176 Heredity and Child Culture 



Aside from infection the infants in institu- 

 tions often progressively lose weight and lie in 

 rows of cots in an apathetic condition, as there 

 are usually too few attendants to take them up 

 for needed change and exercise. It is especi- 

 ally at night that babies may lie unattended 

 from this cause. They rarely get enough fresh 

 outside air : oxygen is needed as well as food to 

 keep them in vigor. All these factors result in 

 the devitalized babies so often seen in institu- 

 tions. In warm climates they suffer much less 

 from confinement in institutions, owing to the 

 fact that windows may be kept open and their 

 cots can be placed on porches or in courtyards. 



Owing to the facts here noted, the drift of 

 opinion among thoughtful workers is strongly 

 against the collective management of these 

 cases, especially when the numbers are large. 

 There has been an extraordinary agreement on 

 this question among those who have had the 

 widest opportunity for observation and experi- 

 ment. 



As far back as 1909, a conference on the care 

 of dependent children was held at Washington 



