POINTS FOR THE
CHILD ATHLETE
OBJECTIONS TO ATHLETIC PLAY
FOR BABIES BASED ON MIS
UNDERSTANDING.
THE BENEFITS TO BE GAINED
Out-of-Doors Fun—Hoop Rolling, Ball
Tossing, Rope Skipping, Wand
Game and Many Others
That Will Interest.
BY ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE.
[Athletic Expert of New York Evening
World; Author of "Muscle
Building,’’ etc.]
The average physician of the old
school will probably look with grim
disfavor on the idea of giving mere
babies athletic training.
To such practitioners the term
“athletics" also implies athletics of
the old school—the wearying dumb
bell and chib swinging, the chest
■weights, the nerve and muscle weary
ing routine of sinew hardening. From
that point of view they are right to ob
ject. Such a course, even in a mild
degree, would wreck any little child's
constitution.
The athletics I suggest for babies of
three or four, however, embraces none
of these horrors. Even full-grown
athletes are growing to rely less and
less on such appliances and more on
natural means. In this series I shall
have little to say of ordinary gym
nasium work. In the first place, I
have found, with all my pupils, that
iny own more natural course of train
ing is far more beneficial. In the sec
ond, I have set out to describe how a
boy may become a first-class athlete
with practically no expense. And
dumb-bells, clubs, chest weights, paral
lel bars, etc., cost more than one might
imagine.
Trained His Own Baby.
No physician need raise objections
io mere babies following out the line
of exercise I prescribe for them. I
have tried the course on my own chil
dren, and on scores of others, and not
one injury, no matter how slight, has
resulted. Moreover, I do not ask such
little children to exercise knowingly,
but to train their natural play into
such channels as will do them most
good.
If a family physician saw one of his
patients' children skipping a rope, it
would not occur to him to interfere.
Yet that is what I am asking parents
to let their children do.
Advantages of Athletic Play.
If a mother tells a doctor that her
child is spending all of its time
moping about the house, his first order
will be:
“Send the child out and make him
play in the fresh air.” I say the same
thing, but I add:
“Let his play be along lines that
will strengthen, while it amuses him.”
If he runs, tell him to run so that he
will breathe easily and fill his lungs
with fresh air, instead of cramping
and injuring them.
Children will get far more enjoy
ment out of their play if they do it
along “athletic” ilnes. (For in this
case “athletic” and "hygienic” mean
the same thing.) The tender body will
develop symmetrically, the lungs will
learn to work properly, the system
will take on a foundation of solid
strength, which may mean all the dif
ference between life and death, should
illness ever come. For the child whose
muscles and organs are stimulated and
developed oy healthful exercise and
whose lungs are trained to work
properly, has an untold advantage over
the average youngster in case of sick
ness. The system is less vulnerable
to contagion, the strengthened lungs
are less susceptible to pulmonary
trouble, and there is a power of re
sistance which materially helps that
same family doctor who so strenuous
ly objects to the method whereby such
increased vitality is acquired.
Lightens Doctors' Labor.
The physical instructor and the fam
ily physician should be the last people
in the world to clash. Like most
clashes, theirs is due to mutual mis
understanding.
The physician has seen many boys
whose hearts and other organs have
been undermined by a course oi over
training. Theirs has been the thank
less task to try to build up again such
wrecked bodies.
The physlcial instructor, on the
other hand, has to contend with that
phase of human nature which leads a
boy to neglect himself in every way
until he breaks down and then goes to
a doctor to be temporarily “patched
up” by medicine instead of turning to
practical athletics for a more com
plete, more lasting cure.
No one has a deeper respect for a
good physician than I, and no one bet
ter realizes the grand, life-saving mis
sion that is his. But I think also that
his work can be made easier by advis
ing children to take up normal hy
gienic athletics.
Baby plays aimlessly, often harm
fully. I merely ask his parents to
make his natural play help on his best
physical development. What 1 pre
scribe cannot harm him. It is sure to
help him. The child who literally be
gins life as an athlete runs practically
no risk of the countless physical in
juries which await the average un
trained boy or man at every turn.
Such a boy learns to know his own
body before he even knows his alpha
bet. And the child (or man) who has
gained that knowledge is well armed
for life's battle.
Baby Out of Doors.
The baby athlete should be kept out
of doors whenever the weather will
permit. Fresh, clean, outdoor air is
the greatest stimulator of muscle as
well as of appetite that a future ath
lete can want.
By “fresh air exercise” I do not re
fer to the staid walk at the side of
mother or nurse along paved streets.
