6o8 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The influence upon health may be summed up very generally as 

 follows : The maximum per cent of good health, 78-1, is reported at 

 the time of entering college ; during college-life this falls off to 74*9 

 per cent, to be followed by a rise to 77"9 per cent since graduation ; 

 fair health shows a gain from 2 to 8 per cent during college-life, fol- 

 lowed by a decrease to 5 per cent since that time ; while there was an 

 actual decrease of 2 per cent during college-life of those having poor 

 health, the figures being respectively 19*8 and 17'3 per cent, no appre- 

 ciable change being shown for the years since graduation. 



From the comparison tables it is further shown that 138, or 19-6 

 per cent, report a deterioration in health during college-life ; 418, 

 59-3 per cent, no change ; 149, 21-1 per cent, show an improvement. 

 This result may be compared with the returns of the inquiries insti- 

 tuted by the Massachusetts Board among the worting-girls of Boston, as 

 follows : Of the 705 female college graduates, 138, or 19-58 per cent, 

 show a deterioration in health during college-life, and of the 1,032 

 working-girls, ICO, or 10-09 per cent, show a deterioration in health, 

 during ■w'orking-timc, these figures indicating a greater loss of health, 

 of 3'49 per cent, reported by the college graduates. For the 166 -work- 

 ing-girls, whose health deteriorated, four had quite good herllth at the 

 time of the investigation, 128 Avere in fair health, and 34 in poor 

 health. Of the 138 college graduates whose health deteriorated, how- 

 ever, 42 report a decline in health from excellent to good, or a slight 

 change only. Making allowances for this, there is a greater loss of 

 health of 2-47 per cent reported by the working-girls of Boston. 



Of the 705 reporting, 417, or 59 per cent, mention some disorder, 

 and the total number of disorders reported is 865. The returns re- 

 garding the causation of disease, while not technical nor detailed 

 enough for scientific value, are suggestive. 



Of the 417 reporting disorders, 276 give the cause or causes of dis- 



