ATHLETICS FOR CITY GIRLS. 151 



always provided that by preliminary exercises they have gained 

 sufficient strength and skill. 



Our young pupil at the close of her hour's exercise takes a 

 sponge or a spray bath or none at all, according to her prescrip- 

 tion; always a brisk rub and a complete change of undercloth- 

 ing are advised. The general benefits to her of such training lie 

 in the fact, first, that it exercises the entire body in a systematic, 

 practicable manner, as no other city exercise can do. A horse, 

 the bicycle, or a long walk, all admirable, require fair weather 

 for their enjoyment. The gymnasium, dry, clean, cheerful, invig- 

 orating, offers variety, companionship, and physical recreation 

 equally in storm or shine, and this is no small consideration in 

 arranging a programme for the physical improvement of the city 

 girl during vthe winter months. The regularity of the exercise is 

 not the least of its benefits. When one has made a financial sac- 

 rifice for the pleasure of keeping a regular engagement, she has 

 an excellent guarantee that the engagement will be met. We are 

 all creatures of habit, and advantage should be taken of the fact 

 in the physical as well as in the intellectual realm, and Nature's 

 rewards are most generous to the child of system. 



The particular benefits of gymnastic and athletic work for 

 girls have been demonstrated by exact methods more palpably 

 than is generally known. A system of measurements and tests 

 has been introduced in many gymnasiums, as already noted, 

 whereby the physical proportions of the individual are taken upon 

 entering and also at the expiration of the term of exercise, and 

 the resulting evidence has become not only highly interesting but 

 conclusive as to the influence of such systematic exercise upon 

 health and development. It is not unusual for girls to gain in 

 six months' time several pounds in weight, two inches in chest 

 circumference, and from twenty to fifty cubic inches in inspira- 

 tory power, while the dynamometers may show an increase in 

 muscular strength of from fifty to one hundred per cent over the 

 original tests. 



The constitutional benefits are not less marked and are by far 

 the most important. To general inquiries regarding health the 

 common reply is, "I feel so much better than I did in every way." 

 In one, the chronic headache is relieved ; the tendency to colds in 

 another has been arrested ; in the third, functional pain has dis- 

 appeared. The body is more ready for work and more capable 

 for it in every sense. The stimulus of muscular activity has had 

 a profound influence upon the functioning of the whole economy. 

 What is it, after all, that most of us need for health but better 

 functioning ? The majority of these young women have not any 

 disease; they have simply been curtailed in their opportunities 

 for generous lung and limb development, and they are still young 



