h the entire organism, it follows that a well-understood hygiene
should concern the totality of the functions. First of all, it is
indispensable to avoid any cause of disturbance of the circulation, and
particularly of the pulmonary functions.

"The singer, as much as possible, should inhabit sufficiently large
apartments. He should avoid rooms warmed by apparatus which may produce
carbonic acid or which remove from the air the watery vapor it contains
normally. Every day on rising he should practise exercises in deep
breathing and, if possible, some of the gymnastic exercises which it is
possible to practise in a room. Walking is undoubtedly the best
exercise, and every singer who is careful of the soundness of his
lungs--which is equivalent to the soundness of his voice--should walk
for an hour every morning before his repast." (This advice of Dr. Poyet
can hardly be taken literally, and should be determined largely by the
physique of the individual.)

In order to avoid colds, bronchitis, sore throat, catarrhal laryngitis,
the singer should regulate in a fitting manner the thickness of his
clothing in accordance with the prevailing temperature. If by misfortune
he catches cold, a little laryngitis, a coryza, all of which cause
hoarseness, he should immediately abstain from singing. Neglect of this
rule may bring about the persistence of vocal accidents often very
long in curing. It is because professional singers cannot interrupt
their work in such cases that they more often than any others suffer
from laryngitis and above all in the so dangerous form of chronic
inflammation of the vocal cords, which determines the deplorable
"singers' nodules."

The cutaneous secretions should be watched in persons who have need
of a clear voice. Almost all catarrhal affections of the respiratory
organs are due to chills. Advice is therefore given to every person who
has practised violent singing-exercises, which cause perspiration,
immediately to change his clothing after having been rubbed down with
a horsehair glove or with flannel sprinkled with alcohol.

Like the respiration, the alimentation ought to be watched by the
singer. As much as possible during the process of digestion no violent
or prolonged singing-exercise should be undertaken. Digestive troubles
are often the cause of deterioration of the voice, either because the
swelling and distension of the stomach by gas trammels the play of the
diaphragm, and consequently