152 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



enougli to respond to the stimulus of well-directed exercise in this 

 gratifying and substantial manner. 



The training of the nervous system, which is the immediate 

 result of a systematic practice of gymnastics, is recognized as one 

 of the greatest benefits of such exercise. It is known to physi- 

 ologists that every group of muscles is controlled by certain nerve 

 centers in the brain, and it is believed that in cases where the life 

 and habits of the individual do not call out the activity of all the 

 muscles, the brain areas which govern those muscles to that ex- 

 tent fail of development. In certain lower animals, for instance, 

 that have been born blind, it is found that the visual area in the 

 brain has wasted away; there being no occupation for its energy. 

 Nature has permitted it to disappear. 



As illustrating the value of physical training in stimulating 

 brain function, we have a series of observations made by Dr. 

 Wey, Medical Director of the Elmira Reformatory, showing how 

 dullards who took the lowest standard in scholarship, and in mor- 

 als as well, became by simple but regular physical drill first more 

 attentive, then more intelligent as to orders, less awkward (i. e., 

 with better co-ordination of the body), and gradually, as the stimu- 

 lation of the will and energy proceeded, actually better scholars, 

 rising in some cases from the third to the first grade, and improv- 

 ing not only in physical appearance but in moral character. 

 These results were entirely attributed to the awakening of mental 

 energy through the reflex stimulation of muscular exercise. 



To these benefits we may oppose the only objections we have 

 known. The first is on the score of danger. As a matter of fact, 

 there is little or no testimony to put upon this side that does not 

 equally apply to many forms of exercise practiced by women, 

 walking included. The theory that girls should not run or climb 

 is long since exploded. Sick girls should not run or climb until 

 they are well, but every physician knows that there would be 

 fewer sick girls if running and climbing had always been part of 

 a girl's early life. 



Girls who have organic disease are not fit subjects for a gym- 

 nasium there being a very few exceptions to this rule. Girls 

 with serious spinal curvature require special exercises in the phy- 

 sician's office. Almost all other girls can only be benefited in a 

 well-ordered gymnasium if they obey the rules and follow the ad- 

 vice oflPered. Any harm that can come from the so-called feats of 

 the gymnasium arises mainly from the possibility that the pupil 

 will not have prepared herself sufficiently for the exercises by 

 previous preliminary training. Oversight and prescription on the 

 part of the director obviate these difficulties. It should be under- 

 stood that the special value in many of these exercises lies in their 

 educational influence upon the nervous system. They call for a 



