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 c. Typechecking for React Applications
i. PropTypes
ii. Flow
iii. TypeScript
d. Test-Driven Development
i. TDD and Learning
e. Incorporating Jest

i. Create React App and Testing

f. Testing React Components
i. Queries
ii. Testing Events
iii. Using Code Coverage
12. 11. React Router
a. Incorporating the Router
b. Router Properties
i. Nesting Routes
c. Using Redirects
i. Routing Parameters
13. 12. React and the Server
a. Isomorphic Versus Universal
i. Client and Server Domains
b. Server Rendering React
 c. Server Rendering with Next.js
d. Gatsby
e. React in the Future
14. Index
 Learning React
SECOND EDITION

Modern Patterns for Developing React Apps

Alex Banks and Eve Porcello

Learning React

by Alex Banks and Eve Porcello

Copyright © 2020 Alex Banks and Eve Porcello. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North,

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Acquisitions Editor: Jennifer Pollock

Development Editor: Angela Rufino

Production Editor: Kristen Brown

Copyeditor: Holly Bauer Forsyth

Proofreader: Abby Wheeler

Indexer: Judith McConville

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Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery

 Illustrator: Rebecca Demarest

May 2017: First Edition

June 2020: Second Edition
Revision History for the Second Edition
2020-06-12: First Release

See http://oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=9781492051725 for

release details.

The O’Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc.

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responsibility to ensure that your use thereof complies with such
licenses and/or rights.

978-1-492-05172-5
[LSI]
Preface

This book is for developers who want to learn the React library while
learning the latest techniques currently emerging in the JavaScript
language. This is an exciting time to be a JavaScript developer. The
ecosystem is exploding with new tools, syntax, and best practices that
promise to solve many of our development problems. Our aim with this
book is to organize these techniques so you can get to work with React
right away. We’ll get into state management, React Router, testing, and
server rendering, so we promise not to introduce only the basics and
then throw you to the wolves.

This book does not assume any knowledge of React at all. We’ll
introduce all of React’s basics from scratch. Similarly, we won’t
assume that you’ve worked with the latest JavaScript syntax. This will
be introduced in Chapter 2 as a foundation for the rest of the chapters.

You’ll be better prepared for the contents of the book if you’re

comfortable with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It’s almost always best
to be comfortable with these big three before diving into a JavaScript
library.

Along the way, check out the GitHub repository. All of the examples
are there and will allow you to practice hands-on.

Conventions Used in This Book

The following typographical conventions are used in this book:

Italic
Indicates new terms, URLs, email addresses, filenames, and file
extensions.

Constant width
Used for program listings, as well as within paragraphs to refer to
program elements such as variable or function names, databases,
data types, environment variables, statements, and keywords.

Constant width bold

Shows commands or other text that should be typed literally by the
user.

TIP
This element signifies a tip or suggestion.

NOTE
This element signifies a general note.

WARNING
This element indicates a warning or caution.
Using Code Examples
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Copyright 2020 Alex Banks and Eve Porcello, 978-1-492-05172-5.”

If you feel your use of code examples falls outside fair use or the
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Acknowledgments
Our journey with React wouldn’t have started without some good old-
fashioned luck. We used YUI when we created the training materials
for the full-stack JavaScript program we taught internally at Yahoo.
Then in August 2014, development on YUI ended. We had to change
all our course files, but to what? What were we supposed to use on the
front-end now? The answer: React. We didn’t fall in love with React
immediately; it took us a couple hours to get hooked. It looked like
React could potentially change everything. We got in early and got
really lucky.

We appreciate the help of Angela Rufino and Jennifer Pollock for all
the support in developing this second edition. We also want to
acknowledge Ally MacDonald for all her editing help in the first
edition. We’re grateful to our tech reviewers, Scott Iwako, Adam
Rackis, Brian Sletten, Max Firtman, and Chetan Karande.

There’s also no way this book could have existed without Sharon
Adams and Marilyn Messineo. They conspired to purchase Alex’s first
computer, a Tandy TRS 80 Color Computer. It also wouldn’t have
made it to book form without the love, support, and encouragement of
Jim and Lorri Porcello and Mike and Sharon Adams.

We’d also like to acknowledge Coffee Connexion in Tahoe City,

California, for giving us the coffee we needed to finish this book, and
its owner, Robin, who gave us the timeless advice: “A book on
programming? Sounds boring!”
Chapter 1. Welcome to React

What makes a JavaScript library good? Is it the number of stars on

GitHub? The number of downloads on npm? Is the number of tweets
that ThoughtLeaders™ write about it on a daily basis important? How
do we pick the best tool to use to build the best thing? How do we
know it’s worth our time? How do we know it’s good?

When React was first released, there was a lot of conversation around
whether it was good, and there were many skeptics. It was new, and the
new can often be upsetting.

To respond to these critiques, Pete Hunt from the React team wrote an
article called “Why React?” that recommended that you “give it
[React] five minutes.” He wanted to encourage people to work with
React first before thinking that the team’s approach was too wild.

Yes, React is a small library that doesn’t come with everything you
might need out of the box to build your application. Give it five
minutes.

Yes, in React, you write code that looks like HTML right in your
JavaScript code. And yes, those tags require preprocessing to run in a
browser. And you’ll probably need a build tool like webpack for that.
Give it five minutes.

As React approaches a decade of use, a lot of teams decided that it’s

good because they gave it five minutes. We’re talking Uber, Twitter,
Airbnb, and Twitter—huge companies that tried React and realized that
it could help teams build better products faster. At the end of the day,
isn’t that what we’re all here for? Not for the tweets. Not for the stars.
Not for the downloads. We’re here to build cool stuff with tools that
we like to use. We’re here for the glory of shipping stuff that we’re
proud to say we built. If you like doing those types of things, you’ll
probably like working with React.

