NO. I AIR AND TUBERCULOSIS — HINSDALE IO3 



the chest, on metabolism and on the activity of the digestive organs, 

 and has come to the conclusion that singing is one of the exercises 

 most conducive to health. (Knopf.) 



CHAPTER VII. FRESH AIR SCHOOLS FOR THE TUBERCULOUS; 



VENTILATION 



Under the name of " Waldschule " these have recently been estab- 

 lished in Germany. The first was opened at Charlottenburg, Berlin, 

 August I, 1904, and closed its first term October 29th of the same 

 year with 120 scholars. The results of the first year were very 

 encouraging, the average increase in the weight of the children 

 was five pounds, and the Forest School has been regularly opened 

 each year. 



The credit of its establishment belongs to the " Vaterliindischer 

 Frauenverein " of Charlottenburg. This patriotic association of 

 women selected children either suspected of tuberculosis or with 

 the disease already established for the Forest School. In this way 

 educational facilities are provided for children whose condition ren- 

 ders them unsuitable for the public schools and at the same time 

 avoids the necessity of sending them to sanatoria where there is little 

 or no provision for teaching. 



At Charlottenburg they put up so-called " Doecker barracks " or 

 transportable buildings of light construction. There was one school 

 barrack, containing two class-rooms and one teachers' room. The 

 second barrack was used for household purposes. There was also 

 an open " liege-halle " towards the south where the children may 

 remain during bad weather. A light frame structure contains wash 

 rooms and a bath-room with tub and douche. Three schoolmasters 

 and one schoolmistress give instruction. The children were dis- 

 tributed in six classes of about twenty each. This is smaller than 

 in the public schools where there are from forty-five to sixty in a 

 class. The sessions never lasted over two hours continuously." 



This school has now grown so as to accommodate 240 children. 



A second school is located in ]\I.-Gladbach in the Rheinprovinz. 

 It was opened in 1906 for sixty children between eight and fourteen 

 years of age. 



A third one is in Muhlhausen, Reichslande, Elsass-Lothringen, 

 Southwest Germany. It was opened in 1906 and the physician in 

 charge is Dr. Bienstock. 



' For further particulars of this school, see article by Dr. J. Nietner, Tuber- 

 culosis, May. 1905. 



