(5) _The Skin Protects the Body._--The skin is a natural clothing which protects us much better than any other kind of clothing could. It is so soft and pliable that it cannot hurt the most delicate part which it covers, yet it is very strong and tough.

SUMMARY.

1. The skin is the covering of the body. It has two layers, the outer, called the cuticle, and the inner, called the true skin.

2. A substance called pigment is found between the two skins. This gives the skin its color.

3. The true skin has blood-vessels and nerves, but the cuticle has no blood-vessels and very few nerves.

4. In the true skin are glands which produce sweat, and others which make fat, or oil.

5. The nails are really a part of the skin. They are firm and hard, and protect the ends of the fingers and the toes.

6. The hair grows from the true skin. The hair is made soft and glossy by oil from the oil glands of the skin.

7. The skin is a very useful organ. It removes waste matters, it breathes, it absorbs, it has feeling, and it protects the body.

CHAPTER XVI.

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE SKIN.

~1. Uses of the Pores of the Skin.~--Many years ago, at a great celebration, a little boy was covered all over with varnish and gold leaf, so as to make him represent an angel. The little gilded boy looked very pretty for a short time, but soon he became very sick, and in a few hours he was dead. Can you guess what made him die? He died because the pores of his skin were stopped up, and the sweat glands could not carry off the poisonous matter from his body.

~2. Cleanliness.~--Did you ever know of a boy who had his skin varnished? Not exactly, perhaps; but there are many boys who do not have their skins washed as often as they ought to be, and the sweat and oil and dead scales form a sort of varnish which stops up the little ducts and prevents the air from getting to the skin, almost as much as a coat of varnish would do.

~3. The Sweat Glands.~--The sweat glands and ducts are like little sewers, made to carry away some of the impurities of the body. There are so many of them that, if they were all put together, they would make a tube two or three miles long. These little sewers drain off almost a quart of impurities in the form of sweat every day. So you see that it is very important for the skin to be kept clean and healthy.

~4. Bathing.~--A bird takes a bath every day. Dogs and many other animals like to go into the water to bathe. Some of you have seen a great elephant take a bath by showering the water over himself with his trunk. To keep the skin healthy we should bathe frequently.

~5.~ When we take a bath for cleanliness it is necessary to use a little soap, so as to remove the oil which is mixed up with the dry sweat, dead scales, and dirt which may have become attached to the skin.

~6.~ It is not well to take hot baths very often, as they have a tendency to make the skin too sensitive. Bathing in cool water hardens the skin, and renders one less likely to take cold.

~7. The Clothing.~--The skin should be protected by proper clothing, but it is not well to wear more than is necessary, as it makes the skin so sensitive that one is liable to take cold.

~8. The Proper Temperature of Rooms.~--It is also very unwise for a person to keep the rooms in which he lives too warm, and to stay too much in-doors, as it makes him very liable to take cold when he goes out-of-doors. One who is out of doors in all kinds of weather seldom takes cold.

~9. Care of the Hair and the Nails.~--The scalp should be kept clean by thorough and frequent washing and daily brushing. Hair oils are seldom needed. If the skin of the head is kept in a healthy condition, the hair requires no oil.

~10.~ The habit of biting and picking the fingernails is a very unpleasant one, and keeps the nails in a broken and unhealthy condition.

The nails should be carefully trimmed with a sharp knife or a pair of scissors.

~11. Effects of Narcotics and Stimulants upon the Skin.~--Alcohol, tobacco, opium, and all other narcotics and stimulants have a bad effect upon the skin. Alcohol often causes the skin to become red and blotched, and tobacco gives it a dingy and unhealthy appearance.

SUMMARY.

1. If the pores of the skin are closed, a person will die.

2. We should bathe often enough to keep the skin clean.

3. We should not keep our rooms too warm, and should avoid wearing too much clothing.

4. Alcohol, tobacco, and other stimulants and narcotics injure the skin.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE KIDNEYS AND THEIR WORK.

~1. The Kidneys.~--The kidneys are among the most important organs of the body. They are in the cavity of the abdomen, near the back-bone, up under the lower border of the ribs. Perhaps you have seen the kidneys of a sheep or a hog. If you have, you know very nearly how the kidneys of our own bodies appear.

[Ill.u.s.tration: KIDNEY.]

~2. The Work of the Kidneys.~--The work of the kidneys is to separate from the blood certain very poisonous substances, which would soon cause our death if they were not removed. It is very important to keep these useful organs in good health, because a person is certain to die very soon when the kidneys are in any way seriously injured.

~3. How to Keep the Kidneys Healthy.~--One way of keeping the kidneys in good health is to drink plenty of pure water, and to avoid eating too much meat and rich food. Pepper, mustard, and other hot sauces are very harmful to the kidneys.

~4. Importance of Keeping the Skin Clean.~--The work of the kidneys is very similar to that of the skin; and when the skin does not do its full duty, the kidneys have to do more than they should, and hence are likely to become diseased. For this reason, persons who allow their skins to become inactive by neglecting to bathe frequently are apt to have disease of the kidneys.

~5. Effects of Alcohol and Tobacco upon the Kidneys.~--A piece of beef placed in alcohol soon becomes dry and hard, and shrivels up as though it had been burned. The effect upon the kidneys of drinking strong liquor is almost the same. Beer and hard cider also do the kidneys harm, sometimes producing incurable disease of these important organs.

SUMMARY.

1. The kidneys somewhat resemble the skin in their structure and in their work.

2. The kidneys remove from the blood some poisonous substances.

3. To keep the kidneys healthy we should drink plenty of water, avoid irritating foods and drinks, and keep the skin in health by proper bathing.

4. The drinking of strong liquors often causes incurable disease of the kidneys.

CHAPTER XVIII.

OUR BONES AND THEIR USES.