A Strong Foundation
Whether you’re brand new to React or looking to this text to learn
some of the latest features, we want this book to serve as a strong
foundation for all your future work with the library. The goal of this
book is to avoid confusion in the learning process by putting things in a
sequence: a learning roadmap.

Before digging into React, it’s important to know JavaScript. Not all of
JavaScript, not every pattern, but having a comfort with arrays, objects,
and functions before jumping into this book will be useful.

In the next chapter, we’ll look at newer JavaScript syntax to get you
acquainted with the latest JavaScript features, especially those that are
frequently used with React. Then we’ll give an introduction to
functional JavaScript so you can understand the paradigm that gave
birth to React. A nice side effect of working with React is that it can
make you a stronger JavaScript developer by promoting patterns that
are readable, reusable, and testable. Sort of like a gentle, helpful
brainwashing.
From there, we’ll cover foundational React knowledge to understand
how to build out a user interface with components. Then we’ll learn to
compose these components and add logic with props and state. We’ll
cover React Hooks, which allow us to reuse stateful logic between
components.

Once the basics are in place, we’ll build a new application that allows
users to add, edit, and delete colors. We’ll learn how Hooks and
Suspense can help us with data fetching. Throughout the construction
of that app, we’ll introduce a variety of tools from the broader React
ecosystem that are used to handle common concerns like routing,
testing, and server-side rendering.

We hope to get you up to speed with the React ecosystem faster by

approaching it this way—not just to scratch the surface, but to equip
you with the tools and skills necessary to build real-world React
applications.

React’s Past and Future

React was first created by Jordan Walke, a software engineer at
Facebook. It was incorporated into Facebook’s newsfeed in 2011 and
later on Instagram when it was acquired by Facebook in 2012. At
JSConf 2013, React was made open source, and it joined the crowded
category of UI libraries like jQuery, Angular, Dojo, Meteor, and others.
At that time, React was described as “the V in MVC.” In other words,
React components acted as the view layer or the user interface for your
JavaScript applications.
From there, community adoption started to spread. In January 2015,
Netflix announced that they were using React to power their UI
development. Later that month, React Native, a library for building
mobile applications using React, was released. Facebook also released
ReactVR, another tool that brought React to a broader range of
rendering targets. In 2015 and 2016, a huge number of popular tools
like React Router, Redux, and Mobx came on the scene to handle tasks
like routing and state management. After all, React was billed as a
library: concerned with implementing a specific set of features, not
providing a tool for every use case.

Another huge event on the timeline was the release of React Fiber in
2017. Fiber was a rewrite of React’s rendering algorithm that was sort
of magical in its execution. It was a full rewrite of React’s internals that
changed barely anything about the public API. It was a way of making
React more modern and performant without affecting its users.

More recently in 2019, we saw the release of Hooks, a new way of

adding and sharing stateful logic across components. We also saw the
release of Suspense, a way to optimize asynchronous rendering with
React.

In the future, we’ll inevitably see more change, but one of the reasons
for React’s success is the strong team that has worked on the project
over the years. The team is ambitious yet cautious, pushing forward-
thinking optimizations while constantly considering the impact any
changes to the library will send cascading through the community.

As changes are made to React and related tools, sometimes there are
breaking changes. In fact, future versions of these tools may break
some of the example code in this book. You can still follow along with
the code samples. We’ll provide exact version information in the
package.json file so that you can install these packages at the correct
version.

Beyond this book, you can stay on top of changes by following along
with the official React blog. When new versions of React are released,
the core team will write a detailed blog post and changelog about
what’s new. The blog has also been translated into an ever-expanding
list of languages, so if English isn’t your native language, you can find
localized versions of the docs on the languages page of the docs site.

Learning React: Second Edition Changes

This is the second edition of Learning React. We felt it was important
to update the book because React has evolved quite a bit over the past
few years. We intend to focus on all the current best practices that are
advocated by the React team, but we’ll also share information about
deprecated React features. There’s a lot of React code that was written
years ago using old styles that still works well and must be maintained.
In all cases, we’ll make mention of these features in a sidebar in case
you find yourself working with legacy React applications.

Working with the Files

In this section, we’ll discuss how to work with the files for this book
and how to install some useful React tools.
File Repository
The GitHub repository associated with this book provides all the code
files organized by chapter.

React Developer Tools

We’d highly recommend installing React Developer Tools to support
your work on React projects. These tools are available as a browser
extension for Chrome and Firefox and as a standalone app for use with
Safari, IE, and React Native. Once you install the dev tools, you’ll be
able to inspect the React component tree, view props and state details,
and even view which sites are currently using React in production.
These are really useful when debugging and when learning about how
React is used in other projects.

To install, head over to the GitHub repository. There, you’ll find links
to the Chrome and Firefox extensions.

