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OPINIONS   OF   THE  GERMAN  EDITION   OF  KOTELMANN's 

SCHOOL    HYGIENE 
(Previous  to  the  appearance  of  the  translation  into  English) 

'•  Dr.  Kotelmann  discusses  school  hygiene  in  137  pages;  the  treatise  is 
popular  aud  very  interesting  but  at  the  same  time  rigidly  scientific;  and  he 
makes  due  use  of  the  literature  of  the  subject,  as  was  to  be  expected  from 
the  edftor  of  the  '  Zeitschrift  fiir  Schulgesundheitspflege  '.  The  book  is  also 
to  be  strongly  recommended  to  those  of  the  medical  profession  who  may 
desire  to  get  their  bearings  quickly  in  this  important  chapter  of  hygiene." 
— Dr.  If.  Neumann,  private  docent  of  childrens'  diseases,  University  of 
Berlin,  in  Literaturbeilage  der  Deutschen  medizinischen  Wochenschrift, 
1895.  No.  16,  August  8,  p.  104. 

•'  The  editor  has  secured  for  this  part  of  the  Handbook  as  for  some 
others  the  best  talent,  and  the  readers  of  this  journal  need  not  be  told 
about  the  merits  of  the  writer.  Within  a  very  meagre  compass  for  so  com- 
prehensive a  subject  he  has  succeeded  in  a  truly  masterly  way  in  telling  the 
reader  everything  essential,  and  in  saving  him  from  the  ballast  carried  by 
larger  works  on  school  hygiene.  The  first  section  gives  a  sketch  of  the 
history  of  school  hygiene  in  Germany,  and  in  it  the  reader  will  find  not  a 
few  things  that  are  heedlessly  passed  over  by  larger  works.  In  the  next 
section,  the  hygiene  of  the  school  room  is  discussed  (including  natural  and 
artificial  lighting,  ventilation,  cleaning,  heating,  and  furniture).  I  con- 
sider the  limitation  of  the  work  to  those  points  which  the  teacher  can 
observe  and  control  as  an  exceedingly  happy  one,  the  more  so  since  only 
thus  could  the  treatment  be  thorough.  *  *  *  The  excellence  of  the 
work  comes  into  still  greater  prominence  in  the  second  part,  which  treats  of 
the  hygiene  of  pupils.  The  author  is  here  in  his  special  field  of  labor, 
where  his  work  has  for  so  long  been  crowned  with  marked  success.  Here 
we  find  sketched  with  superior  skill  one  after  another — the  hygiene  of  the 
nervous  system,  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  voice,  and  the  rest  of  the  bod}'.  In 
everything  the  author  proceeds  with  caution,  distinguishing  the  ideal  from 
the  real,  and  striving  only  for  the  possible  and  attainable.  I  would  mention 
in  this  connection  especially  his  treatment  of  mental  fatigue,  recesses, 
afternoon  sessions,  and  vacations.  Teachers  will  find  here  reliable  informa- 
tion free  from  such  exaggerations  as  one  so  often  finds  not  only  on  the 
part  of  doctors  but  also  of  pedagogues  who  have  dabbled  in  medicine. 

"The  discussion  of  the  hygiene  of  the  eye  is  based  upon  a  long  and 
varied  experience.  Perhaps  the  evil  consequences  of  home  work  with  its 
imperfect  conditions  of  illumination  and  seating  might  have  been  more 
strongly  emphasized,  and  the  teacher  urged  to  make  a  fight  against  them 
by  arranging  and  controlling  the  work.  Yet  even  so  we  cannot  be  assured 
of  the  right  result  unless  the  doctor,  especially  the  family  doctor,  is  brought 
into  connection  with  the  school.  If  the  matter  is  to  be  properly  reguluted, 
it  must  seek  advice  from  medical  science,  and  this  book  is  warmly  recom- 
mended to  school  men  to  serve  this  purpose."—  Dr.  Hermann  Schiller,  pro- 
fessor of  pedagogy,  and  superior  privy  school  counsellor,  Giessen,  in  Zeit- 
schrift fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1895,  No.  8,  pp.  504-5. 


SCHOOL    HYGIENE 

"  The  eminent  founder  and  editor  of  the  '  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesund- 
heitspflege '  (Journal  for  School  Hygiene)  has  succeeded  in  giving  us  in  the 
brief  form  of  _137  pages  a  complete  and  critical  treatise,  in  which  every- 
thing essential  is  presented  and  the  less  important  made  accessible  by  bib- 
liographical references.  What  a  vast  mass  of  material  has  been  utilized 
can  be  seen  especially  in  the  introductory  history  of  school  hygiene.  The 
use  of  rare  sources  of  information,  remote  from  the  doctor's  province, 
makes  it  clear  that  the  writer  has  enjoyed  a  literary  as  well  as  a  medi- 
cal training,  a  fact  which  his  well  known  book  'Gesundheitspflege  im  Mit- 
telalter'  (Hygiene  in  the  Middle  Ages)  demonstrates  beautifully.  *  *  * 
We  will  take  the  liberty  of  expressing  to  the  publishers  the  wish  that  they 
issue  an  edition  separate  from  the  Manual.  The  medical  world  will  be  as 
glad  to  receive  it  as  the  pedagogical  for  which  it  was  primarily  intended." 
— Dr.  Schubert,  President  of  the  Commission  for  School  Hygiene  in  Niirn- 
berg,  Miinchener  medizinische  Wochenschrift  (Munich  Medical  Weekly,) 
1895. 

"  To  Dr.  Kotelmann  of  Hamburg  was  entrusted  the  writing  of  the 
hygienic  section  of  the  Handbook  of  Pedagogy  for  Higher  Schools,  which 
is  being  edited  by  Dr.  Baumeister.  A  better  man  could  not  have  been 
selected.  The  author  of  this  interesting  treatise  is  in  fact  not  a  novice.  As 
editor  of  the  '  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege  '  he  has  been  engaged 
with  matters  of  school  hygiene  for  many  years,  and  there  is  no  question 
concerning  the  schools,  the  pupils,  and  their  hygiene  that  he  has  not  had 
occasion  to  study  and  to  treat  in  a  thorough-going  manner  in  the  excellent 
journal  he  is  publishing.  Dr.  Kotelmann  has  realized  admirably  that  a 
publication  designed  for  teachers,  to  be  useful,  must  be  practical  and  free 
from  the  theoretical  discussion  that  encumbers  the  ordinary  hygienic  man- 
uals. He  has  sought  to  limit  his  study  to  those  hygienic  conditions  which 
are  closely  connected  with  the  teacher  and  can  be  modified  by  him;  and 
one  can  but  admire  the  skill  with  which  he  has  executed  the  difficult  task 
he  has  given  himself.  *  *  *  Such  in  brief  is  Dr.  Kotelmann's  treatise, 
which  cannot  be  recommended  too  highly  to  all  those  who  are  occupied  with 
school  hygiene.'1— Dr.  Combe,  Professor  at  the  University  of  Lausanne, 
medical  advisor  of  the  schools  of  Lausanne,  in  Revue  medicale  de  la 
Suisse  Pomande,  October  20,  1895,  No.  10,  pp.  549-550. 