The proper place to bring up a child is
the country. When he is condemned
to city life he should be taken daily to
play in the nearest park; not, as I
said, to promenade slowly, but to run,
to fill his lungs with ozone, to play.
Hoop rolling is splendid exercise for
making the right arm strong, for train
ing the eye to accuracy and for mak
ing the whole body dextrous. The
usual disadvantage in hoop rolling is
that it develops the little athlete's
right side more than his left. To avoid
this, persuade him to hold the hoop
stick in his left hand and thus guide
the hoop as often as he guides it with
the right. In every exercise encour
age the use of the left hand and arm
equally with the right. This may not
make your boy absolutely ambidex
trous t though some doctors claim it
will), but it will give him an equal
development of both sides of the body,
which not one athlete in twenty pos
sesses.
It has long been a fad with such
parents as try to make gymnasts of
very young children to try to make
them ambidextrous. These parents
wonder dully at their failure, forget
ting that a few years’ training is not
likely to blot out the inherited pro
clivities gained from 6,000 years of an
cestors, nearly all of whom were
right-handed.
Ball and Rope Skipping.
Ball tossing is excellent for the
chest muscles of the youngster. It
also strengthens the arms (if he be
taught to toss with his left hand as
often as with his right), and trains
the eye to quickness and accuracy.
One of the best exercises any child
(or boy or man, for that matter) can
take, is rope skipping. It exercises
the whole body, strengthening espe
cially the legs, back and thighs. Great
care should be taken, how'ever, that,
the skipping rope is used in modera
tion. There are several instances
where children, challenged to skip 200
times, have followed the feat with an
attack of hip disease.
Let the child ‘'skip” as long as he I
wants to, but not a moment longer. If j
not buoyed up by competition or a I
desire to show off, he will stop as soon
as he has had enough and before he
can receive the slightest injury.
Hoop and Wand Play.
The old French game of tossing
small hoops and catching them on the
points of wands is splendid exercise
for eye and wrist, and will, if two
childish opponents be pitted against
each other, often keep both amused
or an hour at a time.
Almost every outdoor game, from
hide-and-seek to tag, is good in one
way or another for the child athlete.
But skipping-rope, ball and hoop are
the best, and the child should be in
duced to play with each of the three
for a certain length of time every
day.
Even in rainy weather the hall of
THOSE WHO SPEAK LOUDLY
Foreigners Here Do It, and So Do We
When We’re Abroad.
“Did you ever notice,” be asked,
"how foreigners always speak very
loudly when talking with other per
sons of their own country?
”1 mean that foreigners traveling
about in this country conduct their
conversations at the top of their
voices. The same is true of them in
restaurants, where they discuss the i
most private matters openly and loud
ly. They have abundant confidence
that no one else will know what they
are saying.
”i remember on one occasion being
on the street with a young woman
who knew Italian much more than I
did. We passed several Italians who
were walking along and one of them
turning to a companion made a re
mark about, the young woman's per
sonal appearance that wasn't exactly
flattering.
"From her face I know that she
understood. I turned about angrily,
but she put her hand on my arm and
asked me not to do anything. So we
let it go at that.”
“Yes,” said the other man, “and if
you ever have been abroad you will
remember that Americans and Eng
lish there are quite as free in their
way of expressing loudly all sorts of
opinions. It looks like a stand-off
to me.”
For Collecting Mercury.
Mercury spilled on a table or floor
is somewhat hard to collect, unless
special precautions are taken, owing
to its tendency to divide into small
globules, which roll away at the slight
est touch. If a wet ring is made
around the spilled mercury by the aid
of a wash bottle or other similar
means, it will be found that the glob
ules of mercury can not cross the
ring; the mercury can then be collect
ed in a small shovel made from a
piece of thin card, or even an ordinary
envelope.
Trees Planted on Berlin Streets.
Three hundred Berlin streets are
planted with 44,000 trees, which are
said to represent a value of $100,000.
Nearly a thousand gardeners and as
sistants are employed to fake care of
them
most houses or flats Is large enough tty
permit this trio of exercises.
A method much in use among
nursery governesses in England is to
lay a child, face downward, on a table
or across a lounge, or on some other
surface large enough to support the
trunk of the body but leaving arms
and legs free; then to put the young
ster through the motions of swim
ming. This is good for the back as
well as for the arms and legs, and the
child may be taught to regard it as a
sort of romp.
In laying special stress on the ad
vantages of keeping the baby athlete
amused while going through his vari
ous exercises, it is not alone to avert
the tedium of routine, so distasteful to
the baby mind, but because a child
that is amused will throw his whole
energy and vitality into the exercise,
and put his whole mind on it. And in
this way alone can child, baby or man
achieve athletic success. For, in ath
letics as much as in business or in
school, the aspirant who is content to
go through the prescribed motions me
chanically is foredoomed to failure.