Once installed, you’ll be able to see which sites are using React.
Anytime the React icon is illuminated in the browser toolbar as shown
in Figure 1-1, you’ll know that the site has React on the page.
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
great irritation and inflammation. A child ought not to be allowed to
play with peas or with beads (unless the beads are on a string), as he
is apt, for amusement, to push them up his nose.
296. If a child have put either a pea, a bean, a bead, a cherry-
stone, or any other smooth substance, into his ear, what ought to be
done to remove it?
Turn his head on one side, in order to let the ear with the pea or
bead in it be undermost, then give with the flat of your hand two or
three sharp, sudden slaps or boxes on the other, or uppermost ear,
and most likely the offending substance will drop out. Poking at the
ear will, in the majority of cases, only send the substance farther in,
and will make it more difficult (if the above simple plan does not
succeed) for the medical man to remove. The surgeon will, in all
probability, syringe the ear; therefore, have a supply of warm water
in readiness for him, in order that no time may be lost.
297. If an earwig, or any other living thing, should get into the
ear of a child, what ought to be done?
Lay the child on his side, the affected ear being uppermost, and fill
the ear, from a teaspoon, with either water or sweet oil. The water or
oil will carry the living thing, whatever it be, out of the ear, and the
child is at once relieved.
298. If a child swallow a piece of broken glass, what ought to be
done?
Avoid purgatives, as the free action on the bowels would be likely
to force the spiculæ of glass into the mucous membrane of the
bowels, and thus would wound them, and might cause ulceration,
and even death. “The object of treatment will be to allow them to
pass through the intestines well enveloped by the other contents of
the tube; and for this purpose a solid farinaceous diet should be
ordered, and purgatives scrupulously avoided.”[275]
299. If a child swallow a pin, what should be done?
Treat him as for broken glass. Give him no aperients, or it might,
in action, force the pin into the bowel. I have known more than one
instance where a child, after swallowing a pin, to have voided it in his
motion.
300. If a child swallow a coin of any kind, is danger likely to
ensue, and what ought to be done?
 There is, as a rule, no danger. A dose or two of castor oil will be all
that is usually necessary. The evacuations ought to be carefully
examined until the coin be discovered. I once knew a child swallow a
penny-piece, and pass it in his motions.
301. If a child, while playing with a small coin (such as either a
threepenny or a fourpenny piece), or any other substance, should
toss it into his mouth, and inadvertently allow it to enter the
windpipe, what ought to be done?
Take hold of him by the legs, allowing his head to hang downward;
then give him, with the palm of your hand, several sharp blows on
his back, and you may have the good fortune to see the coin coughed
out of his mouth. Of course, if this plan does not succeed, send
instantly for a medical man.
 PART III.
BOYHOOD AND GIRLHOOD.

’Tis with him e’en standing water,

Between boy and man.
Shakspeare.

Standing with reluctant feet

Where the brook and river meet,
Womanhood and childhood fleet!
Longfellow.

ABLUTION, Etc.

