If we would only give the skin more exercise, through rubbing, and more fresh air, we would soon discard much of our clothing, and wear but enough to make a proper and modest appearance in public.

As a rule people protect the skin too much. The best protection they have against cold is a good circulation. With a poor circulation it is difficult to keep warm in spite of much clothing. Coldness is also largely a state of mind. People get the idea of cold into the head and then it is almost impossible for them to keep warm. On the same winter day we may see a man in a thick overcoat trying to shrink into himself, shivering, while a lady passes blithely by, with her bosom bared to the wind.

The face tolerates the cold, because it is used to it, the neck and the upper part of the chest likewise, and so it would be with the skin of the entire body if we accustomed it to be exposed. We use too heavy clothes. It is a mistake to hump the back and draw in the shoulders during cold weather, for this reduces the lung capacity, thus depriving the body of its proper amount of oxygen. The result is that there is not enough combustion to produce the necessary amount of heat.

Wool is warm covering, the best we have. However, it is very irritating to the skin and has a tendency to make the wearer too warm. It does not dry out readily. Consequently the wearer remains damp a long time after perspiring. The result is a moist, clammy skin. A skin thus pampered in damp warmth becomes delicate, and like other hot-house products unable to hold its own when exposed to inclement weather. A good way to take cold easily is to wear wool next to the skin. The best recipe for getting cold feet is to wear woolen stockings. Wear cotton or linen or silk next to the skin. Cotton is satisfactory and cheap. Linen is excellent, but a good suit of linen underwear is too costly for the average purse. Remie, said to be the linen of the Bible, is highly recommended by some.

Those working indoors should wear the same kind of underwear summer and winter, and it should be very light. If people use heavy underwear in heated rooms, they become too warm. The consequence is that when they go out doors they are chilled, and if they are not in good physical condition colds and other diseases generally result. By wearing outer garments according to climatic conditions one can easily get all the protection necessary. Those who take the proper food and enough exercise and dry friction of the skin will not require or desire an excessive amount of clothing. The feel of the wintry blast on the skin is not disagreeable.

If we would only give the skin more exercise, through rubbing, and more fresh air, we would soon discard much of our clothing, and wear but enough to make a proper and modest appearance in public, with extra covering on cold days. Nothing can be much more ridiculous and uncomfortable than a man in conventional attire on a hot summer's day.

Of course, thin, nervous people should not expose themselves too much to the cold.

Skin Diseases Results of Internal Disorders