This page needs to be proofread.
176
Boating.

possible cure is the chief desideratum, and of course that object is best attained by lying on the shelf, A doctor who will con- sent te do his best to cure, subject to assenting to his patient’s continuing at work so long as actual danger is not thereby incurred, and so long as disablement for the more important race day is not risked, is sometimes, but too rarely, found.

Sprains, colds, coughs, &c., had better be submitted at once toa doctor. Acold on the chest may become much more serious than it appears at first, and should never be trifled with. Slightly sprained wrists weaken, but need not necessarily cripple aman, Mr. W. Lloare, stroke of Oxford boat in 1862, had a sprained wrist at Putney, and rowed half the race with only one hand, as also much of the practice. He was none the worse after Easter, when the tendons had rested and recuperated.

Oarsmen should be careful to wrap up warmly the instant that they cease work, Many a cold has been caught by men sitting in their jerseys—cold wind suddenly checking perspira- tion after a sharp row-- while some chatter is going on about the time which the trial has taken, or why No. So-and-so caught asmall crab halfway. A woollen comforter should always be at hand to wrap promptly round the neck and over the chest when exertion ceases, and so soon as men land they should clothe up in warm flannel, until the time comes to strip and work.

Siestas should net be allowed. There is a temptation to doze on a full stomach after a hard day, or even when fresh after a midday meal. No one should be allowed to give way to this ; it only makes men ‘slack,’ and spoils digestion.

If a man can keep his bedclothes on all night, and keep warm, he wil] do himself good if he sleeps with an open win- dow, winter or summer. He thereby gets more fresh air, and accordingly has not to tax the respiratory muscles so much, in order to inhale the necessary amount of oxygen. Eight hours’ sleep with open windows refresh the frame more than nine hours and upwards in a stuffy bedroom. A roaring fire may obviate an open window, for it forces a constant current of air through the apartment. The writer has slept with windows