“A SOURCE OF DANGER TO WHEELMEN. “I would most earnestly call the attention of all wheelmen to that most dangerous custom of wearing belts drawn tightly about the waist to support the pants, or even where they are laced tightly or where there is any constriction about the waist whatever. “Many wheelmen are leading sedentary lives, especially the older riders, and are not physically in a proper condition to put forth the very severe muscular exertions which all wheelmen are called upon to do, and one of the dangers which I wish to particularly call attention to is that of causing hernia or rupture. “I know of two cases of hernia caused directly by the severe exertions put forth in climbing steep hills. One of them was a particularly strong, healthy, and robust young man, and I am quite confident that the indirect cause of those herniæ was the wearing of tight belts. The young man alluded to above has always been very active in out-door sports, very fond of lifting, and made it a common custom to put forth his utmost strength whenever opportunity offered, and he never had any tendency towards such a result until he began bicycling, which brought about an entire change in form of dress. “When any person puts forth his strength in lifting—‘hill-climbing is merely a form of lifting’—the abdominal muscles are called strongly into play, and if by belting or other means they are prevented from expanding and increasing the circumference of the waist, their force is then directed towards forcing the abdominal contents downward, and thereby greatly increasing the chances of causing hernia. “The clothing should always be loose about the waist. As suspenders are inconvenient to wear and very uncomfortable in hot weather, I would suggest that the simplest, and I think the best, way of holding up the trousers is by means of a band sewed around the inside of the flannel shirt, with buttons sewed through the shirt and band and then the button-holes made on an extra band on the inside of band of trousers, the same as little boys’ waists and trousers are joined. “I sincerely trust that no one will misconstrue this article as condemning wheeling; no one believes in it more thoroughly than your humble servant. I am writing from experience, not hearsay, and I would desire all wheelmen to give heed to my warning, and so avoid a source of danger. “L. A. W., 18,954.” [“The above is written by a physician who has made a special study of hernia.—+Ed.+”]