140 THE HUMAN BOUY. 



fact that gymnastic exercises are commonly carried on in- 

 doors is a great drawback to their value. When the weather 

 permits, out-of-door exercise is far better than that carried 

 on in even the best ventilated and lighted gymnasium. 

 For those who are so fortunate as to possess a garden there 

 is no better exercise, at suitable seasons, than an hour's 

 daily digging in it; since this calls into play nearly all the 

 muscles of the Body: while of games, the modern one of 

 lawn tennis is perhaps the best from a hygienic view that 

 has ever been introduced, since it not only demands great 

 muscular agility in every part of the Body, but trains the 

 hand to work with the eye in a way that walking, running, 

 rowing and similar pursuits do not. For the same reasons 

 baseball, cricket, and boxing are excellent. 



Exercise in Infancy and Childhood. Young children 

 have not only to strengthen their muscles by exercise but 

 also to learn to use them. Watch an infant trying to con- 

 vey something to its mouth, and you will see how little 

 control it has over its muscles. On the other hand the 

 healthy infant is never at rest when awake; it constantly 

 throws its limbs around, grasps at all objects within its 

 reach, coils itself about, and so gradually learns to exer- 

 cise its powers. It is a good plan to leave every healthy 

 child, more than a few months old, several times daily on 

 a large bed or even on a rug or carpeted floor, with as little 

 covering as is safe and that as loose as possible, and let it 

 wriggle about as it pleases. In this way it will not only 

 enjoy itself thoroughly, but gain strength and a knowledge 

 of how to use its limbs. To keep a healthy child swathed 

 all day in tight and heavy clothes is cruelty. 



When a little later the infant commences to crawl, it is 

 safe to permit it as much as it wishes; but unwise to tempt 

 it when disinclined. The bones and muscles are still iee- 

 ble and may be injured by too much work. The same is 

 true of commencing walking. 



From four or five to twelve years of arre almost any form 

 of exercise should be permitted, or even encouraged. At 

 this time, however, the epiphyses of many bones are not 

 firmly united to their shafts and so anything tending to 



