The majority of athletes exhibit exterior muscles of most impressive bulk. It is a curious fact, however, that the bony structure, which measures the chest cavity, shows only a trifling development when deprived of its muscular support. It must always be borne in mind that the strength of the body lies in its organic power--not in the surface muscles. In fact, the larger the surface muscles are, the more strength is taken from the organic vitality in order to support and feed them. It is by reason of this drain upon the inner forces that athletes so often die young. Abnormal development of the muscular system at the expense of organic vitality is a folly always dangerous, often fatal. How We Live On Air Air is the substance on which principally we feed. What we eat is of secondary importance. The purity of the blood and the strength of the arteries through which it throbs depend absolutely upon right breathing. The greater the quantity of air taken into the lungs, the more oxygen for the purification of the blood--the constant and prime requirement for health. The system of breathing which I advocate in this work is not a mere matter of theory, something vague and experimental. It is concrete; it is exact; its worth has been definitely proved. I have demonstrated the merit of the exercises in my own case. During a year and a half of practice my chest measurement increased from thirty-eight inches to forty-two. Breathing Color Into Pale Faces With many flat-chested and anemic girls I have seen an equally astonishing improvement. I have seen their chest develop, their busts become firm and rounded, and tell-tale hollows under their collar bones fill out. Almost invariably, flabby muscles become resilient, pale sallow cheeks become pink with the sweet flush of healthy youth. Incidentally, I have discovered a variety of virtues in controlled breathing. Thus, in the case of that most annoying among minor ailments, a cold, I have found that I could invariably be rid of it within twenty-four hours by means of strenuous breathing exercises for twenty minutes at a time repeated often during the day. For a more formal indorsement of this system, I may refer to the Societe Internationale de la Tuberculose. An investigation by the society was reported favorably at The Hague and London. In this connection, it should be remembered that the world at large has not yet begun to realize the supreme value of correct, quiet, slow breathing for general health. Its practice regularly would unquestionably prove a preventative of tubercular disease. Its judicious employment by those already affected would prove a powerful remedial agent. Consumptives who seek the pure air of mountains or plains often fail to receive benefit, for the simple reason that they have never learned the proper manner of breathing. To such, the best of air is useless as the most nourishing food to the one who has no teeth with which to chew.