302. Have you any remarks to make on the Ablution of boys and
girls?
How is it that a mother thinks it absolutely necessary (which it
really is) that her babe’s whole body should every morning be
washed; and yet who does not deem it needful that her girl or boy of
twelve years old, should go through the process of daily and
thorough ablution? If the one case be necessary, sure I am that the
other is equally if not more needful.
Thorough ablution of the body every morning at least is essential
to health. I maintain that no one can be in the enjoyment of perfect
health who does not keep his skin—the whole of his skin—clean. In
the absence of cleanliness, a pellicle forms on the skin which
engenders disease. Moreover, a person who does not keep his skin
clean is more susceptible of contracting contagious disease, such as
small-pox, typhus fever, cholera, diphtheria, scarlet fever, etc.
Thorough ablution of the body is a grand requisite of health. I
maintain that no one can be perfectly healthy unless he thoroughly
wash his body—the whole of his body; if filth accumulate, which, if
not washed off, it is sure to do, disease must, as a matter of course,
follow. Besides, ablution is a delightful process; it makes one feel
fresh and sweet, and young and healthy; it makes the young look
handsome and the old look young! Thorough ablution might truly be
said both to renovate and to rejuvenize! A scrupulously clean skin is
one of the grand distinctive characteristics both of a lady and of a
gentleman.
Dirty people are not only a nuisance to themselves, but to all
around; they are not only a nuisance, but a danger, as their dirty
bodies are apt to carry from place to place contagious diseases.
It is important that parts that are covered should be kept cleaner
than parts exposed to the air, as dirt is more apt to fester in dark
places; besides, parts exposed to the air have the advantage of the
air’s sweetening properties; air acts as a bath, and purifies the skin
amazingly.
It is desirable to commence a complete system of washing early in
life, as then it becomes a second nature, and cannot afterward be
dispensed with. One accustomed to the luxury of his morning
ablution would feel most uncomfortable if anything prevented him
from taking it; he would as soon think of dispensing with his
breakfast as with his bath.
Every boy, every girl, and every adult ought each to have either a
room or a dressing-room to himself or to herself, in order that he or
she might strip to the skin and thoroughly wash themselves; no one
can wash properly and effectually without doing so.
Now, for the paraphernalia required for the process: (1) A large
nursery-basin, one that will hold six or eight quarts of water
(Wedgwood’s make being considered the best); (2) A piece of coarse
flannel, a yard long and half a yard wide; (3) A large sponge; (4) A
tablet either of the best yellow or of curd soap; (5) Two towels, one
being a diaper and the other a Turkish rubber.
Now, as to the manner of performing ablution. You ought to fill the
basin three parts full with rain water; then, having well soaped and
cleansed your hands, re-soap them, dip your head and face into the
water, then with the soaped hands well rub and wash your head, face,
neck, chest, and armpits; having done which, take the wetted sponge,
and go over all the parts previously traveled over by the soaped
hands; then fold the flannel as you would a neckerchief, and dip it in
the water, then throw it, as you would a skipping-rope, over your
shoulders, and move it a few times from right to left and from left to
right, and up and down, and then across the back and loins; having
done which, dip the sponge in the water, and holding your head
under the water, let the water stream from the sponge a time or two
over your head, neck, and face. Dip your head and face in the water,
then put your hands and arms (as far as they will go) into the water,
holding them there while you can count thirty. Having reduced the
quantity of water to a third of a basinful, place the basin on the floor,
and sit (while you can count fifty) in the water; then put one foot at a
time in the water, and quickly rub, with soaped hands, up and down
your leg, over the foot, and pass your thumb between each toe (this
latter procedure tends to keep away soft corns); then take the
sponge, filled with water, and squeeze it over your leg and foot, from
the knee downward,—then serve your other leg and foot in the same
way. By adopting the above plan, the whole of the body will, every
morning, be thoroughly washed.
A little warm water might at first, and during the winter time, be
added, to take off the chill; but the sooner quite cold water is used
the better. The body ought to be quickly dried (taking care to wipe
between each toe), first with the diaper, and then with the Turkish
rubber. In drying your back and loins, you ought to throw, as you
would a skipping-rope, the Turkish rubber over your shoulders, and
move it a few times from side to side, until the parts be dry.
Although the above description is necessarily prolix, the washing
itself ought to be very expeditiously performed; there should be no
dawdling over it, otherwise the body will become chilled, and harm
instead of good will be the result. If due dispatch be used, the whole
of the body might, according to the above method, be thoroughly
washed and dried in the space of ten minutes.
A boy ought to wash his head, as above directed, every morning, a
girl, who has much hair, once a week, with soap and water, with
flannel and sponge. The hair, if not frequently washed, is very dirty,
and nothing is more repulsive than a dirty head!
It might be said, “Why do you go into particulars? why dwell so
much upon minutiæ? Every one, without being told, knows how to
wash himself!” I reply, “That very few people do know how to wash
themselves properly; it is a misfortune they do not—they would be
both much healthier and happier if they did!”
303. Have you any remarks to make on boys and girls learning to
swim?
Let me strongly urge you to let your sons and daughters be early
taught to swim. Swimming is a glorious exercise—one of the best that
can be taken; it expands the chest; it promotes digestion; it develops
the muscles, and brings into action some muscles that in any other
form of exercise are but seldom brought into play; it strengthens and
braces the whole frame, and thus makes the swimmer resist the
liability of catching colds; it gives both boys and girls courage,
energy, and self-reliance,—splendid qualities in this rough world of
ours. Swimming is oftentimes the means of saving human life; this of
itself would be a great recommendation of its value. It is a delightful
amusement; to breast the waves is as exhilarating to the spirits as
clearing on horseback a five-barred gate.
The art of learning to swim is quite as necessary to be learned by a
girl as by a boy; the former has similar muscles, lungs, and other
organs to develop as the latter. It is very desirable that in large towns
swimming-baths for ladies should be instituted.
Swimming ought, then, to be a part and parcel of the education of
every boy and of every girl.
Swimming does not always agree. This sometimes arises from a
person being quite cold before he plunges into the water. Many
people have an idea that they ought to go into the water while their
bodies are in a cool state. Now this is a mistaken notion, and is likely
to produce dangerous consequences. The skin ought to be
comfortably warm, neither very hot nor very cold, and then the
bather will receive every advantage that cold bathing can produce. If
he go into the bath while the body is cold, the blood becomes chilled,
and is driven to internal parts, and thus mischief is frequently
produced.
A boy, after using cold bathing, ought, if it agree with him, to
experience a pleasing glow over the whole surface of his body, his
spirits and appetite should be increased, and he ought to feel
stronger; but if it disagree with him, a chilliness and coldness, a
lassitude and a depression of spirits, will be the result; the face will
be pale and the features will be pinched, and, in some instances, the
lips and the nails will become blue; all these are signs that cold
bathing is injurious, and, therefore, that it ought on no account to be
persevered in, unless these symptoms have hitherto proceeded from
his going into the bath while he was quite cold. He may, previously to
entering the bath, warm himself by walking briskly for a few
minutes. Where cold sea water bathing does not agree, warm sea
bathing should be substituted.
304. Which do you prefer—sea bathing or fresh water bathing?
Sea bathing. Sea bathing is incomparably superior to fresh water
bathing; the salt water is far more refreshing and invigorating; the
battling with the waves is more exciting; the sea breezes, blowing on
the nude body, breathes (for the skin is a breathing apparatus) health
and strength into the frame, and comeliness into the face; the sea
water and the sea breezes are splendid cosmetics; the salt water is
one of the finest applications, both for strengthening the roots and
brightening the color of the hair, provided grease and pomatum have
not been previously used.
305. Have you any directions to give as to the time and the
seasons, and the best mode of sea bathing?
Summer and autumn are the best seasons of the year for cold sea
bathing—August and September being the best months. To prepare
the skin for the cold sea bathing, it would be well, before taking a dip
in the sea, to have on the previous day a warm salt-water bath. It is
injurious, and even dangerous, to bathe immediately after a full
meal; the best time to bathe is about two hours after breakfast—that
is to say, at about eleven or twelve o’clock in the forenoon. The
bather, as soon as he enters the water, ought instantly to wet his
head; this may be done either by his jumping at once from the
machine into the water, or, if he have not the courage to do so, by
plunging his head without loss of time completely under the water.
He should remain in the water about a quarter of an hour, but never
longer than half an hour.
Many bathers by remaining a long time in the water do themselves
great injury. If sea bathing be found to be invigorating—and how
often to the delicate it has proved to be truly magical—a patient may
bathe once every day, but on no account oftener. If he be not strong,
he had better, at first, bathe only every other day, or even only twice
a week.
The bather, after leaving the machine, ought, for half an hour, to
take a brisk walk in order to promote a reaction, and thus to cause a
free circulation of the blood.
306. Do you think a tepid[276] bath may be more safely used?
A tepid bath may be taken at almost any time; and a bather may
remain longer in one, with safety, than in a cold bath.
307. Do you approve of warm bathing?
A warm bath[277] may, with advantage, be occasionally used—say
once a week. A warm bath cleanses the skin more effectually than
either a cold or a tepid bath; but, as it is more relaxing, ought not to
be employed so often as either of them. A person should not continue
longer than ten minutes in a warm bath. Once a week, as a rule, is
quite often enough for a warm bath; and it would be an excellent
plan if every boy and girl and adult would make a practice of having
one regularly every week, unless any special reason should arise to
forbid its use.
308. But does not warm bathing, by relaxing the pores of the
skin, cause a person to catch cold if he expose himself to the air
immediately afterward?
There is, on this point, a great deal of misconception and
unnecessary fear. A person, immediately after using a warm bath,
should take proper precautions—that is to say, he must not expose
himself to draughts, neither ought he to wash himself in cold water,
nor should he, immediately after taking one, drink cold water. But he
may follow his usual exercise or employment, provided the weather
be fine, and the wind be neither in the east nor the northeast.
Every house of any pretension ought to have a bath-room. Nothing
would be more conducive to health than regular systematic bathing.
A hot and cold bath, a sitz-bath and a shower-bath—each and all in
their turn—are grand requisites to preserve and procure health. If
the house cannot boast of a bath-room, then the Corporation baths
(which nearly every large town possesses) ought to be liberally
patronized.
309. What is the best application for the hair?
 A sponge and cold water, and two good hair-brushes. Avoid grease,
pomatum, bandoline, and all abominations of that kind. There is a
natural oil of the hair, which is far superior to either Rowland’s
Macassar oil or any other oil! The best scent for the hair is an
occasional dressing of soap and water; the best beautifier of the hair
is a downright thorough good brushing with two good hair-brushes!
Again, I say, avoid grease of all kinds to the hair. “And as for
women’s hair, don’t plaster it with scented and sour grease, or with
any grease; it has an oil of its own. And don’t tie up your hair tight,
and make it like a cap of iron over your skull. And why are your ears
covered? You hear all the worse, and they are not the cleaner.
Besides, the ear is beautiful in itself, and plays its own part in the
concert of the features.”[278]
If the hair cannot, without some application, be kept tidy, then a
little of the best sweet oil might, by means of an old tooth-brush, be
used to smooth it; sweet oil is, for the purpose, one of the most
simple and harmless of dressings; but, as I said before, the hair’s own
natural oil cannot be equaled, far less surpassed!
If the hair fall off, castor oil, scented with a few drops of essence of
bergamot and oil of lavender, is a good remedy to prevent its doing
so; a little of it ought, night and morning, to be well rubbed into the
roots of the hair. Cocoanut oil is another excellent application for the
falling off of the hair.

