the human back, and the seat is not at the right
angle to rest the body.

Why is it that men commonly like to tilt a chair backward on the hind
legs? Even when they do not place their feet on a convenient table
they are prone to tip the chair back and partly balance it on the hind
legs. Why do people instinctively prefer a rocking chair as a
source of comfort, even when they do not rock? The fact is that it is
not the rocking that makes a rocking chair comfortable, but the position
of the seat of the chair, with its downward slope toward the back. The
rocking chair is comfortable for just the same reason that the ordinary
dining chair is made more comfortable when a man tilts it back upon its
hind legs. The reason is that in this position one does not tend to
slide forward off the chair, the weight of the body naturally carrying
the hips to the back of the chair, where it is supported naturally. In
order to avoid the "sliding down the cellar door" character of the
conventional chair a change should be made in the incline of the seat
similar to that found in the ordinary rocking chair and in the chair
when tipped back in the manner I have described.

The photograph which has been reproduced on the preceding page
illustrates the point I wish to make. In this particular instance I have
used an ordinary chair to show what can be done to improve the chairs
in the ordinary home. Both of the back legs of this chair were sawed
off some three or four inches-thus elevating the front part of the
chair and lowering the back part, giving the seat an incline toward
the rear which more comfortably accommodates the body. This position
approximates that of the ordinary swivel desk chair tilted back by
business men when they are not leaning forward over their desks. This
suggestion can be adopted very easily and cheaply in almost any home,
for any ordinary chair treated in this manner will be very greatly
improved, and far greater comfort will be experienced as a result of the
change. Civilized men and women spend such a very large part of the
time in a sitting position that the bodily posture when sitting down is
a very great factor in the bodily welfare and health. Special
thought and study, therefore, should be given the question of the
sitting posture. Unfortunately, this particular subject seems to have
been ignored absolutely for hundreds of years in the making of our
chairs.

It is just as