644 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Of late certain spasmodic efforts have been made to abolish recess, 

 and hold but one long session per day from nine to one or half -past 

 one ; but this is a mistaken notion, founded on lack of knowledge of 

 the effects of long-continued study and the physical needs of the 

 young. It is true that in some of the largest cities this plan is fol- 

 lowed in the high-schools, but the cause is local, for the pupils come 

 from long distances in New York city, for instance, as far as five 

 miles. Besides, in many of these schools the pupils do much of their 

 studying at their homes, and the majority are in the neighborhood of 

 twenty years of age, so that they are in a better condition to stand 

 the additional strain without injury. 



Anything that distracts the pupil's attention from his studies re- 

 tards his progress, by making less vivid the impressions received by 

 the nerve-cells ; for, by concentrating the mental vision upon one 

 point, to the exclusion of others, we see that point more distinctly. 

 All peripheral irritation, therefore, should be removed as far as pos- 

 sible. The distraction of discomfort, particularly of the cutaneous 

 surface, is a serious drawback ; comfortable seats preferably single 

 high enough to support the lower limbs, and desks of the proper height 

 to rest the arms, are in this way valuable indirect aids to study. But 

 of all peripheral irritation, that produced by cold is perhaps the most 

 distracting. When the temperature of the room falls below 50 Fahr., 

 the next exercise should be dismissal. Between 50 and 70 the 

 temperature may range ; but from 60 to 65 is the safest and most 

 comfortable ; safest, because the cutaneous surface does not become 

 overheated and congested liable to be chilled by the lower tempera- 

 ture of the open air and most comfortable, because neither heat nor 

 cold is perceptible. It is needless to add that every school-room should 

 have a thermometer, which the teacher should frequently consult, and 

 govern himself according to its indications. 



For the reasons noted above, children at home should not be al- 

 lowed to prepare their lessons immediately after supper, or late into 

 the night ; for study congests the brain, and, as sleep is produced by 

 the opposite condition, they lie awake and restless until the amount 

 and pressure of blood within the cranium are greatly diminished. 



Strange as the assertion may seem, a pupil's diet has much to do 

 with his progress. A liberal supply of non-stimulating food in other 

 words, bread, milk, vegetables, fruits, and a farinaceous diet princi- 

 pallyis f ar superior for the healthy growth of bone and nerve and 

 muscle than a regimen into which nitrogenized materials flesh-meat, 

 eggs, etc. enter largely. These latter unduly stimulate the nervous 

 system, cause a premature development of the body, and load the blood 

 with impurities, that tax the liver and the excretory organs sorely. In 

 a warm climate, such as ours, the liver, choked with albuminoids, will 

 fail in its function periodically, through sheer fatigue ; the bilious 

 matters then circulate throughout the system and stain the complex- 



