What are the best arrangements for open-air sleeping?

Sleeping in the Open Air

Q. What are the best arrangements for open-air sleeping?

A. In the summer the problem is a simple one. It is only necessary to place the bed upon a porch or balcony or in a tent on the lawn or under an awning on the roof. The writer found a very comfortable sleeping place during several summers in a cozy bungalow built in the top of a large oak tree about thirty feet above the ground. The only inconvenience was the screeching of the blue jays and the chattering of the squirrels in the early morning hours.

For fresh air sleeping during the cold months more elaborate arrangements are necessary. There are numerous devices for overcoming the several difficulties which present themselves. The most important thing to be remembered is that the bed clothing should not be left out of doors or continually exposed to the cold air, for the reason that it becomes saturated with moisture from the body and the sleeper becomes chilled while warming up the bed after retiring. If the bed is out of doors the bed clothing should be kept in doors and taken out just before retiring. A convenient method of accomplishing this is to arrange the bed in such a way that while two legs are always outside, the other two legs are inside. It is best to have the head of the bed outside and the foot inside. During the day time the bed should be drawn in and the window sash should be shut down. At night the window is raised and the bed shoved out upon a balcony or porch arranged to receive it. On retiring the window sash may be pushed down so that the bedroom may be kept warm for dressing in the morning. A device used in the writer's family is an electric rug placed over the mattress of each of the beds which are on a sleeping porch open on three sides. The blanket is so con­structed that by pushing a button an electric current may be passed through many feet of German silver wire which are woven into the mattress. The wire is thus heated and the bed is warmed. By turning on the current half an hour before bed time a warm dry bed is insured. After going to bed the occupant turns off the heat, but it may be turned on again for a few minutes at any time during the night if a change of weather renders additional heat necessary.