POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



711 



mastered. In all these cases the examina- 

 tion test proves that the knowledge in ques- 

 tion has not been assimilated, has not been 

 converted into faculty. The very ac:. of 

 reproducing knowledge in the pupil's own 

 words or acts is one of the best means of 

 converting it into faculty ; but it is not the 

 only means. The process is not complete 

 when isolated facts, nor even when divisions 

 of a subject, have passed through the mind 

 and been reproduced. All this is necessary, 

 but it is not enough. It is but a means to 

 an end, and the end is the comprehension of 

 a subject as a whole, and the comprehension 

 of the relations of the various parts to one 

 another and to the whole. . . . Nor is even 

 this all. The process of learning is not com- 

 plete till the pupil can apply his knowledge 

 in some practical way. . . • Examination 

 consists not merely in reproducing knowl- 

 edge imparted or acquired, but in making 

 practical application of knowledge, in test- 

 ing power and skill. And hence on this 

 ground also — the ground of practical appli- 

 cation as well as that of reproduction — ex- 

 amination, seeing that it is not only a test 

 of application and reproduction, but an exer- 

 cise in application and a means of the develop- 

 ment of power and skill, must be regarded as 

 an element of teaching what is good." 



Climate and Health. — The modifying 

 effects of differences in age deserve more 

 attention than they have received in the dis- 

 cussion of the influence of climate upon 

 health. The question is a practical one, and 

 admits, according to the Lancet, of some 

 fairly definite rules and principles. In gen- 

 eral, children respond more readily to change 

 than older persons. They commonly do well 

 at the seaside ; they often benefit signally 

 by a sea-voyage, and do not suffer severely 

 from the discomforts attending one. They 

 suffer more than grown people from the de- 

 pressing influences of city life ; and, in a 

 large proportion of cases, they are not spe- 

 cially benefited by the climate of high alti- 

 tudes. The explanation of the love of chil- 

 dren for the sea is that they are benefited by 

 it, because they are commonly in a condi- 

 tion to bear stimulation, not having used-up 

 nervous systems. They are attracted by the 

 sea and its products, and by the amusements 

 natural to the seaside ; and some of their 



most common ailments are among the affec- 

 tions most amenable to sea influences. The 

 advantages of mountain air to them are not 

 so conspicuous, but much has yet to be 

 learned on this subject before it can be dis- 

 cussed with full intelligence. Elderly peo- 

 ple in general do well with equabiUty and 

 moderate warmth, bear cold badly, and are 

 most benefited by abundant sunshine. High 

 altitudes are rarely suitable to them, and 

 often injurious; and they do best in level 

 places, where there is abundant shelter. 

 They may or may not benefit by the seaside 

 or a sea-voyage, but these measures can not 

 be recommended with the same confidence 

 as to children. In nothing is the superior 

 recuperative power of youth over age more 

 apparent than in the greater readiness and 

 certainty of its response to change of cli- 

 mate. We can confidently recommend to 

 the young measures which we suggest du- 

 biously to the old. In fact, change is rarely 

 at fault in the earlier years of life, whereas 

 it is often a doubtful and sometimes a haz- 

 ardous experiment for the aged. In the 

 case of the old, we need to have solid rea- 

 sons and tolerably definite prospects before 

 we induce them to give up the comforts and 

 safety of home for the uncertainties of travel. 



The United States Life-saying Seryice. 



— Systematic methods for the preservation 

 of life from shipwreck were not adopted 

 till very late in history. According to Mr. 

 Horace L. Piper, of our Life-saving Service, 

 the eighteenth century was " well in its twi- 

 light " before any organized effort, and that 

 private, was made for this purpose. The 

 first life-boat was not invented till after our 

 independence was achieved, and George 

 Washington had been two years President 

 when the first serious steps in that direc- 

 tion were taken in England. The United 

 States was abreast of other coimtries in this 

 work. The Humane Society, organized in 

 Massachusetts in 1*786, devoted itself to it 

 in 17S9. The Life-saving Service of the 

 United States was begun in 1848, was 

 made more effective in 1871, and was organ- 

 ized into a separate bureau in 1878. For 

 its purposes, the coasts of the Atlantic, 

 the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, 

 and the Pacific (excepting Alaska), com- 

 prising more than ten thousand miles, are 