"  *  *  *  On  the  whole,  this  work,  which  is  written  in  a  scientific  and 
conscientious  spirit,  will  be  read  with  profit  not  only  by  those  for  whom  it 
was  designed,  namely,  the  teachers,  but  by  all  hygienists  especially  occupied 
with  school  hygiene." — Dr.  Mangenot,  Medical  Inspector  of  the  Schools  of 
Paris,  in  Revue  d'  Hygiene  et  de  Police  Sanitaire,  1895.  No.  8,  August  20, 
pp.  744-746. 

"This  book  by  Kotelmann  is  the  best  outline  for  the  teacher.  The 
book  is  written  in  an  admirably  concise  style,  and  by  aid  of  numerous 
tables  a  vast  number  of  important  facts  and  principles  are  presented."— 
Prof.  W.  H.  H.  Burnham,  in  The  Pedagogical  Seminary. 


SCHOOL     HYGIENE 


BY 


LUDWIG    KOTELMANN,  PH.D.,   M.D. 

Author  of  a  number  of  books  on  school  hygiene,  founder  of  the  Zeitschrift 
fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  practising  ophtalmologist,  Hamburg 

TRANSLATION    FROM    A   COPY   REVISED   AND   ENLARGED  ESPE- 
CIALLY FOR  THIS  EDITION  HY  THE  AUTHOR 


JOHX  A.  BERGSTROM,  Tn.D. 

Associate   Professor   of    Psychology  and   Pedagogy 

AND 

EDWARD    CONRADI,  M.A. 

Graduate  Student 
INDIANA  UNIVERSITY 


C.  W.  BARDEEN,  PUBLISHER 

1899 


Copyright,  1899.  by  C.  W.  BARDEEN 


ERRATA 

Page  26,  line  15,  for  1724  read  1774. 

"  31,    "    14,  Foriep     "     Froriep. 

"  32,    "    19,  Ritschel  "     Rietschel. 

"  40,     "      4,  candle      "     lamp. 

41  41,  last  line,  for  as  read  at. 

"  43,  line  23,  for  h  read  I. 

"  47,  note  for  No.  10,  etc.,  read  Nos.  11-17. 

"  55,  note,  2d  line,  for  3677  read  367. 

*'  78,  line  23,  for  momement  read  moment. 

*'  128    "    17   "    contract  read  contact. 

"  129    "      6    " 

•'  135    "      4    "  148  read  152. 

-  212    "    21    "  HI    "    VI. 

"  254    "    10    ;'  knows  read  known. 

•"  256    "      7    "  Motai      "     Motais. 

"  310    "    12    "  35  %  read  35. 

"    342    "    20,  21,  not  should  be  inserted  after  found. 


INTRODUCTION 

I 

The  personality  of  an  author  and  the  extent  of  his 
preparation  are  of  course  always  important  as  a  ready 
means  of  estimating  the  value  of  his  work,  but  more 
so  in  some  subjects  than  in  others.  School  hygiene, 
which  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  concentration  of  the 
principles  of  architecture,  sanitary  engineering,  psy- 
chology, pedagogy,  and  preventive  medicine  upon  the 
physical  conditions  of  school  life,  requires  more  than 
a  superficial  acquaintance  with  these  matters,  and  is  in 
fact  so  broad  a  field  that,  as  an  American  expert 
has  said,  it  is  more  than*  enough  in  itself  for  a 
life  work.  The  possibilities  of  one-sided  treatment, 
also,  are  very  great.  It  might  be  scholarly  yet  not 
practical,  adequate  in  some  parts  but  wanting  in 
others,  or  comprehensive  and  yet  without  the  proper 
balance,  proportion,  and  connection.  As  a  subject, 
school  hygiene  must  therefore  be  placed  high  in  the 
list  of  those  in  which  personality,  scholarship,  and 
experience  play  a  prominent  part.  The  eminent  quali- 
fications of  our  author, — who  is  now  60  years  old  and 
has  given  the  major  part  of  his  life  to  the  work, — and 
his  masterly  success  in  combining  comprehensiveness 

(l) 


2  INTRODUCTION 

with  clearness  and  brevity,  and  scientific  accuracy  and 
moderation  with  an  interesting,  forceful,  and  above 
all  practical  mode  of  treatment  are  attested  not  only 
by  the  book  itself  but  by  the  opinions  of  experts  in 
school  hygiene  from  different  countries.  (See  pages 
preceding  title.) 

Dr.  Kotelmann  was  born  in  1839  in  Demmin,  Prus- 
sia, where  his  father  was  vice-principal  of  the  gym- 
nasium. This  he  attended  till  his  confirmation,  when 
he  was  transferred  to  the  royal  padagogium  at  Pusbus. 
-After  graduating  here,  he  studied  theology  at  the  uni- 
versities of  Erlangen  and  Berlin  and  received  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  on  presenting  a  thesis 
on  De  Theologia  Aristotelea.  About  this  time  he 
became  tutor  in  the  family  of  one  of  the  nobility  and 
spent  some  time  in  a  teachers'  seminary  to  prepare 
himself  for  his  duties.  In  1866  he  was  called  to  be 
assistant  pastor  and  rector  of  the  city  schools  in  Gartz 
on  the  island  of  Riigen;  and  two  years  later  he  was 
called  to  be  teacher  in  the  padagogium  and  pastor  of 
the  castle  in  Pusbus.  Lung  trouble  compelled  him  to 
give  up  his  position,  and  he  went  to  Leipsic  to  habili- 
tate as  docent  in  Oriental  Languages. 

The  death  of  his  father  cut  short  this  enterprise  and 
compelled  him  to  seek  some  profession  with  speedier 
financial  returns.  He  selected  that  of  medicine,  in 
accordance  with  a  preference  of  long  standing,  and 


SCHOOL   HYGIENE  ^          3 

went  to  Marburg  to  study.  In  a  year  he  was  made 
assistant  in  the  physiological  institute  and  shortly  after 
passed  the  state  examinations  and  received  the  title  of 
doctor,  this  time  presenting  a  thesis  on  The  Midwives 
of  the  Ancient  Hebrews,  a  Study  from  Old  Testa- 
ment Sources. 