Muscles Should Be Massaged.
Massage forms an important item in
the baby athlete's training. After his
bath, before he is dressed, his mother
or nurse should lay him on a warm
blanket (in a warm room, of course,
to avoid his taking cold), and should
knead the muscles tenderly yet firmly,
all over his body, “flexing” the various
joints carefully, yet quickly, and “sup
pling” the whole body. It is mainly
on these details that masseurs and
osteopathists depend for success.
The massage and flexing may be fol
lowed by a brisk rubbing of the flesh;
not enough to irritate the tender skin,
but sufficient to produce a glow over
the whole body.
After this, dress the little athlete
quickly, before the reaction sets in.
Care should be taken to prevent him
from catching cold after any of his ex
ercises. Carelessness along this line
will undo all the good he has gained.
As soon as the boy tires of any feats
of athletics let him stop at once. If
the idea becomes irksome to him he
will cease to derive much benefit from
the work.
Treat it all as a jolly game, and in
sensibly he will acquire a groundwork
of muscular physique and of strength
ened organs that will not only last
him through life but will aid him to
combat or throw off most of the count
less ills that beset childhood.
Good for Girls Too.
The foregoing lesson is as useful
for little girls as for their little broth
ers. The modern "athletic girl” is all
the better for beginning her gymnastic
career at an early age.
I have outlined all the branches of
athletics that may be safely prescribed
for a child under eight years of age.
The dumb-bell, chest-weights, Indian
clubs, etc., belong to a later period and
should not be put in the hands of boys
of tender years.
The course of “training" I have laid
out for the little athlete in his “pre
schoolboy” days coincides with his
own inclinations and will do far more
to develop him than would any routine
of uninteresting calisthenics.
I have not mentioned running in
these instructions, because it is the
average child’s impulse to run, rather
than to walk. Such an impulse should,
of course, be encouraged, and the
child, even at four or five years, may
be taught to keep his mouth shut and
his chest out while he runs.
FOR THE HOSTESS
Advice and Suggestions as to Entertainments, by
Madame Merri—Baby’s First Bed—White Ele
phant Party a Jolly Affair—Forestry Contest
Baby’s First Bed.
I am sure these suggestions can be
atilized at a "stork shower,” and there
have been several requests recently
for these affairs.
Take a good-sized clothes basket,
the real old-fashioned kind, cover first
with pink or blue cambric, then with
dotted or plain Swiss. Put a deep frill
around the edge at top, bordered by
narrow ribbon. On each handle fasten
great big perky bow, after winding
smoothly with a strip of swiss.
Then make a mattress of curled
hair to exactly fit the bottom, or a
pillow may be used for this purpose,
though the hair is considered prefer
able, being cooler. The sheets may be
of linen if the arrival is expected in
warm weather. Cotton ones are more
grateful to a winter baby. Hemstitch
them, putting the initial of the sur
name in French embroidery just be
low the hem, which should be about
three inches in depth.
Eiderdown buttonholed around the
edges makes the dearest blankets
imaginable—so warm and fluffy. One
pair for “dress up” may be edged with
“val” lace.
The pillow cases for this downy
nest are made of handkerchiefs. They
will be plain or elaborate according
to the "mouchoirs" selected. Tie them
on the pillow instead of making but
tonholes. For the very best comfor
ters use- china silk in pink, white or
blue; catch together with ribbon bows
and edge with either a pinked ruffle
or bind with wash ribbon. Fill with
two or three sheets of the best cotton
batting and sprinkle plentifully with
violet powder. Nothing makes pret
tier spreads than pique with embroM
ery and scallops buttonholed. Cut the
top long enough to fall back over the
outside to the depth of eight inches
All these articles will wash and stand
for every day use. The main point
to be observed in preparing a bed for
the baby is to see that it is very warm,
but very light in weight.
This bed is a dainty, practical rest
ing place for the little stranger.
Mothering Sunday.
The fourth Sunday in Lent is on the
29th and brings “Mothering Sunday."
This day is observed by many as a
special time for honoring their pat
ents. especially the mother.
In England in the years gone by
this day was almost punctiliously ob
served, oftentimes sons and daughters
traveled great distances to be present
at the dinner given on that day. All
attended church, then followed the
repast, at which dishes were served of
which the mother and father were
particularly fond; gifts were pre
sented, elaborate or simple, according
to the worldly goods possessed by the
children.
There were no outside guests, this
day being kept sacred for the family.
