THE SKIN.
[Illustration: T]HERE is another part of your body carrying away waste
matter all the time--it is the skin.
The body is covered with skin. It is also lined with a more delicate
kind of skin. You can see where the outside skin and the lining skin
meet at your lips.
There is a thin outside layer of skin which we can pull off without
hurting ourselves; but I advise you not to do so. Because under the
outside skin is the true skin, which is so full of little nerves that it
will feel the least touch as pain. When the outer skin, which protects
it, is torn away, we must cover the true skin to keep it from harm.
In hot weather, or when any one has been working or playing hard, the
face, and sometimes the whole body, is covered with little drops of
water. We call these drops perspiration (p[~e]r sp[)i] r[=a]'sh[)u]n).
[Illustration: _Perspiratory tube._]
Where does it come from? It comes through many tiny holes in the skin,
called pores (p[=o]rz). Every pore is the mouth of a tiny tube which is
carrying off waste matter and water from your body. If you could piece
together all these little perspiration tubes that are in the skin of one
person, they would make a line more than three miles long.
Sometimes, you can not see the perspiration, because there is not enough
of it to form drops. But it is always coming out through your skin, both
in winter and summer. Your body is kept healthy by having its worn-out
matter carried off in this way, as well as in other ways.
THE NAILS.
The nails grow from the skin.
The finger nails are little shields to protect the ends of your fingers
from getting hurt. These finger ends are full of tiny nerves, and would
be badly off without such shields. No one likes to see nails that have
been bitten.
CARE OF THE SKIN.
Waste matter is all the time passing out through the perspiration tubes
in the skin. This waste matter must not be left to clog up the little
openings of the tubes. It should be washed off with soap and water.
When children have been playing out-of-doors, they often have very dirty
hands and faces. Any one can see, then, that they need to be washed. But
even if they had been in the cleanest place all day and had not touched
any thing dirty, they would still need the washing; for the waste matter
that comes from the inside of the body is just as hurtful as the mud or
dust of the street. You do not see it so plainly, because it comes out
very little at a time. Wash it off well, and your skin will be fresh and
healthy, and able to do its work. If the skin could not do its work, you
would die.
Do not keep on your rubber boots or shoes all through school-time.
Rubber will not let the perspiration pass off, so the little pores get
clogged and your feet begin to feel uncomfortable, or your head may
ache. No part can fail to do its work without causing trouble to the
rest of the body. But you should always wear rubbers out-of-doors when
the ground is wet. Certainly, they are very useful then.
When you are out in the fresh air, you are giving the other parts of
your body such a good chance to perspire, that your feet can bear a
little shutting up. But as soon as you come into the house, take the
rubbers off.
Now that you know what the skin is doing all the time, you will
understand that the clothes worn next to your skin are full of little
worn-out particles, brought out by the perspiration. When these clothes
are taken off at night, they should be so spread out, that they will
air well before morning. Never wear any of the clothes through the
night, that you have worn during the day.
Do not roll up your night-dress in the morning and put it under your
pillow. Give it first a good airing at the window and then hang it where
the air can reach it all day. By so doing, you will have sweeter sleep
at night.
You are old enough to throw the bed-clothes off from the bed, before
leaving your rooms in the morning. In this way, the bed and bed-clothes
may have a good airing. Be sure to give them time enough for this.
WORK OF THE BODY.
You have now learned about four important kinds of work:--
1st. The stomach prepares the food for the blood to take.
2d. The blood is pumped out of the heart to carry food to every part of
the body, and to take away worn-out matter.
3d. The lungs use fresh air in making the dark, impure blood, bright and
pure again.
4th. The skin carries away waste matter through the little perspiration
tubes.
All this work goes on, day and night, without our needing to think about
it at all; for messages are sent to the muscles by the nerves which keep
them faithfully at work, whether we know it or not.
REVIEW QUESTIONS.
1. What covers the body?
2. What lines the body?
3. Where are the nerves of the skin?
4. What is perspiration? What is the common name
for it?
5. What are the pores of the skin?
6. How does the perspiration help to keep you
well?
7. Of what use are the nails?
8. How should they be kept?
9. What care should be taken of the skin?
10. Why should you not wear rubber boots or
overshoes in the house?
11. Why should you change under-clothing night and
morning?
12. Where should the night-dress be placed in the
morning?
13. What should be done with the bed-clothes? Why?
14. Name the four kinds of work about which you
have learned.
15. How are the organs of the body kept at work?