132 POISONOUS PLANTS 



sions or prejudices, but there appears no reason to 

 suppose that the observations were not fairly made 

 and accurately recorded. The consensus of results 

 in the two institutions is decidedly unfavourable to 

 the use of the weed. Dr. Seaver, who conducted 

 the experiments at Yale, found that those students 

 who did not use tobacco showed a gain over those 

 who were addicted to its use of 20 per cent, in 

 height, 25 per cent, in weight, and 66 per cent, in 

 lung capacity. Dr. Seaver has kept up his observ- 

 ations for eight years, and finds that they show 

 an equally decided advantage for non-smokers 

 during the whole period. A fact which seems to 

 afford an incidental but remarkable confirmation 

 of the conclusions thus reached by actual measure- 

 ments is that not only do all the boating crews 

 abstain from tobacco, but that among the whole 

 body of competitors in the different fields of 

 athletics there is but one smoker. At Amherst 

 the study of effects was in the case of the graduat- 

 ing class. In this class the measurements and 

 tests showed that 71 per cent, had gained and 29 

 per cent, had remained stationary or fallen off 

 during the last four years. Separating the smokers 

 from the non-smokers, it was found that the latter 

 had gained 24 per cent, more than the former in 

 weight, 37 per cent, more in height, and 42 per 

 cent, more in chest-girth. Still further, those who 

 did not use tobacco were found to have an advan- 



