cannot act properly, and their feet grow out of shape.
FOOT OF CHINESE WOMAN.FOOT OF CHINESE WOMAN.
8.In China, it is fashionable for rich ladies to have small feet, and they tie them up in cloths so that they cannot grow. The foot is squeezed out of shape. Here is a picture of a foot which has been treated in this way. It does not look much like a human foot, does it? A woman who has such feet finds it so difficult to walk that she has to be carried about much of the time. Do you not think it is very wrong and foolish to treat the feet so badly? You will say, "Yes;" but the Chinese woman thinks it is a great deal worse to lace the clothing tight about the body so as to make the waist small.
9. Effects of Alcohol upon the Muscles.—When an intemperate man takes a glass of strong drink, it makes him feel strong; but when he tries to lift, or to do any kind of hard work, he cannot lift so much nor work so hard as he could have done without the liquor. Thisis because alcohol poisons the muscles and makes them weak.
10. Effects of Drunkenness.—When a man has become addicted to strong drink, his muscles become partly paralyzed, so that he cannot walk as steadily or speak as readily or as clearly as before. His fingers are clumsy, and his movements uncertain. If he is an artist or a jeweller, he cannot do as fine work as when he is sober. When a man gets very drunk, he is for a time completely paralyzed, so that he cannot walk or move, and seems almost like a dead man.
11.If you had a good horse that had carried you a long way in a carriage, and you wanted to travel farther, what would you do if the horse were so tired that he kept stopping in the road? Would you let him rest and give him some water to drink and some nice hay and oats to eat, or would you strike him hard with a whip to make him go faster? If you should whip him he would act as though he were not tired at all, but do you think the whip would make him strong, as rest and hay and oats would?
12.When a tired man takes alcohol, it acts like a whip; it makes every part of the body work faster and harder than it ought to work, and thus wastes the man's strength and makes him weaker, although for a little while his nervesare made stupid, so that he does not know that he is tired and ought to rest.
13.When you grow up to be men and women you will want to have strong muscles. So you must be careful not to give alcohol a chance to injure them. If you never taste it in any form you will be sure to suffer no harm from it.
14. Effects of Tobacco on the Muscles.—Boys who smoke cigars or cigarettes, or who chew tobacco, are not likely to grow up to be strong and healthy men. They do not have plump and rosy cheeks and strong muscles like other boys.
15.The evil effect of tobacco upon boys is now so well known that in many countries and in some states of this country laws have been made which do not allow alcohol or tobacco to be sold or given to boys. In Switzerland, if a boy is found smoking upon the streets, he is arrested just as though he had been caught stealing. And is not this really what a boy does when he smokes? He robs his constitution of its vigor, and allows tobacco to steal away from him the strength he will need when he becomes a man.
16. Tea and Coffee.—Strong tea and coffee,while by no means so bad as alcohol and tobacco, may make us weak and sick. A person who drinks strong tea or coffee feels less tired while at work than if he had not taken it, but he is more tired afterwards. So you see that tea and coffee are also whips, small whips we might call them, and yet they really act in the same way as do other narcotics and stimulants. They make a person feel stronger than he really is, and thus he is led to use more strength than he can afford to do.
1. We must use the muscles to make them grow large and strong.
2. Exercise should be taken regularly.
3. Exercise makes the muscles strong, the body beautiful, the lungs active, the heart vigorous, and the whole body healthy.
4. Things we ought not to do: To run or play hard just before or after eating; to strain our muscles by lifting too heavy weights; to exercise so violently as to get out of breath; to lie, sit, stand, or walk in a cramped position, or awkward manner; to wear the clothing so tight as to press hard upon the muscles.
5. Good food is necessary to make the muscles strong and healthy.
6. Alcohol makes the muscles weak, although at first it makes us feel stronger.
7. A boy who uses tobacco will not grow as strong and well as one who does not.
8. The use of strong tea and coffee may injure the muscles.
1. How we Think.—With what part of the body do we think? You will at once say that we think with the head; but we do not think with the whole head. Some parts of the head we use for other purposes, as the mouth to eat and speak with, and the nose to smell and breathe with. The part we think with is inside of the skull, safely placed in a little room at the top and back part of the head. Do you remember the name of this organ which fills the hollow place inside of the skull? We learned some time ago that it is called thebrain. It is with the brain that we study and remember and reason. So the brain is one of the most important organs in our body, and we must try to learn all we can about it.
