THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 



2 4 I 



made sick by it, shows his lack of refinement as well as 

 moral sense. Other evidence of the same character is 

 the filthy habit of spitting on sidewalks, floors, stoves, and 

 other objects, with "which some smokers and chewers of 

 tobacco disgust all cleanly people. 



326. Harmful Effect of Tobacco 

 upon the Mental Development of 

 Young Students. Our military and 

 naval academies and many semi- 

 naries and colleges very properly 

 prohibit the use of tobacco by their 

 students. The honors of the great 

 schools, academies, and colleges are 

 very largely taken by the abstainers 

 from tobacco. This is proved by 

 the result of repeated and exten- 

 sive comparisons of the advanced 

 classes in a great number of sec- 

 ondary schools and colleges both 

 in this country and in Europe. 



The reason for this is plain. The 

 mind of the habitual user of tobacco 

 is apt to lose its capacity for study 

 or successful effort. This is espe- 

 cially true of boys and young men. 

 The growth and development of the 

 brain having been once retarded, 

 the youthful user of tobacco has 

 established a permanent drawback which may hamper him 

 all his life. The keenness of his mental perception may be 

 dulled and his ability to seize and hold an abstract thought 

 may be impaired. 



FIG. 150. A Great Nerve 

 (Plantar) and its Branches 

 which supply th'e Bottom 

 of the Feet. 



Note the cut tendons of the 

 great muscles of the leg. 