CLOTHING.

310. Do you approve of a boy wearing flannel next the skin?

England is so variable a climate, and the changes from heat to
cold, and from dryness to moisture of the atmosphere, are so sudden,
that some means are required to guard against their effects. Flannel,
as it is a bad conductor of heat, prevents the sudden changes from
affecting the body, and thus is a great preservative against cold.
Flannel is as necessary in the summer as in the winter time;
indeed, we are more likely both to sit and to stand in draughts in the
summer than in the winter; and thus we are more liable to become
chilled and to catch cold.
 Woolen shirts are now much worn; they are very comfortable and
beneficial to health. Moreover, they simplify the dress, as they
supersede the necessity of wearing either both flannel and linen, or
flannel and calico shirts.
311. Flannel sometimes produces great irritation of the skin; what
ought to be done to prevent it?
Have a moderately fine flannel, and persevere in its use; the skin
in a few days will bear it comfortably. The Angola and wove-silk
waistcoats have been recommended as substitutes, but there is
nothing equal to the old-fashioned Welsh flannel.
312. If a boy have delicate lungs, do you approve of his wearing a
prepared hare-skin over the chest?
I do not. The chest may be kept too warm as well as too cold. The
hare-skin heats the chest too much, and thereby promotes a violent
perspiration; which, by his going into the cold air, may become
suddenly checked, and may thus produce mischief. If the chest be
delicate, there is nothing like flannel to ward off colds.
313. After an attack of Rheumatic Fever, what extra clothing do
you advise?
In the case of a boy, or a girl, just recovering from a severe attack
of rheumatic fever, flannel next the skin ought always to be worn—
flannel drawers as well as a flannel vest.
314. Have you any remarks to make on boys’ waistcoats?
Fashion in this, as in most other instances, is at direct variance
with common sense. It would seem that fashion was intended to
make work for the doctor, and to swell the bills of mortality! It might
be asked, what part of the chest, in particular, ought to be kept
warm? The upper part needs it most. It is in the upper part of the
lungs that tubercles (consumption) usually first make their
appearance; and is it not preposterous to have such parts, in
particular, kept cool? Double-breasted waistcoats cannot be too
strongly recommended for delicate youths, and for all men who have
weak chests.
315. Have you any directions to give respecting the shoes and the
stockings?
The shoes for winter should be moderately thick and waterproof. If
boys and girls be delicate, they ought to have double soles to their
shoes, with a piece of bladder between each sole, or the inner sole
may be made of cork; either of the above plans will make the soles of
boots and shoes completely waterproof. In wet or dirty weather,
india-rubber overshoes are useful, as they keep the upper as well as
the under leathers perfectly dry.
The socks or stockings, for winter, ought to be either lamb’s-wool
or worsted; it is absurd to wear cotton socks or stockings all the year
round. I should advise a boy to wear socks, not stockings; as he will
then be able to dispense with garters. Garters, as I have remarked in
a previous Conversation, are injurious—they not only interfere with
the circulation of the blood, but also, by pressure, injure the bones,
and thus the shape of the legs.
Boys and girls cannot be too particular in keeping their feet warm
and dry, as cold wet feet are one of the most frequent exciting causes
of bronchitis, of sore throats, and of consumption.
316. When should a girl begin to wear stays?
She ought never to wear them.
317. Do not stays strengthen the body?
No; on the contrary, they weaken it. (1) They weaken the muscles.
The pressure upon them causes them to waste; so that, in the end, a
girl cannot do without them, as the stays are then obliged to perform
the duty of the wasted muscles. (2) They weaken the lungs by
interfering with their functions. Every inspiration is accompanied by
a movement of the ribs. If this movement be impeded, the functions
of the lungs are impeded likewise; and, consequently, disease is
likely to follow; and either difficulty of breathing, or cough, or
consumption, may ensue. (3) They weaken the heart’s action, and
thus frequently produce palpitation, and, perhaps, eventually organic
or incurable disease of the heart. (4) They weaken the digestion, by
pushing down the stomach and the liver, and by compressing the
latter; and thus induce indigestion, flatulence, and liver disease.[279]
(5) They weaken the bowels, by impeding their proper peristaltic
(spiral) motion, and thus might produce either constipation or a
rupture. Is it not presumptuous to imagine that man can improve
upon God’s works; and that if more support had been required the
Almighty would not have given it!
“God never made his work for man to mend.”[280]
 318. Have you any remarks to make on female dress?
There is a perfect disregard of health in everything appertaining to
fashion. Parts that ought to be kept warm, remain unclothed: the
upper portion of the chest, most prone to tubercles (consumption), is
completely exposed; the feet, great inlets to cold, are covered with
thin stockings, and with shoes as thin as paper. Parts that should
have full play are cramped and hampered; the chest is cribbed in
with stays, the feet with tight shoes,—hence causing deformity, and
preventing a free circulation of blood. The mind, that ought to be
calm and unruffled, is kept in a constant state of excitement by balls,
and concerts, and plays. Mind and body sympathize with each other,
and disease is the consequence. Night is turned into day; and a
delicate girl leaves the heated ball-room, decked out in her airy
finery, to breathe the damp and cold air of night. She goes to bed,
but, for the first few hours, she is too much excited to sleep; toward
morning, when the air is pure and invigorating, and, when to breathe
it, would be to inhale health and life, she falls into a feverish
slumber, and wakes not until noonday. Oh, that a mother should be
so blinded and so infatuated!
319. Have you any observations to make on a girl wearing a
green dress?
It is injurious to wear a green dress, if the color have been
imparted to it by means of Scheele’s green, which is arsenite of
copper—a deadly poison. I have known the arsenic to fly off from a
green dress in the form of powder, and to produce, in consequence,
ill health. Gas-light green is a lovely green, and free from all danger,
and is fortunately superseding the Scheele’s green both in dresses
and in worsted work. I should advise my fair reader, when she selects
green as her color, always to choose the gas-light green, and to wear
and to use for worsted work no other green besides.

