148 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



mucli below their own possibilities of development, and suggests 

 what might have been done for them in this respect years before, 

 had similar advantages been offered them earlier in life. The 

 tests taken of " lung capacity " on the spirometer before and after 

 the course, as well as measurements of the chest circumference, 

 tell by their marked improvement the same story. 



Apropos of the lack of muscular vigor in city-bred subjects, 

 we may note that oculists believe that the very marked increase 

 in myopia among Americans during the past few years, which is 

 especially noticeable in city life, is partly due to muscular relaxa- 

 tion, which deprives the tissues of the eye of their proper sup- 

 port and permits the degree of bulging of the globe which is an 

 essential condition of this disease. 



But granting the fact that her physical development is not 

 perfect, what can we say of her general health ? Passing by 

 serious diseases, it is evident that our city girl has a variety of 

 functional complaints which should have no place in the physical 

 history of young people. Headaches, backache, dyspepsias, neu- 

 ralgias are far more common than they should be. Nervously 

 she is not stable, as the increasing number of nervous difficulties, 

 neurasthenias, etc., would indicate. The emotional strain of con- 

 ventional city life, which is felt more by the society girl than by 

 the schoolgirl, is not an ideal atmosphere in which to cultivate 

 the perfect flower of a stable character, and those who apparently 

 bear it well do so at some expense of strength and nerve. 



This hasty glance at the features of our city girl would lead us 

 to believe that she requires not necessarily less attention for her 

 brain, but more for her body than has hitherto fallen to her lot. 

 She shows the lack of influences that will grow muscle and sedate 

 nerve and promote functional health in a word, some definite 

 physical training. Her functional complaints are such as the 

 experienced physician treats with exercise and pure air, and her 

 narrow chest and unsymmetrical body will find their only recti- 

 fiers in these same influences. 



Given the limitations of a town environment, where and how 

 shall she gain these things ? All intelligent persons agree upon 

 the necessity for exercise, the manner of taking it being perhaps 

 the possible point of controversy. As for the amount required, 

 physiologists have agreed that in general terms a man requires 

 exercise equal to a walk of nine to ten miles daily, and we may 

 therefore estimate that a woman should have not less than an 

 equivalent of five miles to maintain her in good health. Our city 

 girl can not run wild in the fields to obtain this exercise, or live 

 the life of a gypsy. She must be educated mentally as well as 

 physically, and the problem evidently resolves itself into pro- 

 viding some means which will give in our rather limited winter 



