GYMNASTICS. 83 



In considering the effect of exercise upon the respiratory system, 

 it is well understood that, in order faster to rid the body of waste 

 gases and to obtain the needed oxygen, the respirations are increased 

 in amount and frequency. Merely from this increased work the lung- 

 tissue would be expected to increase ; and there is still further influ- 

 ence to this end, from the pressure of air within the lungs, induced by 

 forcibly holding the breath for a moment, as is naturally done at the 

 inception of muscular exertion. This pressure must tend to dilate the 

 alveoli to their full extent, and it also serves to aid the passage of 

 oxygen through the membranes, and its solution by the blood. 



Such, then, are some of the theoretical advantages of physical exer- 

 cise. Let us now examine the results. Unfortunately, exact records 

 of gymnasiums are as yet rare. Although indefinite reports are of 

 comparatively little value, still it is possible to appeal to the personal 

 experience of many to substantiate the claims made for systematic 

 artificial exercise. And, indeed, it is only by this personal testimony 

 that we can get at the indirect, yet perhaps the most valuable, results. 

 No tabulations can represent the after-glow, and the consciousness of 

 increased strength, purified blood, and cleared brain, which delight- 

 fully reward such exercise. Equally difficult would it be to describe 

 the body alacrity so acquired, which, without stopping to discuss its 

 origin, is a very valuable result, and never otherwise attainable. We 

 are, however, not entirely dependent upon our own limited experience, 

 nor upon indefinite statements of results. Though strangely few, we 

 still have some unquestionable records of not slight deformities and 

 deficiencies corrected. In searching for measurements that will even 

 approximately represent the vigor of the body, we can not depend 

 upon measurements of muscles, which can never be accurate, and, 

 even if they were so, are no sure guide. The weight and height are 

 also alone useless ; but all these measurements taken into account, 

 together with the muscular strength and the general character of the 

 flesh, give a tolerably fair idea of the person's condition. If to these 

 measurements be added the girth and expansive power of the chest, 

 and the lung capacity, a far more accurate idea will be obtained ; and 

 the gain in these measurements, after regular terms of exercise, may 

 fairly be assumed to represent its advantages. Taking now the most 

 important measurements, we find reported from various gymnasiums 

 an increase of two inches in passive girth of chest, of four inches in 

 expansive power, and of fifty cubic inches in lung capacity. These 

 gains have been obtained in six months' time, not only in college stu- 

 dents, army officers, and school-boys, but also in city girls. Who can 

 properly estimate the advantages of such increased breathing power ? 

 In enabling the fortunate gainer more easily to meet the wear and 

 tear of daily duties, or the possible onslaught of acute disease, what 

 invaluable assistance would be rendered by these fifty cubic inches of 

 lung capacity ! 