2. The Brain.—You cannot see and examine your own brain because it is shut up in the skull; but perhaps you can find the brain of a sheep or a calf at the meat market. The brain of one of these animals looks very nearly like your own.
THE BRAIN.THE BRAIN.
3. The Large Brain and the Small Brain.—In examining a brain we should notice first of all that there are really two brains, alarge brainand asmall brain. The large brain is in the top and front of the skull, and the small one lies beneath the back part of the larger one, If we look again we shall see that each brain is divided in the middle into a right and a left half. Each half is, in fact, a complete brain, so that we really have two pairs of brains.
4. Brain Cells.—The brain is a curious organ of a grayish color outside and white inside. It is soft, almost like jelly, and this is why it is placed so carefully in a strong, bony box. If we should put a little piece of the brain under a microscope, we should find that it is made up of a great number of very small objects callednerveorbrain cells. In the illustration you can see some of these brain cells.
BRAIN CELLS.BRAIN CELLS.
5. The Nerves.—Each cell has one or more branches. Some of the branches are joined to the branches of other cells so as to unite the cells together, just as children take hold of one another's hands. Other branches are drawn out very long.
6.The long branches are such slender threads that a great number of them together would not be as large as a fine silk thread. A great many of these fine nerve threads are bound up in little bundles which look like white cords. These are callednerves.
7.The nerves branch out from the brain through openings in the skull, and go to every part of the body. Every little muscle fibre, the heart, the stomach, the lungs, the liver, even the bones—all have nerves coming to them from the brain. So you see that the brain is not wholly shut up in the skull, because its cells have slender branches running into all parts of the body; and thus the brain itself is really in every part of the body, though we usually speak of it as being entirely in the skull.
8. The Spinal Cord.—There are a number of small holes in the skull through which thenerves pass out, but most of the nerves are bound up in one large bundle and pass out through an opening at the back part of the skull and runs downward through a long canal in the backbone. This bundle of nerves forms thespinal cord. The spinal cord contains cells also, like those of the brain. It is really a continuation of the brain down through the backbone.
BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD.BRAIN ANDSPINAL CORD.
9. Nerves from the Spinal Cord.—The spinal cord gives off branches of nerves which go to the arms, the chest, the legs, and other parts. One of the branches which goes to the hand runs along the back side of the arm, passing over the elbow. If we happen to strike the elbow against some sharp object, we sometimes hit this nerve. When we do so, the under side of the arm and the little finger feel very numb and strange. This is why you call thispart of the elbow the "funny" or "crazy bone." The cells of the spinal cord also send out branches to the body and to other cells in the brain.
10. How we Feel.—If we cut or burn ourselves we suffer pain. Can you tell why it hurts us to prick the flesh with a pin, or to pinch or burn or bruise it? It is because the flesh contains a great many nerve-branches from the brain. When we hurt the skin or the flesh, in any way, these nerves are injured. There are so many of these little nerves in the flesh and skin that we cannot put the finest needle into the flesh without hurting some of them.
11. The Use of Pain.—It is not pleasant for us to have pain, but if the nerves gave us no pain when we are hurt we might get our limbs burned or frozen and know nothing about it until too late to save them.
12. Nerves of Feeling.—We have different kinds of nerves of feeling. Those we have learned about feel pain. Others feel objects. If you take a marble or a pencil in the hand you know what it is by the feeling of the object. This kind of feeling is called the sense of touch.
13.There are other nerves of feeling by means of which we are able to hear, see, taste, and smell, of which we shall learn in another lesson. Besides these we have nerves which tell uswhether objects are cold or hot, and heavy or light. Nerves of feeling also tell us when we are hungry, or thirsty, or tired, and when we need more air to breathe.
14. Nerves of Work.—There are other nerves which are made just like the nerves of feeling, but which do not feel. These nerves have a very different use. They come from cells in the brain which have charge of the different kinds of work done in the body, and they send their branches to the parts which do the work; hence we call themnerves of work.
15.One set of cells sends nerves to the heart, and these make it go fast or slow as is necessary. Another sends nerves to the liver, stomach, and other digestive organs, and causes them to do their part in the digestion of the food. Other cells send branches to the muscles and make them act when we wish them to do so. Thus you see how very useful the brain and nerves are. They keep all the different parts of the body working together in harmony, just like a well-trained army, or a great number of workmen building a block of houses. Without the brain and nerves the body would be just like an army without a commander, or a lot of workmen without an overseer.