After  attending  clinics  in  his  specialty,  he  settled  in 
Hamburg  in  1876  as  an  ophthalmologist,  in  which  pro- 
fession he  has  since  been  engaged. 

Of  the  books  and  papers  he  has  written  the  follow- 
ing may  be  mentioned:  Die  Korperverhaltnisse  der 
Gelehrtenschiiler  des  Johanneums  in  Hamburg  (1879) ; 
Die  Vivisektionsfrage  (1880) ;  1st  die  heutige  Jugend 
der  hoheren  Lehranstalten  mit  Schularbeit  iiberburdet 
(1881);  Zur  Gesundheitspflege  des  Mittelalters  (1887) ; 
Uber  Schulgesundheitspflege  (1895),  the  original  of 
the  present  translation,;  and  Zur  Gesundheitspflege  in 
den  hoheren  Madchenschulen  (1897). 

In  1888,  Dr.  Kotelmann  founded  the  Zeitschrift  fur 

Schulgesundheitspflege   (Journal  for  School-hygiene), 

and  remained  its  editor  for  ten  years,  being  succeeded 

n  1898  by  Dr.  Fr.  Erismann.     This  has  been  the  only 

journal  devoted  exclusively  to  school  hygiene,  and  it  is 

certainly  the  best. 

II 

The  translation  is  made  not  from  the  treatise  as 
published  in  1895,  but  from  a  copy  revised  and  enlarged 
by  the  author  especially  for  this  edition. 


4  INTRODUCTION 

The  number  of  illustrations  has  been  nearly  doubled ; 
and  the  additions  to  the  text,  aside  from  alterations,  con- 
sist partly  of  descriptions  of  the  new  illustrations  and 
partly  of  a  review  of  the  investigations  that  have  been 
made  since  the  original  was  written.  The  latter  ap- 
peared first  as  a  part  of  the  great  Handbuch  der  Erzie- 
hungs-und  Unterrichtslehre  fur  hohere  Schulen  (Hand- 
book of  the  Principles  of  Education  and  Instruction 
for  Secondary  Schools),  edited  by  Dr.  A.  Baumeister. 
Its  publication  here  will  explain  the  fact  that  it  is  ad- 
dressed especially  to  teachers,  and  the  rather  frequent 
and  special  reference  throughout  the  book  to  the 
secondary  schools,  though  important  facts  and  compari- 
sons with  the  common  schools  and  the  universities  are 
by  no  means  omitted. 

It  must  not  of  course  be  supposed  that  the  dis- 
cussion is  limited  to  pupils  yf  our  high  school  or 
academy  age.  As  is  well  known,  pupils  enter  the 
German  secondary  schools  at  nine  and  might  gradu- 
ate at  eighteen,  though  the  average  age  is  nearly 
twenty.  If  these  institutions  have  preparatory  schools 
or  classes  for  the  first  three  years  of  school  life,  all  the 
regular  instruction  young  men  under  twenty  receive 
could  very  well  be  obtained  solely  in  connection  with 
these  schools,  and  this  would  correspond  in  amount 
perhaps  to  what  a  pupil  here  would  secure  from  our 
elementary  and  secondary  schools,  with  the  addition  of 
two  years  of  college  work. 


SCHOOL    HYGIENE 


The  age  for  admission  to  these  schools  was  deter- 
mined by  the  age  deemed  adequate  for  beginning  the 
study  of  Latin,  which  is  about  nine  or  ten;  and  the 
entrance  requirements  consist  of  reading,  writing, 
knowledge  of  the  parts  of  speech,  the  four  processes 
in  numbers  up  to  1,000,  and  Bible  history,  or  what  is 
taught  in  a  common  school  the  first  three  years.  The 
preparation  might  be  made  in  private,  in  preparatory 
schools  or  classes,  or  in  the  common  schools. 

The  difference  between  the  various  kinds  of  second- 
ary schools  with  which  the  reader  will  have  to  deal  in 
this  book  is  best  understood  from  a  study  of  their  his- 
tory, and  a  comparison  of  the  courses  and  privileges 
connected  with  them.  In  the  following  table  the  fig- 
ures opposite  the  subjects  indicate  the  total  number  of 
periods  per  week  devoted  to  them  by  all  the  grades  of 
the  school  according  to  the  programmes  of  1892. 


Gymnasium 

I 

c 

S 

Real-gymna- 
sium 

5 

i 

•^ 

Superior 
real-school 

HOURS 

Real-school,  or 
superior  grammar 
school 

SUBJECTS 

SUBJECTS 

SUBJECTS 

SUBJECTS 

Religion 

19 

26 
62 
36 
19 
26 
34 
8 

10 
4 

8 

Religion  
German  and 
hist,  stories. 
Latin          

19 

28 
43 
31 
18 
28 
42 
12 
12 
6 
4 
16 

Religion  
German  and 
hist,  stories.. 
French  
English  
Hist,  and  Geog 
Mathematics.. 
Natural  Hist. 
Physics  
Chem.  and  Min 
Writing  
Freehand- 
drawing  

19 

34 

47 
25 
28 
47 
12 
13 
11 
6 

16 

Religion  
German  and  his- 
tory stories  
French  
English 

German   and 
hist,   stories. 
Latin  

Greek  
French 

French,  
English  
Hist,  and  Geog. 
Mathematics... 
Natural  Hist.. 
Physics  
Chem.  and  Min. 
Writing  
Drawing  

Hist,  and  Geog... 
Mathematics  
Natural  History.. 
Science  
Writing  
Free-hand   draw- 

Hist,  and  Geog. 
Mathematics... 
Nat.  History.  .  . 
Physics,  Chem. 
&  Mineralogy 
Writing  
Drawing  

In  the  United  States,  several,  or  even  all,  these  dif- 


6  INTEODUCTION 

ferent  courses  may  sometime  be  found  combined  in  a 
single  large  institution;  and  the  correspondence  with 
our  classical,  Latin-scientific,  and  scientific  divisions 
is  of  course  evident. 

Besides  the  above  subjects,  two  hours  per  week  in 
singing  for  the  first  two  classes  and  three  hours  of  gym- 
nastics throughout  are  compulsory.  The  gymnasium, 
real-gymnasium,  and  the  superior  real-school  have  nine 
grades  or  classes,  while  the  real-school  or  superior 
grammar  school  has  only  six. 

