124 SELF- POLLUTION. 



forever abandoned. If persuasion and instruction will not do, other 

 measures, such as will prove efficient, must be resorted to. 



In case of a son, perhaps the better way will be for the services 

 of the family physician to be engaged. He can portray to the mis- 

 juidt'd young man the horrors and evils of the habit in their bear- 

 ing, and his caution and advice will have weight. 



How to Detect and Prevent Secret Vice. Examina- 

 tion of the linen is usually conclusive evidence in the case of boys. 

 lue genital organs, too, receive an undue share of attention. Tin- 

 patient should be constantly watched during the day until he fails 

 asleep at night, and be required to arise directly he wakes in the 

 morning. In confirmed cases the night-dress should be so arranged 

 that the hands cannot touch the genital organs. 



Under no circumstances should nurses ever be permitted unneces- 

 sarily to handle or expose the genital organs of children, and children 

 should be taught at the very earliest period that it is immodest and 

 even wrong, to handle the parts. When at school, as well as at 

 home, every boy should have a separate led. The neglect of this 

 important advice is a- frequent cause of bad habits being taught 

 and practiced. In addition to a separate bed, he should be able to 

 dress and undress apart from the observation of otJiers. The 

 necessary privacy may be secured by partitions placed between the 

 beds, but not extending up to the ceiling, so as to interfere as litth 

 as possible with the ventilation. One of the few articles necessary 

 in the sleeping room is a sponge hath. This, with a good-sized 

 piece of honeycomb sponge, and a large towel or sheet, complete the 

 outfit. The regular daily use of the sponge bath conduces greatly 

 to the cure or prevention of self -abuse. The too free use of meat, 

 highly-seasoned dishes, coffee, wine, late suppers, etc., strongly tend 

 to excite animal propensities, which directly predispose to vice. 

 A Terrible Evil. In the City of Chicago in one school, 



an investigation proved that over sixty children under thirteen 



years of age were habitually practicing this degrading, health and 



life destroying habit, while among the older ones the habit was 



even worse, though not so easily detected. 



In a country school in Black Hawk Co., Iowa, one bad boy 



secretly taught all the rest until the entire school practiced this 

 private vice during the noon hour when the teacher was away. 



In New Orleans nearly all the pupils in a large femaleboard* 



ing school were practicing this horrible vice and the scandal of tht 



fearful discovery is not yet forgotten. 



Worth Millions. The foregoing article on self -abuse 

 should be in the hands of every young person as it would be the 

 means of saving many bright intellects from becoming stupid or 

 imbeciles^ or lunatics or from filling premature graves and ot 

 worth to them more than Astor^s millions. 



