CONDITIONS OF HEALTH IN BONES. 163 



and relaxation of their connecting ligaments. If, 

 again, they be disproportionate to the muscular 

 power, their effect will be to exhaust instead of in- 

 creasing the strength of the body. 



From the exposition I have given of the laws of 

 exercise, as affecting the muscular and osseous sys- 

 tems, the absurdity of expecting to strengthen either 

 the one or the other by the use of stays, or by lying 

 for hours on a horizontal or inclined plane, will be 

 abundantly manifest. There is no royal road to 

 health and strength, and no method by which, while 

 exercise is dispensed with, its advantages can be 

 obtained. In the intervals between exercise, reclining 

 on a plane is very useful in delicate fast-growing 

 girls ; but it should be continued only till the feeling 

 of fatigue goes off, and never be resorted to for 

 hours in succession, as it often is on the false notion 

 of its being conducive to strength. 



In this chapter, as well as in that on the muscles, 

 I have dwelt perhaps too long on the principles by 

 which exercise ought to be regulated ; but as the 

 subject is little understood by those who have the 

 direction of youth, and as it is of paramount import- 

 ance, I am inclined to hope that the tediousness of 

 repetition may be forgiven, if clearness and convic- 

 tion are obtained. 



