=The Hookworm Disease.=--This is a sickness affecting thousands of persons in the South. It is caused by tiny worms half as large as a pin hanging fast to the lining of the bowels. The worm is sometimes called the lazy germ because it destroys the red blood cells and makes the body feel weak and lazy. Children with these worms grow slowly, have a dry skin, and a swollen abdomen with a tender spot below the stomach. The disease is easily cured by a physician, but it is better to prevent it by killing the germs in the waste from the bowels. For directions, address the Department of Health at the capital of your state. If the germs reach the ground they crawl around and may get into the well, and enter the body again with the drinking water. Generally, however, the worms enter through the skin of those going barefooted, and are carried by the blood to the lungs. From here they go up the windpipe to the throat, and then down the gullet to the bowels. It is their entrance through the skin that causes ground itch or dew itch. Wearing shoes will help prevent the disease. =A Strong Body Wins.=--Nobody wants to be weak and sickly. Most all of us could keep well if we would try in the right way to keep the body strong. To keep the body in health it must have plenty of sleep, enough good food well chewed, plenty of clean water, exercise every day, and an abundance of fresh air. The body is the temple of the soul. Don't hurt it with bad habits. PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 1. How many people are sick to-day in our country? 2. How can much sickness be avoided? 3. What causes sickness? 4. What is a contagious disease? 5. Name some contagious diseases. 6. How do we get a catching sickness? 7. Why should we be careful with the slops from the sick room? 8. Tell how children in Buffalo caught scarlet fever. 9. What is the danger in using a cup from which others have drunk? 10. How can you prevent others from getting your sickness? 11. Name some animals which carry sickness. 12. How can we keep away smallpox? 13. Give six rules to keep away colds. 14. How may the body be kept strong? CHAPTER XXIV HELPING BEFORE THE DOCTOR COMES =The Need of Quick Help.=--In many places in the country, or when out camping, it is impossible to get a doctor in less than two or three hours. Unless some one at hand can give aid before the doctor comes, much suffering and even death may result when a simple accident occurs. For this reason every one should know how to help in case of such accidents as burns, bleeding, choking, and sunstroke. =Clothing on Fire.=--Children should never play about an open fire. A single spark lighting on a cotton dress may cause it to burst into a blaze so that within a few minutes the child is enveloped in flames.