In our revival of “special” days this
one should have a prominent place, for
while it was a church day each and all
of us who are blessed enough to have
one or both parents living can make
an effort to make the fourth Sunday
in Lent one of special rejoicing and
thanksgiving for the best, truest
friend we have on earth, "our moth
ers.” God bless them!
White Elephant Party.
A big white elephant on a back
ground of red was indeed a startling
innovation in invitations, and the com
mand it contained was equally start
ling, viz., to bring carefully wrapped
“a white elephant;” in other words,
anything we didn't want.
Here was the long-looked for oppor
tunity to get rid of the terrible plated
card receiver with the malicious lit
tle bird perched on the handle. True,
it had long been banished to ignomin
ious retirement.
Well, that [tarty is going down in
history as one of the jolliest affairs
ever given by this clever hostess.
Each guest had the privilege of se
lecting a parcel, going off into a corner
and opening it. If satisfactory, ail
well and good; if not, the object had
to be rewrapped with care, and one
more trial could be made. Such a
conglomeration and such fun!
The one who took the prize brought
a framed chronto called “Wide
Awake.” By a curious coincidence a
guest from another part of town
brought the companion piece, “Fast
Asleep.” So she was also awarded a
prize.
I think this scheme has been tried
before under the name of a “swap”
party. Whatever it is called it makes
a lot of merriment. All of us have
"white elephants.” This is a chance
to afford them a mite of usefulness,
for what is better than a good hearty,
laugh, with some one to laugh with
you?
Forestry Contest.
This is an attractive party for a
limited number of people. It could
be used for a large crowd if the ques
tions were printed or even typewrit
ten so as to save the hostess so much
work. A paper weight of polished
wood, a pincushion of Yucca palm, or
any articles, of wood could be used
for prizes. A toy ax or hatchet in a
block of wood for a consolation prize
would cause merriment.
1— Which tree a kissing game could
play . Tulip
2— And which its father's name could
say . Pawpaw
3— Which shall we wear to keep us
warm . Fir
4— And which do ships prefer in storm
. Bay
5— Which shows what lovelorn maid
ens do . Pine
6— And in the hand which carry you
. Palm
7— And which is it that the fruit men
fear . Locust
S—And from their pipes men shake
which tree . Asli
9—Which is it bad boys dislike to
see . Birch
10— Which is a girl both young and
sweet . Peach
11— Which like a man bright, dapper,
neat . Spruce
12— And on which do the children
play . Beach
13— And to which tree shall we now
turn fur goods to wear and stuff
to burn . Cottonwood
14— And now divide you one tree more,
you've part of a dress and part of
a door . Hemlock
13—Which tree is never seen alone...Pear
16— And which one is a bright, warm
tone . Cherry
17— And which in church doth office
hold . Elder
15— Which is a town In Ireland old
. Cork
19— For this one do not look so far.
Which tells where charming people
are . Poplar
20— And which one will allay the pain,
If promptly rubbed on bruise or
sprain . Witch-hazel
21— The carpenter doth use which tree
To make his wall straight as can
he . Plum
22— And to which tree do urchins call.
To show you shouldn't have looked
at all . Rubber
23— Which tree on calendars find you.Date
24— Which is a joke, told times not
few . Chestnut
23—And which we call an Ohio man
.. Buckeye
26— s‘And which for soup we sometimes
plan . Crab
27— Which tells "where at” on land or
sea . The elm
28— And on our feet we'll wear which
tree . Sandal
29— And which our hero's crown shall
be ... Laurel
30— Another tree to find just try.
For fish and fuel for a "fry”
Basswood
Her Spring Suit.
A coat ami skirt costume of a novel
kind is carried out in a fine drap
souple with a satin finish. The color
chosen is that pale shade of lilac
which is always appropriate for the
early spring.
The skirt is made in a sensible
length for walking, and in the newest
and most approved shape, with a num
ber of box plaits all the way round,
and a trimming of netted buttons and
silk cord loops in the same delicate
tone of lilac as the cloth. Entirely
novel, also, is the shape of the coat,
with its long, semifitting basques cut
up into panels, and trimmed effective
ly with loops and buttons. The coat
is left slightly open in front, to show
a blouse of Irish lace, finished at the
throat with a very wide satin ribbon,
in a dark shade of violet, tied in a big
bow at the back. The sleeves are
quite new, too, and are very becom
ingly arranged, with draperies of cloth
to the elbow, trimmed with large but
tons, ami closely fitting undersleeves
reaching to the wrist.
The hat is of soft felt to match,
with a feather thrust through the side
of the brim.
As Fashion Knows Them.