16. How we Use the Nerves.—If you happento touch your hand to a hot stove, what takes place? You will say that your arm pulls the hand away. Do you know why? Let us see. The nerves of feeling in the hand tell the nerve cells in the brain from which they come that the hand is being burned. The cells which feel cannot do anything for the hand, but some of their branches run over to another part of the brain, which sends nerves down to the muscles of the arm. These cells, through their nerve branches, cause the muscles to contract. The cells of feeling ask the cells which have charge of the muscles to make the muscles of the arm pull the hand away, which they do very quickly.
17.So you see the nerves are very much like telegraph or telephone wires. By means of them the brain finds out all about what is happening in the body, and sends out its orders to the various organs, which may be called its servants.
18. An Experiment.—A man once tried an experiment which seemed very cruel. He took a dove and cut open its skull and took out its large brain. What do you think the effect was? The dove did not die at once, as you would expect. It lived for some time, but it did not know anything. It did not know when it was hungry, and would not eat or drink unless thefood or water was placed in its mouth. If a man gets a blow on his head, so hard as to break his skull, the large brain is often hurt so badly that its cells cannot work, and so the man is in the same condition as the poor dove. He does not know anything. He cannot think or talk, and lies as though he were asleep.
19.By these and many other facts we know that the large brain is the part with which we remember, think, and reason. It is the seat of the mind. We go to sleep because the large brain is tired and cannot work any longer. We stop thinking when we are sound asleep, but sometimes we do not sleep soundly, and then the large brain works a little and we dream.
20. What the Little Brain Does.—The little brain[B]thinks too, but it does not do the same kind of thinking as the large brain. We may use our arms and legs and many other parts when we wish to do so; and if we do not care to use them we may allow them to remain quiet. This is not the case with some other organs. It is necessary, for example, that the heart, the lungs, and many other organs of the body should keep at work all the time. If the largebrain had to attend to all of these different kinds of work besides thinking about what we see, hear, and read, and other things which we do, it would have too much work to do, and would not be able to do it all well. Besides, the large brain sometimes falls asleep. So the large brain lets the little brain do the kinds of work which have to be attended to all the time, and the little brain keeps steadily at work when we are asleep as well as when we are awake.
21. What the Spinal Cord Does.—If you tickle a person's foot when he is asleep, he will pull it up just as he would if he were awake, only not quite so quickly. What do you suppose makes the muscles of the leg contract when the brain is asleep and does not know that the foot is being tickled? And here is another curious fact. When you were coming to school this morning you did not have to think about every step you took. Perhaps you were talking or looking over your lessons; but your legs walked right along all the time, and without your thinking about them. Can you tell how?
22.It would be too much trouble for the large brain to stop to think every time we step, and the little brain has work enough to do in taking care of the heart and lungs and other organs, without keeping watch of the feet whenwe are asleep, so as to pull them up if some mischievous person tickles them. So Nature puts a few nerve cells in the spinal cord which can do a certain easy kind of thinking. When we do things over and over a great many times, these cells, after a time, learn to do them without the help of the large brain. This is the way a piano-player becomes so expert. He does not have to think all the time where each finger is to go. After the tunes have been played a great many times, the spinal cord knows them so well that it makes the hands play them almost without any effort of the large brain.
1. The part of the body with which we think is the brain.
2. The brain is found filling the hollow place in the skull.
3. There are two brains, the large brain and the small brain.
4. Each brain is divided into two equal and complete halves, thus making two pairs of brains.
5. The brain is largely made up of very small objects called nerve or brain cells.
6. The nerve cells send out very fine branches which form the nerves.
7. The nerve branches or fibres run to every part of the body. They pass out from the brain to the rest of the body through a number of openings in the skull.
8. Most of the nerve branches pass out through a large opening at the back of the skull, in one large bundle called the spinal cord.
9. The spinal cord runs down through a canal in the backbone, and all along gives off branches to the various parts of the body.
10. It gives us pain to prick or hurt the flesh in any way, because when we do so we injure some of the little nerve branches of the brain cells.
11. When we suffer, we really feel a pain in the brain. We know this because if a nerve is cut in two, we may hurt the part to which it goes without giving any pain.
12. We have different kinds of nerves of feeling.
13. There are other nerves besides those of feeling. These are nerves of work.
14. The nerves of work have charge of the heart, the lungs, the muscles, the liver, the stomach, and every part of the body which can work or act.
15. The brain and nerves control the body and make all the different parts work together in harmony, just as a general controls an army.