DIET.

320. Which is the most wholesome, coffee or tea, where milk does
not agree, for a youth’s breakfast?
Coffee, provided it be made properly, and provided the boy or the
girl take a great deal of out-door exercise; if a youth be much
confined within doors, black tea is preferable to coffee. The usual
practice of making coffee is to boil it, to get out the strength! But the
fact is, the process of boiling boils the strength away; it drives off that
aromatic, grateful principle, so wholesome to the stomach, and so
exhilarating to the spirits; and, in lieu of which, extracts its dregs and
impurities, which are both heavy and difficult of digestion. The coffee
ought, if practicable, to be freshly ground every morning, in order
that you may be quite sure that it be perfectly genuine, and that none
of the aroma of the coffee has flown off from long exposure to the
atmosphere. If a youth’s bowels be inclined to be costive, coffee is
preferable to tea for breakfast, as coffee tends to keep the bowels
regular. Fresh milk ought always to be added to the coffee in the
proportion of half coffee and half new milk. If coffee does not agree,
then black tea should be substituted, which ought to be taken with
plenty of fresh milk in it. Milk may be frequently given in tea, when it
otherwise would disagree.
When a youth be delicate, it is an excellent plan to give him every
morning before he leaves his bed, a tumblerful of new milk. The
draught of milk, of course, is not in any way to interfere with his
regular breakfast.
321. Do you approve of a boy eating meat with his breakfast?
This will depend upon the exercise he uses. If he have had a good
walk or run before breakfast, or if he intend, after breakfast, to take
plenty of athletic out-door exercise, meat, or a rasher or two of
bacon, may, with advantage be eaten, but not otherwise.
322. What is the best dinner for a youth?
Fresh mutton or beef, a variety of vegetables, and a farinaceous
pudding. It is a bad practice to allow him to dine exclusively, either
on a fruit-pudding or on any other pudding, or on pastry. Unless he
be ill, he must, if he is to be healthy, strong, and courageous, eat
meat every day of his life. “All courageous animals are carnivorous,
and greater courage is to be expected in a people, such as the
English, whose food is strong and hearty, than in the half-starved
commonalty of other countries.”[281]
Let him be debarred from rich soups and from high-seasoned
dishes, which only disorder the stomach and inflame the blood. It is
a mistake to give a boy or girl broth or soup, in lieu of meat for
dinner; the stomach takes such slops in a grumbling way, and is not
at all satisfied. It may be well, occasionally, to give a youth with his
dinner, in addition to his meat, either good soup or good broth, not
highly-seasoned, made of good meat stock. But after all that can be
said on the subject, a plain joint of meat, either roast or boiled, is far
superior for health and strength than either soup or broth, let it be
ever so good or so well made.
He should be desired to take plenty of time over his dinner, so that
he may be able to chew his food well, and thus that it may be reduced
to an impalpable mass, and be well mixed with the saliva,—which the
action of the jaws will cause to be secreted—before it passes into the
stomach. If such were usually the case, the stomach would not have
double duty to perform, and a boy would not so frequently lay the
foundation of indigestion, etc., which may embitter and even make
miserable his after-life.
Meat, plain pudding, vegetables, bread, and hunger for sauce
(which exercise will readily give), is the best, and, indeed, should be
as a rule, the only dinner he should have. A youth ought not to dine
later than two o’clock.
323. Do you consider broths and soups wholesome?
The stomach can digest solid much more readily than it can liquid
food; on which account the dinner specified above is far preferable to
one either of broth or of soup. Fluids in large quantities too much
dilute the gastric juice and overdistend the stomach, and hence
weaken it, and thus produce indigestion.
324. Do you approve of a boy drinking beer with his dinner?
There is no objection to a little good, mild table-beer, but strong
ale ought never to be allowed. It is, indeed, questionable, whether a
boy, unless he takes unusual exercise, requires anything but water
with his meals.
325. Do you approve of a youth, more especially if he be weakly,
having a glass or two of wine after dinner?
I disapprove of it. His young blood does not require to be inflamed
and his sensitive nerves excited with wine; and if he be delicate, I
should be sorry to endeavor to strengthen him by giving him such an
inflammable fluid. If he be weakly, he is more predisposed to put on
either fever or inflammation of some organ; and, being thus
predisposed, wine would be likely to excite either the one or the
other of them into action. A parent ought on no account to allow a
boy to touch spirits, however much diluted; they are to the young still
more deadly in their effects than wine.
326. Have you any objection to a youth drinking tea?
Not at all, provided it be not green tea, that it be not made strong,
and that it have plenty of milk in it. Green tea is apt to make people
nervous, and boys and girls ought not even to know what it is to be
nervous.
327. Do you object to supper for a youth?
Meat suppers are highly prejudicial. If he be hungry (and if he
have been much in the open air, he is almost sure to be), a piece of
bread and cheese, or of bread and butter, with a draught either of
new milk or of table-beer, will form the best supper he can have. He
ought not to sup later than eight o’clock.
328. Do you approve of a boy having anything between meals?
I do not; let him have four meals a day, and he will require nothing
in the intervals. It is a mistaken notion that “little and often is best.”
The stomach requires rest as much as, or perhaps more than (for it is
frequently sadly overworked) any other part of the body. I do not
mean that he is to have “much and seldom:” moderation, in
everything, is to be observed. Give him as much as a growing boy
requires (and that is a great deal), but do not let him eat
gluttonously, as many indulgent parents encourage their children to
do. Intemperance in eating cannot be too strongly condemned.
329. Have you any objection to a boy having pocket money?
It is a bad practice to allow a boy much pocket money; if he be so
allowed, he will be loading his stomach with sweets, fruit, and pastry,
and thus his stomach will become cloyed and disordered, and the
keen appetite, so characteristic of youth, will be blunted, and ill
health will ensue. “In a public education, boys early learn
temperance, and if the parents and friends would give them less
money upon their usual visits, it would be much to their advantage,
since it may justly be said that a great part of their disorders arise
from surfeit, ‘plus occidit gula quam gladius’ (gluttony kills more
than the sword).”[282]
 How true is the saying that “many people dig their graves with
their teeth.” You may depend upon it that more die from stuffing
than from starvation!