In  Prussia  and  northern  Germany  generally,  these 
are  designated  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  by  the 
Latin  ordinals  as  follows :  Sexta,  Quinta,  Quarta,  Low- 
er Tertia,  Upper  Tertia,  Lower  Sekunda,  Upper  Sekun- 
da,  Lower  Prima,  Upper  Prima.  In  southern  Ger- 
many, as  in  Wurtemberg  and  Bavaria,  and  in  Austria 
and  Hungary,  they  are  numbered  in  the  reverse  order, 
from  I  to  IX.  If  the  preparatory  grades  are  included, 
they  will  be  marked  VIII  and  VII  in  the  first  case, 
and  I  and  II  in  the  second.  Russia,  Sweden,  Norway, 
Denmark,  Holland,  England,  Italy,  among  others, 
number  the  grades  from  1  upward,  and  France  and 
Belgium  as  well  as  the  adjacent  German  states,  Alsace- 
Lorraine  and  Baden,  do  the  reverse. 

Graduation  from  these  schools  or  the  completion  of 
a  given  number  of  grades  confers  certain  privileges, 
with  respect  to  military  service,  university  studies, 


SCHOOL    HYGIENE  7 

and  official  careers,  and  so  places  these  schools  and 
their  pupils  in  a  separate  and  superior  social  position, 
to  which  of  course  the  high  grade  of  scholarship  of 
the  teachers  and  the  dignity  of  the  subjects  as  well  as 
tradition  also  contribute.  The  different  kinds  of  sec- 
ondary schools  are,  however,  by  no  means  on  an 
equality  in  this  respect.  The  completion  of  six  years 
of  study  in  any  one  of  them  entitles  a  young  man 
to  exemption  from  two  of  the  three  years  of  compul- 
sory military  service.  In  the  nine  grade  schools  one- 
half  of  the  pupils  leave  as  soon  as  this  exemption  has 
been  secured.  With  respect  to  other  privileges  the 
gymnasium  leads  by  enabling  its  graduates  at  once  to 
enter  upon  the  special  preparation  for  any  profession 
or  any  branch  of  the  public  service.  The  real-gym- 
nasium confers  the  same  privileges  except  that  its 
graduates  cannot,  without  making  up  the  part  of  the 
gymnasial  course  which  they  have  not  had,  prepare 
themselves  at  the  universities  for  theology,  law, 
medicine,  or  cameralistics. 

The  superior  real-school  confers  only  about  half  as 
many  important  privileges  as  the  schools  just  men- 
tioned, though  it  gives  the  same  as  the  real  gymnasium 
except  that  it  does  not  like  the  latter  enable  its  gradu- 
ates to  study  modern  languages,  dentistry,  veterinary 
surgery,  or  pharmacy  at  the  universities  or  other  pro- 
fessional schools,  and  excludes  from  a  few  careers  in 


8  INTRODUCTION 

the  army  and  navy  unless  the  applicant  passes  a  special 
examination  on  the  missing  subjects. 

Ill 

The  local  applicability  of  a  book  on  school  hygiene 
varies  with  its  character.  In  this  respect  there  is  an 
evident  difference  betwen  special  reports  or  practical 
directions  and  a  scientific  treatise  like  Kotelmann's 
which  makes  use  of  statistics  from  many  different 
countries  in  establishing  and  illustrating  the  principles 
of  the  subject.  If  there  were  not  an  essential  similar- 
ity in  the  conditions  of  mental  activity  and  the  aims 
and  means  of  education  among  civilized  nations,  it 
would  of  course  be  impossible  to  write  a  book  that 
would  be  directly  applicable  everywhere.  As  it  is, 
perhaps  the  most  important  thing  about  the  local  back- 
ground for  a  treatise  on  the  principles  of  school  hygiene 
is  that  this  shall  have  been  sufficiently  varied  and  ex- 
tensive and  shall  have  been  adequately  investigated. 

Those  who  have  to  buy  heating  apparatus  or  school 
furniture  will  of  course  need  to  know  the  local  con- 
ditions and  facilities  and  must  therefore  supplement 
this  book  by  the  examination  of  equipments  or  cata- 
logues from  supply  companies.  This  would  doubtless 
in  any  case  be  necessary,  unless  a  very  special  report 
had  been  made ;  and  perhaps  all  we  can  ask  from  a 
general  treatise  is  that  it  shall  so  present  its  princi- 
ples that  our  judgment  may  not  err  in  our  work. 


SCHOOL   HYGIENE  9 

There  is  a  very  important  place,  moreover,  for  exten- 
sive local  investigations  in  different  parts  of  the  subject 
by  experts,  as  they  serve  to  demonstrate  causes  and 
conditions  with  certainty  and  besides,  stimulate  pub- 
lic interest  and  give  all  concerned  a  more  practical  and 
efficient  habit  of  mind.  The  history  of  school  hygiene 
affords  in  this  respect  an  interesting  parallel  to  the 
history  of  the  same  movement  in  Germany  as  given  in 
chapter  I.  Here  as  there,  we  find  first  of  all  a  recog- 
nition of  the  importance  of  health  and  strength  and 
an  advocacy  of  physical  training  to  secure  it, — notably 
so  by  Franklin  and  Jefferson  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  The  temporary  introduction 
in  the  twenties  of  German  gymnastics  by  Beck, 
Follen,  and  Lieber,  disciples  of  Jahn;  the  manual 
labor  movement  and  the  agitation  for  the  study  of 
hygiene,  mainly  in  the  thirties;  the  recognition  of  the 
unhygienic  conditions  and  the  proper  requirements  of 
school  buildings  by  Alcott,  Mann,  and  Barnard  in  the 
thirties  and  forties ;  the  revival  in  the  fifties  and  sixties 
of  gymnastics  and  military  drill  through  the  labors  of 
Dio  Lewis  and  the  influence  of  the  civil  war,  and  the 
present  partial  recognition  of  them  in  the  curriculum; 
and,  finally,  the  pioneer  work  of  Barnard,  1838,  in 
measuring  children  for  school  seats,  the  later  efforts  to 
determine  the  facts  of  growth  and  its  conditions  by 
Bowditch,  Porter,  Peckham,  Boas,  Bryan,  West,  and 


10  INTRODUCTION 

others,  the  study  of  death  rates,  stuttering,  and  seating 
by  Hartwell,  and  the  examination  of  the  senses  by 
many  investigators, — these  facts  by  their  character  all 
indicate  a  development  from  the  unstudied,  partial 
recognition  of  defects  and  the  more  or  less  adequate 
agitation  for  their  removal  to  the  rigorous,  scientific, 
and  statistical  investigation  of  causes  and  remedies. 