16. The brain uses the nerves very much as a man uses the telephone or telegraph wires.
17. With the large brain we remember, think, and reason.
18. The little brain does the simple kind of thinking, by means of which the heart, lungs, and other vital organs are kept at work even when we are asleep.
19. The spinal cord does a still more simple kind of work. It enables us to walk and to do other familiar acts without using the large brain to think every moment just what we are doing.
1. Uses of the Brain.—What do you think a boy or girl would be good for without any brain or nerves? Such a boy or girl could not see, hear, feel, talk, run about, or play, and would not know any more than a cabbage or a potato knows. If the brain or nerves are sick, they cannot work well, and so are not worth as much as when they are healthy.
2. The Brain Sympathizes with Other Organs.—Did you ever have a headache? Did you feel happy and good-natured when your head ached hard, and could you study and play as well as when you are well? It is very important that we should keep our brain and nerves healthy, and to do this we must take good care of the stomach and all other organs, because the brain sympathizes with them when they are sick.
3. We must have Pure Air.—How do you feel when the school-room is too warm andclose? Do you not feel dull and sleepy and so stupid that you can hardly study? This is because the brain needs good, pure blood to enable it to work well. So we must always be careful to have plenty of pure air to breathe.
4. We should Exercise the Brain.—What do we do when we want to strengthen our muscles? We make them work hard every day, do we not? The exercise makes them grow large and strong. It is just the same with our brains. If we study hard and learn our lessons well, then our brains grow strong, and study becomes easy. But if we only half study, and do not learn our lessons perfectly, then the study does not do our brains very much good.
5. We should Take Muscular Exercise.—When you get tired of study, an hour's play, or exercise of some sort, rests you and makes you feel brighter, so that you can learn more easily. This is because exercise is necessary to make the blood circulate well. It will then carry out the worn-out particles and supply the brain and nerves with fresh, pure blood. So the same exercise which makes our muscles strong makes our brains healthier also.
6. We should be Careful of our Diet.—We ought to eat plenty of good, simple food, such as milk, fruits, grains, and vegetables. It is notwell for children to eat freely of meat, as it is very stimulating and likely to excite the brain and make the nerves irritable. Mustard, pepper, and all hot sauces and spices have a tendency to injure the brain and nerves.
7. We should Allow the Brain to Rest at the Proper Time.—When we are tired and sleepy we cannot think well, and cannot remember what we learn if we try to study. If we have plenty of sleep, free from bad or exciting dreams, we awake in the morning rested and refreshed, because while we have been asleep Nature has put the brain and nerves in good repair for us. We ought not to stay up late at night. We should not eat late or hearty suppers, as this will prevent our sleeping well.
8. We Ought Not to Allow Ourselves to Become Angry.—When a person flies into a passion he does his brain and nerves great harm. It is really dangerous to get angry. Persons have dropped dead instantly in a fit of anger.
9. We should Shun Bad Habits.—Bad habits are very hard to give up, and hence we should be careful to avoid them. When a child learns to swear, or to use slang phrases, the brain after a while will make him swear or use bad words before he thinks. In a similar manner other bad habits are acquired.
1. A person without a brain or nerves would be of no more account than a vegetable.
2. When the brain or nerves are sick they cannot perform their duties properly.
3. To keep the brain and nerves in good health, we must take good care of the stomach and all other important organs of the body.
4. There are many things which we may do to keep the brain and nerves strong and well.
5. The brain needs pure blood, and so we must be careful to breathe pure air.
6. The brain gets strength by exercise, just as the muscles do. Hence, study is healthful, and makes the brain strong.
7. A good memory is very necessary, but we should not try to remember everything.
8. It is very important that we learn how to observe things closely.
9. Exercise in the open air rests and clears the brain by helping the blood to circulate.
10. Plenty of wholesome and simple food is necessary to keep the brain and nerves in good health. Spices, condiments, and rich foods in general are stimulating and harmful.
11. Plenty of sleep is needed to rest the brain and nerves.
12. It is dangerous as well as wicked to become very angry.
13. We should be careful to avoid forming bad habits of any sort, as they are hard to break, and often adhere to one through life.
1. Drunkenness.—Did you ever see a man who was drunk? If you live in a city it is very likely that you have. How did the drunken man behave? Perhaps he was noisy and silly. Perhaps he was angry and tried to pick a quarrel with some one.
2.What made the man drunk? You say whiskey, but it may have been wine, or beer, or hard cider that he drank. Anything that contains alcohol will make a man drunk, for it is the alcohol which does all the mischief.
