The great disadvantage of woolen undergarments is the way in which its soft fibers shrink in washing, and after a time become smaller, harder, and less absorbent. To avoid this, the greatest care must be exercised in the wash. Woolen fabrics are sometimes very irritating to the skin, in which case some of the loosely woven cotton or linen fabrics must be substituted. In the choice of woolen undergarments the touch is the best guide; there should be smoothness and great softness of texture. In very cold weather the combination undersuit worn in the house should be reinforced by “equestrian tights” for outdoor wear. These come in black and can be drawn on over the shoes. They are a much greater protection against the cold and wind than a flannel skirt, and do not possess the grave objection of winding about the legs in walking in the wind. Lack of proper clothing of the lower part of the body is beyond question one of the chief causes of the great prevalence of pelvic inflammation and of Bright’s disease in women. But not only is there to be considered the danger of laying the seeds of disease from going out into the cold air while the body is too lightly clad, but also that, in order to maintain the normal temperature of the body in winter without the aid of warm clothing, requires a greater expenditure of nervous energy, which in turn is the equivalent of a large amount of life force. It is not only imprudent, but most injurious, to exhaust unnecessarily the powers, of the body, when mere mechanical appliances, like clothing, will obviate this continuous expenditure of vital energy. Another way in which clothes save the wear and tear of the body is by diminishing the amount of heat the system must produce by the oxidation of the elements of food. When properly clad, there is less loss to the body of its heat, and consequently there is less food needed to supply this loss. =The Length of the Walking Skirt.=—The present vogue of having the walking skirt five inches from the ground is an excellent one, as it not only considerably diminishes the weight of the skirt, but it interferes much less with the forward swing of the leg in walking, which otherwise has to be overcome by the muscular force of the leg. In walking, the length of the step should be proportionate to the length of the limb; the leg is carried forward by the unconscious swing at the hip. The chief exertion in walking is caused by the raising of the foot and leg to the point at which it goes forward and downward. By any artificial shortening of the step, such as is caused, for instance, by long skirts, it requires much more muscular effort to walk the same distance. Besides which, there is the additional friction of the skirts, which is increased by the slightest wind; this has been likened to the process of eternally walking through a field of long grass.