While  there  is  thus  everywhere  an  essential  similar- 
ity in  the  principles  and  perhaps  in  the  development 
of  the  science,  nevertheless,  there  are  minor  variations 
due  to  differences  in  climate,  race,  and  school  pro- 
grammes. Thus,  Germany,  which  lies  approximately 
between  the  47th  and  55th  parallels,  is  as  a  whole  in  a 
higher  latitude  than  the  United  States,  which  is  be- 
tween the  25th  and  49th,  if  we  omit  the  outlying  pos- 
sessions; and  it  has  a  correspondingly  lower  tempera- 
ture in  summer  and  shorter  days  in  winter. 

Its  winter  temperature,  however,  is  higher  than  we 
should  expect  from  the  latitude,  being  about  the  same 
as  that  of  the  middle  section  of  the  United  States  east 
and  west.  This  is  chiefly  to  be  explained  by  the 
general  prevalence  there  at  this  season  of  south-west- 
erly winds.  On  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Xorth  America, 
the  corresponding  winds  are  from  the  north-west,  and 
in  the  central  parts  from  the  south-west  or  west;  while 

in  summer  in  all  sections  mentioned  the  winds  are 
south-westerly  or  southerly. 


SCHOOL   HYGIENE  11 

According  to  Young  [Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health  of  Maine,  p.  260-3],  this  differ- 
ence in  latitude  makes  a  northerly  exposure  less  unde- 
sirable and  in  fact  to  be  preferred  along  with  the  north 
easterly  for  his  section  of  the  country,  while  the 
southerly  is  to  be  positively  rejected.  However,  on 
this  point  authorities  differ,  and  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant thing  is  to  recognize  the  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages of  the  different  orientations  and  in  the  equip- 
ment of  room  to  make  due  allowance  for  them. 

With  respect  to  school  programmes,  an  investigation 
in  the  high  schools  of  some  cities  in  Indiana  showed 
that  the  pupils  spent  about  32  hours  per  week  in 
school  work,  which  is  not  much  more  than  half  the 
time  spent  in  the  corresponding  grades  of  the  Swedish 
schools  studied  by  Key,  and  from  15  to  20  hours  less 
than  is  recommended  by  him  and  other  European 
authorities  as  an  allowable  maximum.  The  pres- 
sure is,  however,  far  from  uniform  in  different  sections 
of  the  country;  and  while  there  are  schools  that  rival 
the  European  in  this  repect  there  are  doubtlesss  others 
in  which  much  more  work  might  be  done  without 
detriment  to  health.  Whether  or  not  climate,  hered- 
ity, and  family  training  make  the  recommendations 
of  the  European  experts  for  the  maximum  amount  of 
work  per  week  too  high  for  this  country,  needs  further 
investigation.  The  natural  standard  is  of  course,  that 


12 


INTRODUCTION 


the  pupil  shall  be  able  to  do  his  work  without  injury 
to  health, — that  is  without  becoming  nervous  and 
sleepless,  or  having  his  eye-sight,  digestion,  or  other 
bodily  functions  impaired. 

In  conclusion  the  translators  take  pleasure  in  ac- 
knowledging their  indebtedness  to  Dr.  Kotelmann  for 
most  kindly  and  efficient  assistance  and  to  Mr.  C.  W. 
Bardeen  for  a  number  of  additions  to  the  bibliography 
and  many  valuable  suggestions. 

J.  A.  BERGSTRO"M. 


NOTES 

The  tests  of  vision  on  page  44  may  be  made  with  the  pages  of  this  book. 
When  it  is  in  good  light  the  average  normal  eye  can  read  the  text  at  a  dis- 
tance of  45  inches. 

In  the  comparison  on  pages  62  and  63  between  gas  and  kerosene,  it  IB 
assumed  that  the  twoilluminants  are  burning  from  simple  broad  flame  burn- 
ers. If  different  kinds  of  burners  are  used,  the  comparison  will  not  be 
the  same,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following  table  from  Brockhaus's  Kon.  Lex., 
14th  ed,  article  Beleuchtung.  The  table  gives  the  amount  and  cost  of  the 
illuminant,  as  well  as  the  heat  and  waste  products  for  a  hundred  candle 
power  light  for  one  hour. 


BURNERS 

Am't 
kg. 

Cost 
cts. 

H*0 

kg. 

<70a 
cbm. 

Heat 
calories 

Kerosene 
Small  flat  

.60 

3 

80 

.95 

7200 

Large  round. 

20 

1 

.22 

32 

2400 

Gas 
Fishtail  
Argand 

cbm. 
2 
8 

9 
36 

2.14 
.86 

1.14 
46 

12150 
4860 

Incandescent  

.15 

.7 

.16 

.09 

900 

Siemens  

.35 

1.6 

1500 

Electricity 
Incandescent  

H.  P. 
1 

6 

0 

0 

290-536 

Arc  

.26 

2.25 

0 

Traces 

57-158 

CONTENTS 

PAGES 

CHAPTER  I.— THE  HISTORY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 
IN  GERMANY 17 

CHAPTER  II. — ORIENTATION  AND  NATURAL  LIGHT- 
ING   35 

Orientation  35 ;  natural  illumination  38 ;  Web- 
er's photometer  39;  Weber's  stereogoniometer 
42 ;  remedies  for  insufficient  light  45. 

CHAPTER  III.— ARTIFICIAL   ILLUMINATION 53 

Electric  lights  53 ;  gas  58 ;  kerosene  62. 

CHAPTER  IV.— VENTILATION  AND  CLEANING 65 

Impurities  in  the  air  65 ;  carbonic  acid  66 ;  dust 
69 ;  bacteria  70 ;  measurement  of  impurity  73 ; 
Pettenkoffer's  method  73 ;  Smith-Lunge  method 
76;  Wolpert's  air-tester  78;  Recknagel's  venti- 
lation guage  85;  Castaning's  window-ventilation 
90;  opening  of  windows  91;  cleanliness  94; 
closets  100. 

CHAPTER  V.— HEATING 104 

Stoves  vs.  central  plants  104;  stoves  107;  hot- 
air  furnaces  112;  hot  water  117;  steam  119. 
Required  temperature  121 ;  Bastelmann's  contact 
thermometer  125. 