AIR AND EXERCISE.

330. Have you any remarks to make on fresh air and exercise for
boys and girls?
Girls and boys, especially the former, are too much confined
within doors. It is imperatively necessary, if you wish them to be
strong and healthy, that they should have plenty of fresh air and
exercise; remember, I mean fresh air—country air, not the close air
of a town. By exercise, I mean the free unrestrained use of their
limbs. Girls, in this respect, are unfortunately worse off than boys,
although they have similar muscles to develop, similar lungs that
require fresh air, and similar nerves to be braced and strengthened.
It is not considered ladylike to be natural—all their movements must
be measured by rule and compass!
The reason why so many young girls of the present day are so
sallow, undersized, and ill shaped, is for the want of air and exercise.
After a time the want of air and exercise, by causing ill health, makes
them slothful and indolent—it is a trouble for them to move from
their chairs!
Respiration, digestion, and a proper action of the bowels
imperatively demand fresh air and exercise. Ill health will inevitably
ensue if boys and girls are cooped up a great part of the day in a close
room. A distinguished writer of the present day says: “The children
of the very poor are always out and about. In this respect they are an
example to those careful mammas who keep their children, the
whole day long, in their chairs, reading, writing, ciphering, drawing,
practicing music lessons, doing crochet work, or anything, in fact,
except running about, in spite of the sunshine always peeping in and
inviting them out of doors; and who, in the due course of time, are
surprised to find their children growing up with incurable heart,
head, lung, or stomach complaints.”
331. What is the best exercise for youth?
 Walking or running, provided it be not carried to fatigue. The
slightest approach to it should warn a youth to desist from carrying it
further.
Walking exercise is not sufficiently insisted upon. A boy or a girl,
to be in the enjoyment of good health, ought to walk at least ten
miles every day. I do not mean ten miles at a stretch, but at different
times of the day.
Some young ladies think it an awfully long walk if they manage a
couple of miles! How can they, with such exercise, expect to be well?
How can their muscles be developed? How can their nerves be
braced? How can their spines be strengthened and be straight? How
can their blood course merrily through their blood-vessels? How can
their chests expand and be strong? Why, it is impossible! Ill health
must be the penalty of such indolence, for Nature will not be trifled
with!
Walking exercise, then, is the finest exercise that can be taken, and
must be taken, and that without stint, if boys and girls are to be
strong and well!
The advantage of our climate is, that there is not a day in the whole
year that walking exercise cannot be enjoyed. I use the term enjoyed
advisedly. The roads may of course be dirty; but what of that? A
good, thick pair of boots will be the remedy.
Do then, let me entreat you, insist upon your girls and boys taking
plenty of exercise; let them almost live in the open air! Do not coddle
them; this is a rough world of ours, and they must rough it; they
must be knocked about a little, and the knocks will do them good.
Poor youths who are, as it were, tied to their mothers’ apron-strings,
are much to be pitied; they are usually puny and delicate, and utterly
deficient of self-reliance.
332. Do you approve of horse or pony exercise for boys and girls?
Most certainly I do; but still it ought not to supersede walking.
Horse or pony exercise is very beneficial, and cannot be too strongly
recommended. One great advantage for those living in towns, which
it has over walking, is that a person may go farther into the country,
and thus be enabled to breathe a purer and more healthy
atmosphere. Again, it is a much more amusing exercise than
walking, and this, for the young, is a great consideration indeed.
 Horse exercise is for both boys and girls a splendid exercise; it
improves the figure, it gives grace to the movements, it strengthens
the chest, it braces the muscles, and gives to the character energy
and courage.
Both boys and girls ought to be early taught to ride. There is
nothing that gives more pleasure to the young than riding either on a
pony or on a horse, and for younger children, even on that despised,
although useful animal, a donkey. Exercise, taken with pleasure, is
doubly beneficial.
If girls were to ride more on horseback than they now do, we
should hear less of crooked spines and of round shoulders, of
chlorosis and of hysteria, and of other numerous diseases of that
class, owing, generally, to debility and to mismanagement.
Those ladies who “affect the saddle” are usually much healthier,
stronger, and straighter than those who either never or but seldom
ride on horseback.
Riding on horseback is both an exercise and an amusement, and is
peculiarly suitable for the fair sex, more especially as their modes of
exercise are somewhat limited, ladies being excluded from following
many games, such as cricket and football, both of which are
practiced, with such zest and benefit, by the rougher sex.
333. Do you approve of carriage exercise?
There is no muscular exertion in carriage exercise; its principal
advantage is, that it enables a person to have a change of air, which
may be purer than the one he is in the habit of breathing. But,
whether it be so or not, change of air frequently does good, even if
the air be not so pure. Carriage exercise, therefore, does only partial
good, and ought never to supersede either walking or horse exercise.
334. What is the best time of the day for the taking of exercise?
In the summer time, early in the morning and before breakfast, as
“cool morning air exhilarates young blood like wine.” If a boy cannot
take exercise upon an empty stomach, let him have a slice of bread
and a draught of milk. When he returns home, he will be able to do
justice to his breakfast. In fine weather he cannot take too much
exercise, provided it be not carried to fatigue.
335. What is the best time for him to keep quiet?
 He ought not to take exercise immediately after—say for half an
hour after—a hearty meal, or it will be likely to interfere with his
digestion.

