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
until 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,
instead of depending upon hotels or the railroad stations, and then
instead of being half starved or getting a headache with their hastily
THE ART OF KEEPING COOL. 343
Page 303
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
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, getting 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 until the next day. You will live just as long and the family be as comfortable.
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. Bathing 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 season ; also, all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Berries as well as stoned fruits can be eaten in moderation. Much is said against the unhealthfulness 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, instead of depending upon hotels or the railroad stations, and then instead of being half starved or getting a headache with their hastily
THE ART OF KEEPING COOL. 343