CHAPTER  VI.  —SCHOOL   FURNITURE 128 

Desks    128;  "  difference  "    136;    "distance" 
141;  movable  desk  tops  147;  Vienna  desk  150; 
(13) 


14  CONTENTS 

PAGES 

movable  seats  155;  adjustments  for  standing 
158.  Blackboards  161 ;  easels  164;  map-holders 
165;  crayon  and  erasers  168. 

CHAPTER  VII.—  THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM 170 

The  brain  170;  experiments  upon  fatigue  of 
pupils  173;  Mosso  ergograph  178;  Griesbach's 
fjesthesiometer  185. 

CHAPTER  VIII.— SCHOOL  PROGRAMMES 189 

Order  of  subjects  189;  length  of  periods  192; 
recesses  193 ;  lunches  195 ;  one  session  or  two  198 ; 
vacations  200 ;  vacation  travel  203 ;  dismissal  for 
heat  207.  How  young  should  pupils  be  admitted 
209;  home  work  210;  music  lessons  211;  im- 
proved methods  215 ;  examinations  216;  cephalic 
congestions  216 ;  school  headaches  217 ;  nosebleed 
219 ;  over-stimulated  nerves  220.  Outdoor  sports 
224;  manual  training  225;  sleep  225.  Mental 
diseases  228;  suicide  231;  epilepsy  234;  St.  Vitus 
dance  236. 

CHAPTER  IX.— THE  EYE 239 

Farsightedness  240;  normal  condition  244; 
nearsightedness  246 ;  eye-glasses  251 ;  text-books 
260;  penmanship  264;  drawing  269;  color-blind- 
ness 270;  diseases  of  the  eye  272. 

CHAPTER  X.— THE  EAR 279 

Tests  of  hearing  279 ;  dulness  often  from  audi- 
tory defects  284;  adenoid  vegetation  285;  vio- 
lent noises  290;  boxing  the  ears  292;  objects  in 
the  ear  293. 

CHAPTER  XL— THE  VOCAL  ORGANS...  ...295 


SCHOOL    PYGIENE  15 

PAGES 

How  early  children  can  sing  295 ;  hygiene  of 
singing  298.  Correct  articulation  302;  stutter- 
ing 305. 

CHAPTER  XII. —CURVATURE  OF  THE  SPINE 310 

A  product  of  school  life  310 ;  vertical  penman- 
ship 315 ;  weight  of  books  carried  to  school  318. 

CHAPTER  XIII. —INFECTIOUS   DISEASES 320 

Measles  320;  scarlet  fever  324;  diphtheria  328; 
whooping-cough  332 ;  cerebro-spinal  meningitis 
334 ;  mumps  335 ;  small-pox  and  vaccination  336 ; 
chicken-pox  340;  tuberculosis  341;  typhus  fever 
344 ;  influenza  346 ;  masturbation  349. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICAN  BOOKS 

AND  PAPERS  ON  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 353 

INDEX 383 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

1.  Weber's  photometer 39 

2.  Weber's  stereogoniometer 42 

3.  Henning's  daylight  reflector 46 

4.  Hrabowski's  overhead  reflector 57 

5.  Smith-Lunge  air-tester 76 

6.  Becknagel's  ventilation  gauge 85 

7.  Becknagle's  ventilation -gauge  attached 86 

8.  Castaning's  method  of  window  ventilation 91 

9.  Bastelmann's  contact  thermometer  for  electric 

temperature  signals 125 

10.  Bastelmann's  temperature  signal  board 126 

11.  Writing  class  in  forward  position 131 

12.  Lateral  curvature  of  the  spine  due  to  a  desk 

that  is  too  high  (Esmarch) 137 


16  LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGES 

13.  School  desk  of  Elsaesser  of  Schonau  at  Heidel- 
berg  141 

14r-16.  Plus — zero — minus  distance 142 

17.  Pupil  with  a  plus  distance  seat 143 

18.  Parrow's  school  desk 148 

19.  Kunze's  school  desk 149 

20.  Schlimp's  school  desk 152 

21.  Schenk's  school  desk,  arranged  for  standing..  153 

22.  Schenk's  school  desk,  arranged  for  sitting 153 

23.  Lickroth's  standard  school  desk 155 

24.  Kottmann's  school  desk 157 

25.  The  "  Columbus  "  school  desk 157 

26.  Kottmann's  desk,  arranged  for  sitting 159 

27.  The  same,  arranged  for  standing 159 

28.  Blackboard  with  rolling  support 163 

29.  Easel  for  black-board 164 

30.  The  same  used  as  a  map-holder 165 

31.  Map-holder  by  Lickroth — closed 166 

32.  The  same,  open , 167 

33.  Recording  apparatus  for  the  Mosso  ergograph....!78 

34.  Fatigue  curve,  obtained  with  the  Mosso  ergo- 

graph.... 179 

35.  Griesbach's  sesthesiometer 186 

36.  Boy  with  adenoid  vegetation  before  the  oper- 

ation  288 

37.  The  same  boy,  after  the  operation 289 

38.  Pupil  writing  vertical  script 317 


SCHOOL  HYGIENE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  HISTORY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE  IN  GERMANY 
Special  efforts  to  promote  the  physical  well-being  of 
the  school  population  of  Germany  began  to  be  made  as 
early  as  the  time  of  the  "Reformation.     These  consisted 
at  first  of  an  advocacy  of  physical  exercise. 

While  most  of  the  theologians  of  the  middle  ages, 
like  Berth  old  of  Regensburg  (1272)  and  Geiler  of 
Kaisersberg  (1445-1510),  see  in  the  "  running,  tilting 
stone-throwing,  wrestling,  jumping,  etc.",  which  were 
beloved  by  old  and  young,  nothing  but  a  device  of  the 

Evil  One  for  "  capturing  souls 
with  pride",  and  only  a  few 
like  Thomas  Haselbach  (about 
1446)    express   the    opinion 
that  a  man  may  for  the  sake 
of    recreation    and    physical 
development    engage    in    all 
sorts  of  sports,  and  contests 
MARTIN  LUTHER,  1483-1546      like  throwing  balls  through  a 
ring  or  at  ninepins,  running  races,  shooting  with  the 
bow,  playing  ball,  and  so  forth,  Luther  makes  a  very 

(17) 


18  HISTORY   OF  SCHOOL   HYGIEKE 

positive  plea  for  the  practice  of  such  exercises,  especially 
by  the  young. 

