Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 146, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 June 1911 — Stone Bathtubs Used. [ARTICLE]

Stone Bathtubs Used.

On the great private estates in Mexico baths are in use today wbleh were hewn ‘out of the solid rocks centuries ago by slave labor. They are located, for the most part, in the vicinity of running water, and are fed by bamboo pipes, but in many cases they have to be filled by the old-fashioned method of carrying a bucket to and from the In the cities the so-called stone baths are made of cement. The residences of all well-to-do people are provided with them, and they are a feature of the native hotels. They are usually about' ten feet long by four feet deep—baby swimming tanks, in fact. The tropical custom is to fill the baths late at night. By the following morning the water will have acquired a limpid coolness that acts like a tonic upon the body. When one remembers that near the equator it is almost as warm in the morning as it is at noon, and that water taken direct from the city mains is always tepid, the advantage of the stone or cement bath is evident. . <