84 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1(S99. 



nervous. Does it seem as if Whittier could have referred to 

 American o-jrls wiien he wrote of girlhood 



" With its solid curves 

 Of healthful strength 

 And painless uerves." 



As a race the Americans have developed a nervous energy, 

 perhat)s by generations of living in this country that has })roved 

 a splendid possession, not only in the development of the country 

 but of the race. V\ e need not be surprised, then, at its appear- 

 ance in the children, but we must remember that, unduly 

 excited, it will react upon a feeble or immature body to its 

 injury. Do we act wisely in our attempt to follow the sturdy 

 Germans in providing kindergarten schools for our nervous 

 American babies? 



It seems to me that a s^ood wholesome lettins; alone, as far as 

 mental stimulation goes, during the tirst seven or eight years of 

 life might be a benetit to us as a people. Such a course must 

 result in fewer pale, puny, little children in our schools, fewer 

 delicate, nervous boys and girls, and stronger men and women. 

 The malady common to us, known among foreign physicians as 

 Americanitis, would certainly receive a check. It is excep- 

 tional to find a strong, vigorous mind in a feeble body. When 

 shall we lay the foundations of health and strength if not in 

 childhood? 



By my own observation I have found that a delicate child 

 may be made strong by insisting upon abundant sleep, nourish- 

 ing food, an out-door life, as far as our climate admits, and 

 merry companionship during the first seven years of life, no 

 intellectual stimulus pure and simple being allowed. A healthy 

 child l)y this course lays the foundation of strong, vigorous 

 maturity. It is generally believed that keeping the child from 

 school till eight years of age makes him backward in his school 

 work, but I am convinced that this is not true. A child of 

 average ability, eight years old, easily takes the first two years' 

 work in one year, and a quick, bright child can take the first 

 three years. He is generally able also to combine the third and 

 fourth, or fourth and fifth years. 



