November 8, 1901.] 



SCIENCE. 



731 



meet the needs of students of medicine in the 

 acquirement of knowledge of those principles 

 on which modern hygienic practices are based ; 

 to aid students in architecture in comprehend- 

 ing the sanitary requirements in ventilation, 

 heating, water supply and sewage disposal, and 

 to aid physicians and health officers in fanailiar- 

 izing themselves with the advances made in 

 hygienic practices in recent years.' The vol- 

 ume, while not exhaustive, is accurate and will 

 meet the demand in a very satisfactory manner. 

 We regret, however, that neither this book nor 

 Harrington's volume refers to the important 

 subject of sexual hygiene and the prevention 

 of venereal diseases, which affect not only the 

 offender, but innocent wives, the offspring and 

 not infrequently other innocent persons. Ac- 

 cording to Fournier, one-seventh of the popu- 

 lation of Paris is syphilitic, and Morrow, from 

 statistics gathered in New York, believes it is 

 quite possible that Fournier's figures may apply 

 to New York. Neisser holds that gonorrhea is, 

 with the exception of perhaps measles, the 

 most widespread of all diseases. Other au- 

 thorities have computed that 80 per cent, of all 

 deaths from disease of the uterus and its an- 

 nexes are of gonorrheal origin, while accord- 

 ing to Professor S. M. Burnett, of Georgetown 

 University, 15,000 of the 50,000 blind persons 

 in the United States lost their sight from blen- 

 orrhea in the newborn, which, according Jto 

 his calculation, involves a financial loss to the 

 commonwealth of seven and one-half millions 

 annually. 



The measures which have been proposed for 

 the control of the social evil and the prevention 

 of its consequences are numerous enough, but 

 not so easy of practical application. On the 

 whole, it is believed that the remedy lies in 

 public education. Public lecturers on the 

 purity of man commit a serious mistake, how- 

 ever, when they picture the consequences of 

 the social evil, without offering a suitable 

 remedy. We should make a strong plea in 

 favor of continence, and tell our young men 

 that while the sexual passion is very strong, it 

 can be accelerated or delayed, excited or 

 lowered, by the influence of the will. We 

 should assure them that by the cultivation of 

 pure thought, removal of temptation, normal 



mental and vigorous physical exercise, conti- 

 nence may not only become possible, but easy. 



None of the books in the above list will ful- 

 fill a more important mission than the modest 

 volume on School Hygiene, by Professor Edward 

 R. Shaw, of the New York University. It is a 

 timely book belonging to the Teachers' Profes- 

 sional Library series, and it is hoped it will enjoy 

 a wide circulation, because, as the author very 

 properly says, " The home may be educated to 

 a great extent through the school. As the 

 school, therefore, reacts closely upon the home, 

 a knowledge of that which is hygienically best 

 can in no other way be so quickly and 

 thoroughly diffused." 



The chapters treat of the school room, the 

 school building, school grounds, warming and 

 ventilation, sanitation, school baths, school 

 furniture, posture and physical exercise, eye- 

 sight and hearing, handwriting, conditions con- 

 ducive to healthful mental work, and diseases 

 which concern the school. Every chapter is 

 replete with information of great value and 

 should be thoroughly absorbed by architects, 

 school boards, teachers and parents. The book 

 is accurate and reliable and the style clear and 

 convincing. 



During the year ending June 30, 1900, there 

 were 15,341,220 children enrolled in the com- 

 mon schools of our country. When we consider 

 that the mental and physical vigor of a nation 

 depends largely on the environments of child- 

 hood and youth, it seems strange that up to 

 within forty years little or no attention should 

 have been paid to the hygiene of schools. 



The author treats this important subject in a 

 systematic and comprehensive manner, and no 

 one can overestimate the practical results of his 

 valuable teachings. Chapters IV. and V. are 

 especially important, treating as they do of 

 warming, ventilation, latrines, out-houses for 

 country schools, plumbing, water supply, drink- 

 ing-cups, daily cleaning of the school building, 

 the cleaning of desks and seats, the disinfection 

 of pencils and books, etc. Chapter VI., on 

 school baths, should attract widespread atten- 

 tion, and shows what has been done in Europe, 

 where the idea originated, and also in Boston, 

 New York, and Chicago. According to the 

 author, two distinct aims are held in view in the 



