TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 345, 16 August 1930, Page 23 (Supplement)

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY! IKhITUB

LET US HAVE TREES

I was walking in the country and camo to an avenue of elms planted a hundred years ago. They were as majestic as tho uavu of a cathedral; thc*r trunks rough with age, their leaves fresh with tho loveliness of youth. The hand that planted the avenue is dust and ashes; wo who uro alive to-day enjoy the sight of these magnificent trees and wander beneath their shade. How kind of the old man to set out this avenue before he died, knowing that ho would not live to sec it xu its glory. Ho planted for us, and we must take off onr hats to his memory. 1 wish ail our roads were ornamented with splendid trees. That is a matter to which you might devote some thought (and action) when you arc elected on the County Council. But 1 want you to stand in the centre of this great avenue with me for a moment and contemplate the excellence of working for your descendants. In a hundred years you will be dust and ashes, but your children’s children will be alive, and through their veins will course the blood they have inherited from you. Will they be like these trees of stalwart growth, or will they oc puny and disease-ridden f I want you to carry an image in your mind of an old gentle inn planting an avenue of young trees. A sneering onlooker asks why he should waste his time planting young trees when he knows he will not live to see them grow to their full heightAnd the old man replies that he loves to think that his grandchildren will enjoy the sight of the noble avenue. Please live for your grandchildren. Remember you are a grandchild yourself, and the reason you are such a puny specimen is that -your grandfather was reckless of his health. Clean your teeth every morning, and when your brother, staggered with amazement at this unwonted spectacle, inquires what the blazes you are up to, just answer, ‘ ‘ Oh, I want my grandchildren to be healthy.” I look forward to the time when we shall sing that the happy land is not far, far away, but here, near at hand.

Keep Out Disease I was talking to a fruit farmer on the subject of blight, and ho was telling me that if you get a healthy strain of trees and keep them properly pruned and cared for the inborn strength of the tree will enable it to withstand the onslaughts of the blight- The diseased orchard is the neglected orchard. In the countries where orchards belonging to different men lie side Uy side, the owner of the neglected orchard is punished, and he may have his trees uprooted and burnt by order of the government. I was talking to a beemaster about the subject of disease, and he was telling me that if you start with a healthy race and take reasonable care of them, the inborn strength of the bees will enable them to withstand the onslaughts of disease. The bee-man and the apple-man seemed to have the same idea.. The way to stamp out disease is to increase the resistance of the victims. Perhaps that is true of human beings. Trnfn up a healthy race of children and their inborn strength will enable them to overcome the onslaughts of disease. When all is said and done, the chief preventive of illness are good food, fresh air. sunshine, sleep and exercise. A Discourse on the Interior The X-rays will penetrate flesh; they will not penetrate bone; hence they can be used to take photographs of bone. There are many harmless chemicals that the rays will not go through and It is possible to fill the stomach with a special meal and then expose the body to the X-rays, when the outline of the stomach will be revealed. If the stomach is kinked or distended or sagging down the fact is shown on the plate. The rays are further useful in showing when the stomach has emptied itselfThe stomach is a muscular bag, and the food ought not to stay in it too long, A healthy stomach will digest lu contents and expel therefrom its exit in a few hours. An unhealthy stomach will not do its work efficiently; the food lies in the organ and starts to ferment; gases arc given off and distend tho hollow organ with wind; is very uncomfortable and gives a feeling of suffocation; tho gases press through the stomach wall on to the heart, which lies nearby, and may disturb the action of the heart. An X-ray examination of the stomach taken two hours, three hours, four hours, after the meal will indicate the efficiency of the stomach. If this method of inquiry indicates that a sort of pool of food lies at the bottom of a distended stomach long after it ought to be empty the problem must bo tackled. An operation is done which makes a new outlet for the stomach at the bottom of the pool; the distension, the fermentation, and the discomfort are cured in this way- No longer is it possible for the residue of the contents to lie at the bottom of tfle sac for hours, a. short circuit is formed and tho patient, goes on happily putting on weight and living a real life instead of a mere existence. Sometimes ho even remembers to bo grateful to the surgeon who operated. He is passed for life insurance after the operation because he looks so well, and his house-purchase scheme goes through without a hitch. Dear me. it’s marvellous! Misery, then Xrays, operations, happiness—and gratitude, sometimes. Never Frighten the Child Do not frighten little children into being good. I know they can be very trying and enough to exhaust anyone’s patience, but they must not be frightened. You must not threaten them that a black man will jump through the window at night and eat them up if they do not go to sleep. You must/not lock them in a dark cupboard. You must not lose your own temper as an example to them not to lose theirs. A fright may leave a lasting impression bn a child’s mind; a whack on the head with a wooden mallet might do less harm than a cruel word. Tho nervousness of a young woman of twenty may be traced back to an unfortunate experience at a very early ageimaginary Ills Human nature is very susceptible, and in spite of natural will-power, we are too often so obsessed with our own troubles that we forget to use due discrimination. Never let your will-power leave you, however queer you may feel. Those who use their will-power have no use for miracles or holy wells. They just live a natural, healthy life, and

when illness in reality does come upon them they go to their medical adviser with cheerful heart, knowing full well that what science can do to restore them to health will bo done. So keep cheerful and the spirits up! t