AMUSEMENTS.

336. What amusements do you recommend for a boy as being

most beneficial to health?
Many games—such as rowing, skating, cricket, quoits, football,
rackets, single-stick, bandy, bowls, skittles, and all gymnastic
exercises. Such games bring the muscles into proper action, and thus
cause them to be fully developed. They expand and strengthen the
chest; they cause a due circulation of the blood, making it to bound
merrily through the blood-vessels, and thus to diffuse health and
happiness in its course. Another excellent amusement for boys is the
brandishing of clubs. They ought to be made in the form of a
constable’s staff, but should be much larger and heavier. The manner
of handling them is so graphically described by Addison that I cannot
do better than transcribe it: “When I was some years younger than I
am at present, I used to employ myself in a more laborious diversion,
which I learned from a Latin treatise of exercises that is written with
great erudition; it is there called the σκιομαχια, or the fighting with a
man’s own shadow, and consists in the brandishing of two short
sticks grasped in each hand, and loaded with plugs of lead at either
end. This opens the chest, exercises the limbs, and gives a man all the
pleasure of boxing without the blows. I could wish that several
learned men would lay out that time which they employ in
controversies and disputes about nothing, in this method of fighting
with their own shadows. It might conduce very much to evaporate
the spleen which makes them uneasy to the public as well as to
themselves.”
Another capital healthful game is single-stick, which makes a boy
“to gain an upright and elastic carriage, and to learn the use of his
limbs.”[283] Single-stick may be taught by any drill-sergeant in the
neighborhood. Do everything to make a boy strong. Remember, “the
glory of young men is their strength.”[284]
 If games were more patronized in youth, so many miserable,
nervous, useless creatures would not abound. Let a boy or a girl,
then, have plenty of play; let half of his or her time be spent in play.
There ought to be a gymnasium established in every town of the
kingdom. The gymnasium, the cricket ground, and the swimming
bath are among our finest institutions, and should be patronized
accordingly.
First of all, by an abundance of exercise and of fresh air make your
boys and girls strong, and then, in due time, they will be ready and
be able to have their minds properly cultivated. Unfortunately, in
this enlightened age, we commence at the wrong end—we put the
cart before the horse—we begin by cultivating the mind, and we leave
the body to be taken care of afterward; the results are, broken health,
precocious, stunted, crooked, and deformed youths, and premature
decay.
One great advantage of gymnastic exercise is, it makes the lungs
expand, it fills the lungs with air, and by doing so, strengthens the
lungs amazingly and wards off many diseases. The lungs are not
sufficiently exercised and expanded; boys and girls, girls especially,
do not as a rule half fill their lungs with air! now, air to the lungs is
food to the lungs, and portions of the lungs have not half their proper
food, and in consequence suffer.
It is very desirable that every boy and girl should, every day of his
or her life, and for a quarter of an hour at least each time, go through
a regular breathing exercise—that is to say, should be made to stand
upright, throw back the shoulders, and the while, alternately and
regularly, fully fill and fully empty the lungs of air. If this plan were
daily followed, the chest and lungs would be wonderfully invigorated,
and the whole body benefited.
337. Is playing the flute, blowing the bugle, or any other wind
instrument, injurious to health?
Decidedly so; the lungs and the windpipe are brought into
unnatural action by them. If a boy be of a consumptive habit, this
will, of course, hold good with tenfold force. If a youth must be
musical, let him be taught singing, as that, provided the lungs be not
diseased, will be beneficial.
338. What amusements do you recommend for a girl?
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