i 9 4 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



which they were confined had a cubic capacity of about nine hundred 

 feet, and from thirty to thirty-five cubic feet of air were passed through 

 each cell per minute. The mean temperature of the cells for the entire 

 year was 61; the highest monthly mean, 66*5, occurred in August ; 

 the lowest, 56*9, in March. 



The diet was uniform, with the exception of the alterations ordered 

 by the medical officer in individual cases, and consisted of the follow- 

 ing articles daily : Bread, twenty ounces ; meat without bone, four 

 ounces ; soup, half a pint these are equivalent to about seven ounces 

 and three quarters of butcher's meat potatoes, one pound ; skimmed 

 milk three quarters of a pint ; gruel, one pint, containing two ounces 

 of oatmeal. The dress was, a cloth jacket, waistcoat, and trousers ; 

 cap and stock ; linen shirt ; woolen stockings, drawers, and under-shirt. 



The prisoners were sent out to exercise in the open air nine hours 

 a week ; the exercise was for one hour at a time ; the men walked 

 in circles, and every ten minutes they ran for a hundred and fifty 

 yards. They were all supplied with work, and were for the most 

 part employed in making mats and matting of cocoa-fiber and other 

 materials ; some worked at tailoring and shoemaking, and a few had 

 other work to perform. 



All the prisoners were weighed on admission, and at the latter end 

 of every calendar month during their stay. 



The number of prisoners over whom these observations extended 

 was four thousand ; the period of time occupied, ten years ; the aver- 

 age number weighed monthly, three hundred and seventy-two ; and 

 the total number of weighings, forty -four thousand and four. 

 . The men had all been weighed by Mr. Milner or under his superin- 

 tendence, and the series of observations was unbroken. 



The results of these weighings were tabulated on various bases, 

 with a view to isolate the effect of a certain number of variable on 

 the gain or loss of weight among these prisoners, and to determine the 

 amount of influence exerted by each of these conditions. 



The conditions selected for investigation were : 



1. The season of the year. 



2. Tbe period of imprisonment. 



3. The employment in prison. 



4. The age of the prisoners on admission. 



5. The height of prisoners on admission. 



The influence exerted by each of these conditions was well marked, 

 and, with one exception, viz., the influence of season, the deductions 

 were such as would have been anticipated. 



The first showed the influence of the season of the year on the 

 weight of a number of men placed during the entire year under cir- 

 cumstances of food, clothing, and work which did not differ, and who, 

 for the greater part of the day, were in a temperature which did not 

 vary greatly between the hottest and the coldest months. Under such 



