510 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



If Dr. Hammond's statement be correct that many school chil- 

 dren of the present day are oppressed mentally and physically by 

 too many and too hard studies, it is imperative that parents, 

 teachers, and even pupils should know what work the child's 

 brain and body can and ought to bear. But this statement of Dr. 

 Hammond will cause the introduction of the studies of physiology 

 and hygiene to be objected to by some on the ground that any 

 additional studies will weigh too heavily upon the children. This 

 objection is a valid one if the prescribed lessons are to be merely 

 memorized by pupils, and if the children are to be rigorously 

 marked for not remembering. Improperly taught, as these sub- 

 jects too frequently are, they become distasteful to the pupil, dis- 

 couraging to the teacher, and are calculated to do more harm than 

 good. Properly taught, they will not be merely additional studies 

 for the pupil to grind out with tears and labor and vexation of 

 spirit, but will be welcomed because they lighten the work im- 

 posed by the routine of school-life. 



Until very recently, in order to obey the precept, " Know thy- 

 self," the teaching has been almost altogether anatomical, dry 

 descriptions of the position, shape, and use of bones, muscles, and 

 the various tissues of the body. Unfortunately, much of this sort 

 of teaching still prevails, even for young children, and some of 

 the books in use foster such teaching. Fortunately, many of the 

 books devote more space to physiology than to anatomy, but a 

 few only give much attention to hygiene, which is the most prac- 

 tical of the three studies, but its study should be associated with 

 that of the other two. 



Says Dr. Parkes, the eminent sanitarian: "Hygiene aims at 

 rendering growth more perfect, decay less rapid, life more vigor- 

 ous, and death more remote." Information that will help to effect 

 these ends is what is needed by all who wish to enjoy and accom- 

 plish most during life. While it is of interest to know what 

 bones are, and how many there are in the body, where the loca- 

 tion of the heart is, and what are its functions, it is of more prac- 

 tical importance for all of us to know what will keep the bones in 

 sound condition, and what we should or should not do in order 

 that our hearts may serve us faithfully many years. The practice 

 of hygienic laws, as well as the study of hygiene, is needed both in 

 and out of schools much more than mere anatomical and physio- 

 logical knowledge. Dr. Stephen Smith, as President of the Ameri- 

 can Public Health Association, voiced the opinion of many sani- 

 tarians when, in 1873, in an address before the association, he said : 

 " Were a well-digested system of education in hygienic matters, 

 which so vitally concern the well-being of every person, adopted 

 and put in practice with anything like the vigor with which we 

 insist upon the study of the common and useful branches, like 



