658 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the diet. She was given a food rich in materials to nourish the 

 nervous system, and within a week it was observed by all who 

 knew her that there was a marked improvement in her tempera- 

 ment. After two weeks of proper nourishment she had regained 

 her former restfulness, sleeping peacefully a good portion of the 

 time ; and gradually the expressions of irritability and moodiness 

 disappeared. Her face would now light up as formerly with 

 pleasant smiles whenever any one she knew was about, and once 

 more she appeared to every one as a very good -feeling, happy 

 child. From that time on care was taken with her food, keeping 

 it rich in albuminous elements, and her intellectual and emo- 

 tional development was most satisfactory in every way. Some 

 time after her diet was enriched it was learned definitely that the 

 food she had been getting just previously was quite deficient in 

 nutritive elements. 



Brain fatigue in childhood, as physicians well know, is some- 

 times due to pathological conditions wherein the peculiar ele- 

 ments needed to nourish the brain are not assimilated from the 

 food. X - and Y - are two children of the same family, 

 who at the ages of five and seven respectively came under the 

 writer's notice. They were then giving their parents a great 

 deal of trouble. They were highly organized, irritable chil- 

 dren, with whom no one seemed to get along pleasantly. While 

 at home nothing was permanent in its interest for them, and dis- 

 cipline was a serious problem. When they began going to school 

 matters grew worse. While apparently bright children, they did 

 not make rapid progress, and always seemed utterly fatigued at 

 the close of the day's work. When they reached home at night 

 any little thing which crossed their paths would so greatly annoy 

 them that they were much of the time in tears and passions. 

 After every effort had been made by the parents to discover what 

 was the matter, an analysis of the blood was finally decided upon, 

 and it was found that it lacked the right proportion of elements 

 to properly nourish the nervous system. A special diet was then 

 begun, and other treatment resorted to to supply this deficiency. 

 After seven months of this special care sleep had been largely 

 restored, the tendency toward irritability had decreased, and the 

 children could now remain in school all day without becoming 

 unbalanced thereby. They were in reality quite different chil- 

 drenkeener intellectually, and expressing more estimable traits 

 of character. 



Lately a group of similar cases has come to the notice of the 

 writer. The members of a family for several generations have 

 been afflicted with anaemia of the brain, and the children show 

 easily all the evidences of cerebral fatigue. One girl of twelve is 

 characterized by willfulness and carelessness, as her teachers say. 