3. The Whiskey Flush.—You can almost always tell when a man has been drinking, even when he has not taken enough to make him drunk. You know by his flushed face and red eyes. When a man's face blushes from the use of alcohol, his whole body blushes at the same time. His muscles, his lungs, and his liver blush; his brain and spinal cord blush also.
4.When a man has taken just enough alcohol to make his face blush a little, the extra amount of blood in the brain makes him think and talk more lively, and he is very jolly and gay. This makes many people think that alcohol does them good. But if we notice what a man says when he is excited by alcohol, we shall find that his remarks are often silly and reckless. He says very unwise and foolish things, for which he feels sorry when he becomes sober.
5. Alcohol Paralyzes.—How does a drunken man walk? Let us see why he staggers. When a man takes a certain amount of alcohol his small brain and spinal cord become partly paralyzed, so that they cannot do their duty well; and so, when he tries to walk he reels and stumbles along, often falling down, and sometimes hurting himself very much. The fact is that the alcohol has put his spinal cord and small brain to sleep so that he cannot make his legs do what he wants them to do. Now, if still more alcohol is taken the whole brain becomes paralyzed, and then the man is so nearly dead that we say he is "dead drunk." It is exceedingly dangerous to become dead drunk, as the brain may be so completely paralyzed that it will not recover.
6.A small amount of alcohol does not makea man dead drunk, but it poisons and paralyzes his brain and nerves just according to the quantity he takes.
7.If a person holds a little alcohol in his mouth for a few moments, the tongue and cheeks feel numb. This is because the alcohol paralyzes them so that they cannot feel or taste. When taken into the stomach it has much the same kind of effect upon the nerves of the whole body.
8. Alcohol a Deceiver.—A hungry man takes a drink of whiskey and benumbs the nerves of his stomach so that he does not feel hungry. Alcohol puts to sleep the sentinels which Nature has set in the body to warn us of danger. A man who is cold takes alcohol and feels warm, though he is really colder. He lies down in his false comfort and freezes to death. A tired man takes his glass of grog and feels rested and strong, though he is really weaker than before. A poor man gets drunk and feels so rich that he spends what little money he has. The alcohol paralyzes his judgment and steals away his good sense. Thus alcohol is always a deceiver.
9. Delirium Tremens.(De-lir'-i-um Tre'-mens.)—When a man takes strong liquors regularly he very soon injures his brain and nerves so that they do not get quiet, as they should, at night, and he does not sleep well. He has frightful dreams. He sees all sorts of wild animals and horrid shapes in his dreams. Perhaps you have sometimes had such dreams from eating late suppers or indigestible food.
10.Did you ever have a dream when you were awake? If a man drinks a great deal he is likely to have a terrible disease known asdelirium tremens, in which he sees the same frightful things when he is wide awake that he dreams about when he is asleep. This is one of the terrible effects of alcohol upon the brain and nerves.
11. Alcohol Paralysis.—You have seen how a drunken man staggers when he walks. Did you ever see a man who walked just as though he were drunk when he was really sober? This is because a part of the brain or spinal cord has been permanently injured or paralyzed. Alcohol is not the only cause of this disease, and so you must not think every person who staggers is or has been a drunkard; but alcohol is a very frequent cause of paralysis.
12. Effects of Alcohol upon the Mind and Character.—When a man is under the influence of alcohol is his character good or bad? Is a man likely to be good, or to be bad, when he is drunk or excited by drink? Most men behave badly when they are drunk, and after they have been drunk a great many times they often behave badly all the time. A great many of the men who are shut up in prisons would not have been sent there if they had never learned to drink.
13. A Legacy.—Do you know what a legacy is? If your father should die and leave to you a fine house or farm, or money in the bank, or books, or horses, or any other kind of property to have for your own, it would be a legacy. When a person gets anything in this way from a parent we say that he inherits it.
14.We inherit a great many things besides houses and lands and other kinds of property. For instance, perhaps you remember hearing some one say that you have eyes and hair the same color as your mother's, and that your nose and chin are like your father's. So you have inherited the color of your hair and eyes from your mother and the shape of your chin and nose from your father.
15. The Alcohol Legacy.—The inside of a boy's head is just as much like his parents' as the outside of it. In other words, we inherit our brains just as we do our faces. So, if a man spoils his brain with alcohol and gets an alcohol appetite, his children will be likely to have unhealthy brains and an appetite for alcohol also, and may become drunkards. Is not that a dreadful kind of legacy to inherit?