"  The  ancients,"  said  he,  "  understood  this  matter 
very  well ;  and  they  required  that  people  should  exer- 
cise and  have  something  useful  and  respectable  to  do 
so  that  they  might  not  fall  into  intemperance,  debauch- 
ery, gluttony,  drinking,  and  gambling.  I  am  there- 
fore very  fond  of  these  two  exercises  and  amusements, 
music,  and  tilting,  together  with  fencing,  wrestling,v 
and  similar  games;  the  first  of  which  drives  sorrow 
and  melancholy  from  the  heart,  and  the  second  de- 
velops the  different  parts  of  the  body  and  keeps  it  in 
health.  The  real  purpose  is,  moreover,  to  keep  people 
from  going  into  drinking,  lewdness,  gambling,  and 
dice-playing,  as  they  do  now  at  the  courts  and  in  the 
cities,  where  one  can  hear  nothing  but :  '  Here  you  are ! 
Have  a  drink ! '  Then  they  gamble  for  another  hundred 
guilders  or  more.  This  is  what  happens  when  these 
fine  games  and  knightly  sports  are  neglected."  Still 
better  known  is  his  saying  that  it  was  well  with  the 
city  on  whose  streets  the  children  played  and  sang. 

In  his  treatise  entitled,  "A  few  precepts  on  the  way 
our  young  people  should  be  trained,"*  Zwingli, l  too, 

*  Quo  pacto  ingenui  adolescentes  formandi  sint,  prae- 
ceptiones  pauculae. 

1  Huldrici  Zuinglii  opera.  Completa  editio  prima 
curantibus  Melchiore  Schulero  et  Jo.  Schulthessio,  iv, 
148-158.  Turici,  1841,  ex  officina  Schulthessiana. 


LUTHER,  ZWIKGLI,  CAMERARIUS-        19 

recommends  running,  jumping,  stone-throwing,  fenc- 
ing, and  wrestling,  to  develop  the  youthful  body  and 
make  it  skilful.  Wrestling  is,  however,  to  be  indulged 
in  sparingly,  since  it  often  becomes  a  serious  matter. 
He  believes  that  swimming  is  an  exercise  of  small  utility, 
11  though  it  may  be  very  pleasant  at  times  to  float  in 
the  water  and  act  like  a  fish."  The  noteworthy  fact 
is  that  he  is  the  spokesman  for  instruction  in  manual 
training.  He  wishes  that  all  boys  and  young  men 
"  felt  as  they  would  if  they  had  to  acquire  the  right 
of  citizenship  among  the  ancient  Massilians,  who  ad- 
mitted no  one  who  did  not  understand  a  trade."  He 
also  warns  young  people  against  a  haughty  bearing, 
and  recommends  a  temperate  life.  "  Hunger  is  to  be 
mitigated  but  not  wholly  destroyed  by  eating;  " 
Galenus  reached  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
because  he  never  rose  from  the  table  satiated. 

Joachim  Camerarius  (1500-1574),  the  friend  of 
Melanchthon,  not  only  advises  in  his  "  Maxims  for 
Boys  "  that  they  substitute  ball-playing,  running  and 
jumping,  boxing  and  wrestling,  for  the  disreptutable 
game  of  dice;  but  in  his  "  Dialogus  de  Gymnasiis  " 
he  points  to  the  gymnastics  of  the  ancients  as  a  model. 
In  fact,  Humanists,  like  Sadolet,  brought  the  gymnas- 
tics as  well  as  other  features  of  classical  antiquity  again 
within  the  circle  of  common  interest.  Camerarius 
praises  the  Greek  games  particularly  in  comparison 
with  the  rough  [and  'excessive  sports  of  our  German 


20  HISTORY   OF   SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

forefathers,  who  kept  up  a  savage  feasting  and  drink- 
ing for  days  and  nights  in  connection  with  them; 
whereas  he  would  have  his  pupils,  graded  in  age  and 
strength,  go  through  their  exercises  before  meals. 

While  gymnastics  for  the  young  was  promoted  in 
this  way,  we  find  that  a  "  school  garden  "  designed 
for  the  amusement  and  recuperation  of  both  teachers 
and  pupils  was  established  as  early  as  1588  at  the  gym- 
nasium of  Halle  on  the  Saale.  The  teachers  of  the 
institution  formed  an  association  that  year  and  contri- 
buted enough  of  their  meagre  salaries  to  found  a  gar- 
den which  remained  in  existence  for  two  and  a  half 
centuries.  On  the  surrounding  wall  i-s  a  stone  tablet 
on  which  was  chiselled  the  names  of  ten  teachers  and 
the  rector,  Caesar,  together  with  a  Latin  poem  com- 
posed by  him,  in  which  we  find  among  other  things : 
"  The  teachers  who  were  associated  together  at  Halle 
have  here  constructed  a  garden  at  their  common 
expense."* 

It  is,  however,  true  that  at  other  places  the  health 
of  the  children  was  not  so  well  cared  for.  In  the 
large  city  school  of  Wismar  founded  in  1541,  the 
pupils  were  for  instance  not  allowed  to  go  into  the 
yard  during  recess;  and  they  must  not  leave  their 
seats  without  permission.  On  the  other  hand,  when 

*  Sumptibus  hunc  construxerunt  communibus  hor- 
tum,  qui  juncti  Halensi  turn  docuere  schola. 


HALLE,    THE    JESUITS  21 

they  brought  the  customary  New  Year's  presents  for 
the  principal  and  vice-principal,  punch,  tobacco,  and 
cards  were  distributed  among  them.  They  spent  the 
whole  night  in  revelry ;  nor  did  they  forget  to  sing  the 
Landesvater  *,  stacking  their  hats  on  a  sword  and  tak- 
ing them  off  again  as  they  sang. 

The  Jesuits  have  rendered  particularly  eminent  ser- 
vice in  the  field  of  school  hygiene.  As  is  well-known, 
they  were  enterprising  teachers,  and  founded  not  only 
schools  for  their  own  order,  but  also  academies  in 
which  any  young  person  might  receive  lodging,  care, 
and  instruction. 

In  the  outline  of  their  methods  known  as  "  Ratio  et 
imitatio  studiorum  societatis  Jesu  ",  which  was  issued 
for  these  institutions  in  1599  by  the  general  of  the 
Jesuits,  Claudio  Aquaviva,  the  number  of  daily  recita- 
tion periods  as  well  as  the  amount  of  work  to  be 
done  by  the  pupils  will  be  found  to  have  been  re- 
stricted in  a  very  reasonable  way.  The  schools  and 
boarding  houses  of  the  Jesuits  were,  as  a  rule,  hygi- 
enically  well  arranged;  and  the  physical  development 
of  the  boys  was  furthermore  promoted  by  good  board, 
daily  walks,  games,  and  long  vacations. 

