as a whole may be cooler, but we feel warmer when there is more blood in the skin because of the effect of the warm blood upon the nerves of temperature. There are no nerves for perceiving temperature except in the skin and mucous membrane, and the body has practically no sensation of heat or cold except from the skin or mucous membrane. That alcoholic drinks make the skin red is commonly noticed. Often the skin is flushed by one drink; the bloodshot eyes and purple nose of the toper are the results of habitual use. Can you explain why alcohol brings a deceptive feeling of warmth? Why does alcohol increase the danger of freezing during exposure in very cold weather? During the chill which precedes a fever, the body (except the skin) is really warmer than usual.
Exercise will relieve internal congestion and send the blood to the skin better than alcohol. This is the effect sought by sedentary people who use it to replace exercise. The long and sad experience of the race with alcohol proves that the attempt to adapt the body to its use should be given up.
Thought Questions. The Functions of the Skin.—1. State a fact
which shows that the skin is a protection; gives off offensive substances;
regulates the temperature. 2. What is lacking in the skin
when it cracks or chaps? Why does this occur more often in cold
weather? When the hands are bathed with great frequency?
Effects of Indoor and Outdoor Life.—Those who live much out of doors, exposed to sunlight and pure, cold air, are robust and hardy; while those whose occupations keep them constantly indoors, especially if no physical labor is necessary, show by their pale skins, their fat and flabby, or their thin and emaciated bodies, the weakening effect of such a life. We are descended from ancestors who lived in the open air, and it is impossible for a human being to live much indoors without degeneration of the body and shortening of life.
A Well-trained Skin.—We hear a great deal about training the muscles, the brain, the eye, the hand; yet we may fail to realize that