16.A child that has no mind is called an idiot. Such a child cannot talk, or read, or sing, and does not know enough to take proper care of itself. This is one of the bad legacies which drunken parents sometimes leave to their children.
17. Effects of Tobacco on the Brain and Nerves.—The effects of tobacco upon the brain and nerves are much the same as those of alcohol. Tobacco, like alcohol, is a narcotic. It benumbs and paralyzes the nerves, and it is by this means that it obtains such an influence over those who use it.
18.The hand of a man or boy who uses tobacco often becomes so unsteady that he can scarcely write. Do you know what makes it so unsteady? It is because the cells which send nerves to the muscles of the hand are diseased. When a person has a trembling hand you say he is nervous. If you feel his pulse you will find that it does not beat steadily and regularly as it ought to do. The heart is nervous and trembles just the same as the muscles do. This shows that the tobacco has poisoned the cells in the brain which regulate the heart.
19.Wise physicians will tell you that one reason why tobacco is bad for boys is that it hurts their brains so that they cannot learn well, anddo not become as useful and successful men as they might be.
20.Students in the naval and military schools of this country are not allowed to use tobacco on account of its bad effects upon the mind. In France the use of tobacco is forbidden to all students in the public schools.
21. Tobacco Leads to Vice.—Boys who use tobacco are more liable to get into company with boys who have other bad habits, and so are apt to become bad in many other ways. The use of tobacco often makes men want strong drink, and thus leads to drunkenness. If you wish to grow up with a steady hand, a strong heart, and a good character you will never touch tobacco.
22. Effects of Tea and Coffee on the Nerves.—People who use strong tea and coffee are often inclined to be nervous. This shows that strong tea and coffee, like alcohol and tobacco, are very injurious to the nerves.
23. Opium, Chloral, etc.—There are several drugs which are given by physicians to relieve pain or to produce sleep. They are sometimes helpful, but their use is very dangerous. Opium and chloral belong to this class of medicines. The danger is that, after a person has used the medicine a little while, he will continue to use it. If a person takes a poisonous drug every timehe has a little pain, he will soon form the habit of using it, and may never break it off. There are many thousands of people who use opium all the time, and they are very much injured by it in mind and body. The mind becomes dull and stupid and the body weak and feeble. No medicine of this sort should ever be taken unless prescribed by a physician.
1. In order to be well and useful we must keep the brain and nerves healthy.
2. To keep the brain healthy we need plenty of pure air to breathe; proper exercise of the brain by study; sufficient exercise of the muscles in play and work; plenty of good food to make pure blood; a proper amount of rest and sleep.
3. There are several things we ought not to do. We should not read or study too much. We should not allow ourselves to become excited or angry. We should avoid learning bad habits.
4. Alcohol paralyzes the brain and nerves.
5. Alcohol deceives a person who takes it by making him feel strong when he is weak; warm when he is cold; rich when he is poor; well when he is sick.
6. Alcohol makes men wicked. Most men who commit crimes are men who use liquor.
7. The effects of tobacco upon the brain and nerves are much the same as those of alcohol. Tobacco is very injurious to the mind.
8. Tobacco-using often leads boys to drunkenness and other vices.
9. The use of opium and chloral produces even worse effects than the use of alcohol or tobacco.
1. The Senses.—We have five senses—hearing,seeing,smelling,tasting, andfeeling. These are called special senses because they are very different from each other. They also differ from the general sense of feeling by means of which we feel pain when any part is hurt.
2. Organs of the Special Senses.—Each of the special senses has a special set of nerves and also special cells in the brain which have charge of them. We say that we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, feel with our fingers, etc.; but, really, we see, hear, taste, and smell in the brain just as we feel in the brain. The eyes, ears, nose, and other organs of the special senses are the instruments by means of which the brain sees, hears, smells, etc.
3. Sound and the Vibrations which it Causes.—All sounds are made by jars or vibrations of objects. Sounds cause objects to vibrate or tremble. A loud sound sometimes jars a whole house, while other sounds are so gentleand soft that we cannot feel them in the same way that we feel loud sounds. But Nature has made for us an ingenious organ by means of which we can feel these very fine vibrations as well as loud ones. We call this organ theear.
4. The Ear.—The part of the ear which we can see is shaped somewhat like a trumpet. The small opening near the middle of the ear leads into acanalor tube which extends into the head about an inch. At the inner end there is a curious little chamber. This is called thedrumof the ear, because between it and the canal of the ear there is stretched a thin membrane like the head of a drum. The ear-drum is also called themiddle ear.