ATHLETICS FOR CITY GIRLS. 149 



session the maximum of properly arranged exercise in the mini- 

 mum of time. 



First of all, every out-of-door sport that she can suitably un- 

 dertake should be open to her, both in the sense of opportunity 

 and also in that of consenting public opinion. The only two 

 sports that are practicable during any considerable part of the 

 city season are tennis and bicycling, for rowing is limited to too 

 short a season to be considered, and riding is by reason of expense 

 not open to the general public. As regards tennis, she is already 

 possessor of the game so far as knowledge and public opinion are 

 concerned, and, although objections have been raised to it on the 

 score of its being too violent exercise, there appears to be nothing 

 essential to the game which a healthy young woman may not en- 

 gage in, if she is properly dressed. A girl who is delicate or who 

 has any organic disorder should certainly consult her medical 

 adviser before playing any very active game, but these exceptions 

 should not be allowed to rule the game out for the large class of 

 girls who are physically qualified to enjoy and profit by it. The 

 old rule of moderation in all things must obtain in this exercise 

 as elsewhere. 



The mention of the bicycle for women opens a field of mild 

 controversy which is only important because some of the objec- 

 tions to its use are taken from the hygienic standpoint as well as 

 from the social. Many objectors contend that the wheel is as un- 

 desirable for women as the sewing machine, while the majority 

 of parents seriously object to what they feel to be the unpleasant 

 publicity of the exercise. As a matter of health, which is of the 

 first importance, the writer has made many inquiries among 

 women who use the wheel regarding the efi^ects of the exercise 

 upon them, and has failed to discover a single case of injury or 

 poor health resulting from its use. On the contrary, the testi- 

 mony to its exhilarating and healthful effect is universal. Sev- 

 eral other American physicians, qualified to speak from experi- 

 ence in their practice among women, have warmly commended its 

 use. From the standpoint of a symmetrical exercise, the position 

 is preferable to that on a horse. The movement is unlike that of 

 the sewing machine in several important respects : Instead of 

 being bowed over in a cramped position which restricts the action 

 of lungs, digestive and pelvic organs alike, the woman rider sits 

 erect, with full opportunity for chest expansion, while the differ- 

 ence between the environment of the sewing woman and the 

 riding woman as regards indoor and out-of-door life is most im- 

 portant. 



The bicycle is one of the few out-of-door sports open to the 

 average woman by reason of its convenience, comparative inex- 

 pensiveness, and pleasure ; and if it need not be ruled out from 



