wet? No. Is it hot? Of course not. Now place a book in the palm of
your hand. Is it flat or round, light or heavy, rough or smooth? All
these things your skin tells you through little nerve tips, which are
scattered thickly all over it. Still another thing the skin does; if
you touch anything sharp or hot, it says at once that it hurts. If
your clothes are tight or uncomfortable, the skin soon lets you know.
You see it is always on the lookout, always ready to tell you about
the things around you and to warn you against the things that might
hurt you. The fifth of your "Five Senses," the sense of _touch_, is in
your skin.

There are some parts of your skin-coat that should have special care.

I hardly need tell you about washing your face carefully around your
nose and in front of your ears. Sometimes I have seen a "high-water
mark" right down the middle of the cheek or just under the jaws or
chin.

Of course your mother has told you about washing your hands! You see,
our hands touch so many dirty things, and handle so many things that
other people's hands have touched, that we ought always to wash them
before a meal for fear some of the dirt or germs on them may get into
our mouths and cause disease.

And we really need to clean our nails as often as we wash our hands,
for that little black rim under the nail is very dangerous. Dust and
disease germs and dirt of all kinds find it a good place in which to
hide. Trim your nails with a file, not a knife; and clean them with a
dull cleaner, for a sharp-pointed one will scrape the nail and roughen
it, or push the nail away from the skin of the finger underneath.