The well-dressed woman has to
have a dictionary of colors this year
as the simple names are not used at
all. There is, for instance, no pink,
that went by that name, being shrimp,
salmon, coral, bengali. laurier, rose
wood or a.iacon. Other shades are
beda, rose of the Alps, coquedcot, or
pavot. Green is that no longer, but
Volga, Niger, reseda, mahonia, Mousse,
bronze, myrtle, emerald, aloes, chart
reuse, sage, Ganges, Neva or russe.
POCKET POWDER PUFF
A very small cambric pocket handkerchief with embroidered or lae«*
edge, and a small bag puff of swansdown and silk are needed; the string
which is used to draw up the bag, is taken out, then the puff is neatly sewn
by the silk edge to the center of handkerchief, another row of stitching be
ing worked through the silk and handkerchief about one-third inch further
in; this forms a slide, in which white baby ribbon should be run; work a
small buttonhole in each side the slide through the handkerchief, and draw
the ribbon through this in loops, by which the whole may be drawn up; the
puff is ready for use, and is not so noticeable in the handkerchief form as if
the colored silk were seen
Active
A REMARKABLE MAN.
“ asijs*.
Shepard Kollock, oi 44
**%5.2*
a victim of kidney
troubles and doctor!
said he would never
bo cured. «j
trying everything1”
says Mr ir„n
"but my back was lame and S’
and every exertion sent a k’
twinge through me. I
, sharp
— — nad to ppf
several times each night and the kw
ney secretions contained a heavy ™
ment. Recently I began using L® .
Kidney Pills, with fine results
have given me entire relief” y
Sold by all dealers. 50 cents a h„
Foster-Milbum Co., Buffalo N. y
Just mere shadows of their former
selves.
Billion Dollar Grass.
Most remarkable grass of the century
Good for three rousing crops annually
One Iowa farmer on 100 acres snl.l «'
800.00 worth of seed and had 300 tons’ of
hay besides. It is immense. IV, try it
For 10c and this notice ' ‘
send to the Jolin A. Salzer Seed Co Ia
Crosse, Wis. to pay postage, etc.,’ana
they will mail you the onlv original seed
catalog published in America with sam
ples of Billion Hollar Grass, Macaroni
Wheat, the sly miller mixer. Sainfoin the
dry soil luxuriator. Victoria Rape, the 20c
a ton green food producer, Silver Kim;
Barley yielding 173 bu. per acre, etc-., etc*
etc. ’ ”
And if you send 14c we will add a pack
age of new farm seed never before seen
by you. John A. Saizer Seed Co.. La
Crosse, Wis. K. & \V.
Origin of the Elevator.
The elevator originated in Central
Europe. The earliest mention of the
elevator Is made in a letter of Na
poleon I. addressed to his wife, Arch
duchess Marla Louise. He writes to
her that when in Schoenbrunn, then
the summer residence of the Austrian
emperor, near Vienna, he used the
"chaise volante” (flying chair) in that
castle which had been constructed for
"Empress Maria Theresa. It consisted
of a small, square room, sumptuously
furnished with hangings of red silk
and suspended by strong ropes with
counter weights, so that it could be
pulled up or let down with great ease
in a shaft built l’or the purpose
about 1760.
Strenuous Method of Saving Life.
Two officers who were hunting
wolves on the Dry mountain in cen
tral Servia lost their way in a fog.
After wandering for 14 hours one of
them lay down in the snow and speed
ily became unconscious. His comrade
bound him with cords, placed him
in a sitting position and then rolled
him down the mountain. He glided
down the slope at terrific speed and
reached the bottom safely, being found
an hour later in an exhausted condi
tion by a peasant. He is now in the
hospital being treated for the lacera
tions he received in bumping over the
rocks during his descent. His com
panion is unhurt.
Beyond Him.
On the occasion of the production
of "Lucia" at the Metropolitan opera
house last winter a well-known club
man. who had taken a cousin from a
Connecticut town to hear Donizettis
great work, turned to his relative dur
ing the first intermission and asked
how he liked the opera.
“Oh. pretty fair,” said the visitor:
“but is the whole blamed thing in
Latin ?”—Harper’s.
HAPPY CLD AGE
Most Likely to Follow Proper Eating.
As old age advances, we require less
food to replace waste, and food that
will not overtax the digestive organs,
while supplying true nourishment.
Such an ideal food is found in Grape
Nuts. made of whole wheat and barley
by long baking and action of diastase
in the barley which changes thestaren
into sugar.
The phosphates also, placed up tin
der the bran-coat of the wheat, art in
eluded in Grape-Nuts, but left out oi