Often loss of appetite is the result of a clogging of the intestines or liver, or is due to an excess of bile, which, not having been properly discharged into the intestines, has entered the blood stream or regurgitated into the stomach. A torpid liver often expresses itself in a dull mental force, the toxins deadening the nerve cells. The lack of desire for exercise of those living in warm climates results in a sluggish activity of the system. As a result it demands less food, and habits of excessive seasoning to stimulate the appetite have been formed. The desire for excessive stimulants, such as salt, may be a cultivated taste and the habit should be corrected. There is a difference between the cultivated and the normal appetite. A child rarely shows a desire for stimulants such as tea or coffee, excessive salt, pepper, pickles, catsups, etc., unless unwisely encouraged by an adult, who does it, _not because it is food for the child, but because the individual himself has cultivated a taste for it_. It is as easy to form healthful tastes and habits of eating as unhealthful ones, and care should especially be exercised over the formation of healthful habits in the growing child. One should not allow himself to become “finicky” or no food will give him its best service. Time, energy, muscular activity, nerve force, and money are spent in combining, seasoning, and cooking foods in such a manner as often to render them difficult of digestion. Let me repeat for emphasis—_when the appetite wanes, deep breathing of fresh air to supply an abundance of oxygen to oxidize the waste, thus putting it in condition to be expelled from the system, brisk exercise to accelerate the circulation, that the blood may carry the oxygen freely and that the tissues may liberate the carbon dioxid and other waste, and a copious drinking of water, are the best tonics for loss of appetite or for a lack of vitality_. * * * * * [Sidenote: Season and Climate] The food required by the body varies according to the season of the year and the temperature. Thus, during cold weather, the body craves hot foods and drinks, and the heavier foods which furnish more heat-producing elements. In summer, the lighter foods, fruits, and the proteins supplied in green vegetables instead of in meats, are relished, and cold foods and drinks are desired as aids in equalizing the heat of the body. The total amount of food taken in summer may be lessened because so much food is not required to maintain the body heat and energy. The lessened amount puts less strain on the digestive system. Owing to the increased perspiration, the desire for water is greater in summer, while in winter or in cool weather, from the opposite condition, the quantity of water taken is usually insufficient.