Bath

a name applied to the washing of the body or to facilities for doing so. Among primitive peoples, no arrangement is made for bathing, not even for washing the face, except as the native may plunge into natural bodies of water. The South Sea Islanders are said to be fond of bathing in the surf. Their children take to the water like young seals. As civilization advances, especially in warm countries, the bath has been recognized as a necessary part of household arrangements.

Public baths were constructed by the Greeks and Romans on a magnificent scale. Maecenas, Agrippa, Agricola, Diocletian, and Titus provided Rome with bath houses, the remains of which still arouse admiration. Water for the Roman bath house was brought from the Apennines through aqueducts. In some of these baths 2,000 to 3,000 persons could bathe at one time. Wherever the Roman arms extended, in Africa, in the East, throughout western Europe, and even in England, extensive baths were built. The famous watering places of Europe were first made known by bath houses built during the period of Roman occupancy.

On the principle that "cleanliness is next to godliness," modern cities are beginning to pay attention to public baths. Liverpool, London, Pittsburg, Newark, Boston, and other cities deserve mention.

The cold, the tepid, and the warm bath are so named from the temperature of the water used. The cold bath should be used in the morning, as otherwise the bather is apt to catch cold. The most celebrated bath is the Turkish bath, although the Turks were not the first, by any means, to use it. A genuine Turkish bath requires the use of at least three rooms. The first should have a temperature ranging from 115 deg. to 120 deg., the second from 120 deg. to 140 deg., with a third ranging from 150 deg. to 175 deg., or even as high as 200 deg. The bather stays from five to fifteen minutes in the hottest room, then for an equal length of time in the next, and cools off in the third room while an attendant rubs his skin and works his muscles. The loss of weight from perspiration is quite noticeable.

The Russian bath is a vapor bath. This may be taken by wrapping the body in a heavy blanket and sitting in a chair over boiling hot water, the temperature of which may be maintained by the immersion of red hot bricks.

See Sulphur Springs