ories and painting
pictures.

[Sidenote: Enjoy Recreation]

But one should beware of turning his play itself into work. Some people
read Shakespeare to "improve their mind," and make as hard work of it as
though they were studying geometry. We should enjoy our recreations for
their own sake, or else they are not recreations. All work and no play
make not only dull boys but dull men and women.

[Sidenote: Pleasures of Walking]

In some form, every one can secure recreation. If one can not play golf,
or polo, or tennis, or swim, or climb the Alps, at least he can walk,
and, if he tries, he can do so in good company on interesting highways
and byways.

[Sidenote: Games]

Recreations in which more persons than one take part are far superior in
this respect to those of a solitary nature. They require a give and
take, a matching of wits, a feeling of rivalry, and at the same time,
companionship.

Plays and moving pictures of the right character and free from morbid
suggestions, if enjoyed in moderation, are hygienic. Comedy is generally
more wholesome than tragedy. Laughter lengthens life; tears do not.

The proper kind of reading is often a most beneficial type of
recreation.

[Sidenote: Morbid Literature]

It is best for the average individual to avoid literature that deals
with the morbid and pathological, that depicts and analyzes abnormal
psychological conditions. Such studies are better left for alienists.
Literature of mawkish sentimentality should also be avoided. Within the
range of sound literature there is a wide choice of abundant material
affording healthful mental suggestions.

[Sidenote: Dancing]

Dancing combines wholesome exercise, social enjoyment, and the
acquirement of skill and grace, but it is seldom of much hygienic value
because it is frequently overdone, and often involves bad air and loss
of sleep. In one large plant where the employes were examined by the
Life Extension Institute, the management regarded the harmful effect of
dancing as their chief obstacle to efficiency. Many of the large force
of girls and women were accustomed to dance until late in the night,
bringing on a condition of chronic fatigue.

[Sidenote: Card-playing]

Card-playing and similar games afford wholesome mental recreation for
some persons. However, they, too, are liable to be associated with late
hours, and other disadvantages even when they do not degenerate into
gambling. Card-playing, dancing, and man