A  detailed  description  of  a  school  building  is  first  to 

*A  patriotic  students'  drinking  song,  with  an  accom- 
panying ceremony,  which  is  referred  to  in  the  phrases 
succeeding  Landesvater  in  the  text. 


22  HISTORY   OF   SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

be  found  in  the  year  1649,  when  Joseph  Furtenbach 
the  younger  l  dedicated  his  "  German  School-house  " 
to  the  mayor  and  council  of  the  holy  imperial  city,  Ysni, 
in  Suabia.  The  school  room  described  is  48  feet  long, 
48  feet  broad,  and  10J  feet  high.  The  respiratory  pro- 
ducts of  the  pupils,  which,  he  says,  naturally  rise  to 
the  ceiling,  were  there  to  be  withdrawn  by  means  of 
ventilators  in  the  shape  of  movable  windows.  The 
room  was  lighted  from  two  sides.  It  was  heated  by  a 
large  tile  stove,  supplied  with  fuel  from  a  special  store 
room.  Four  tables,  each  18  feet  long,  3J  feet  broad, 
and  2J  feet  high,  were  placed  perpendicularly  against 
the  walls  containing  the  windows.  The  surfaces  were 
coated  with  black  oil  paint  and  divided  by  red  lines 
into  sixteen  sections,  each  2|-  feet  long  and  If  feet 
broad.  Under  the  table  were  shelves  for  tablets  and 
books.  The  benches,  which  were  without  backs,  were 
1J  feet  wide,  and  placed  3  feet  apart.  The  school- 
room had  a  platform  for  the  teacher's  table  and  the 
blackboard,  and  a  case  for  the  school  appliances. 
Next  to  the  room  was  a  hall,  occasionally  used  for 
exhibitions. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  during  holidays  the 
children  were  given  recreation  and  instruction  in  the 

1  Karl  Hintriiger,  Ein  deutsches  Schulhaus  vor  250 
Jahren.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege  von 
L.  Kotelmann,  1888,  v.  142-151.  Hamburg  und 
Leipzig,  Leop.  Voss. 


,  COMEKIUS  23 

open  air.  Fiirtenbach  says  of  this  matter :  ' '  There 
are  some  ingenious  German  school  masters,  who,  to 
furnish  pastime  for  the  older  boys  during  vacation, 
take  them  out  into  the  beautiful  fields,  to  apply  the 
arithmetic  which  they  have  learned  in  the  school-room 
and  to  study  there  geometry  and  geography.  In  fact, 
some  energetic  teachers  have  even  undertaken  military 
constructions.  For  this  purpose,  however,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  have  several  different  instruments  at  hand 
with  which  to  apply  the  above  named  liberal  arts ;  and 
these  together  with  the  surveyor's  rod,  the  reel,  and 
other  things  belonging  thereto  must  be  carried  into  the 
field  wherever  and  whenever  they  are  needed." 

Comenius,  who  for  a  time  was  rector  of  the  gymna- 
sium at  Lissa,  was  an  inno- 
vator in  the  whole  field  of 
pedagogy,  and  not  the  least 
so   in   the  part   devoted   to 
school  hygiene.     In  the  first 
place,  in  his  "  Great  method 
of  teaching  everybody  all  the 
arts  ",*  he  pointed  out  the 
JOHN  AMOS  COMENIUS,  1592-1671    necessity    of    sense    percep- 
tion and  the  study  of  nature;  and  in  so  doing,  made 
the  work  of  the  pupil  easier.     He  asks:  "Do  we  not 
like  our  ancestors  live  in  the  garden  of  nature  ?     Why, 

*Didactica  magna  s.  omnes  omnia  docendi  artificium. 


24  HISTOKY   OF   SCHOOL   HYGIEKE 

I  say,  shall  we  not  instead  of  dead  books  open  the  liv- 
ing book  of  nature  ?  " 

He  did  not  content  himself  with  merely  lessening 
the  burdens  of  the  pupil  by  improvements  in  the 
methods  of  teaching,  but  he  advocated  physical  train- 
ing directly.  He  advised  parents  to  give  their  chil- 
dren a  physical  culture  free  from  all  "  semblance  of 
apishness  and  asininity",  and  emphasized  strengthen- 
ing and  training  the  limbs  as  an  essential  part  of 
school  instruction.  Thus  he  constantly  reminded  his 
teachers  of  the  saying,  "  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound 
body;"  while  Trotzendorf,  as  perpetual  dictator,  had 
given  his  pupils  at  Goldberg  the  law:  "Don't  bathe 
in  cold  water  in  summer;  don't  go  out  on  the  ice  in 
the  winter;  and  don't  throw  snow-balls."  Comenius, 
also,  deserves  no  little  praise  for  insisting  on  spacious 
class-rooms,  and  suitable  play-grounds  adjacent  to  the 
school. 

"  The  sch<jol  regulations  of  the  Princedom  of  Braun- 
schweig-Luneburg  ",  written  in  1737  by  rector  Butt- 
sted  l  of  Osterode,  contained  even  at  that  early  date 
advice  on  matters  of  hygiene.  Among  the  things 
mentioned  as  "  unwholesome  and  injurious  "  we  find: 

1  Fr.  Koldewey,  Braunschweigische  Schulordnungen 
von  den  "altesten  Zeiten  bis  zum  Jahre  1828.  Mit 
Einleituiig,  Anmerkungen,  Glossen  und  Register. 
Berlin,  1886,  A.  Hofmann  &  Co. 


BUTTSTED,    BASEDOW  25 

bending  the  spine  in  sitting,  as  this  compresses  the  in- 
testines and  gives  rise  to  numerous  complaints,  which 
are  then  ascribed  to  study;  also  bringing  the  face  too 
near  the  paper,  since  this  produces  dimness  of  vision, 
a  defect  quite  prevalent  among  the  learned;  and,  lastly, 
negligence  in  cleaning  the  teeth,  which  causes  them  to 
decay  prematurely. 

The  work  of  Basedow  in  promoting  the  physical 
training  of  the  young  was 
especially  important.  In  his 
"  Practical  Philosophy  for  all 
Classes  ",  he  refers  to  "  many 
sensible  physicians,  especially 
Locke"  as  the  authority  for 
his  rules  for  health  and 
strength;  and  he  demands 

JOHN  BERNA^,  BASEDOW.         that  W6  aCCUStom  boys  to  fre- 

quent  exercise  of  all  parts  of 
the  body,  and  put  up  with  their  hilarity  and  noise. 

In  his  "  Book  of  Methods  for  Fathers,  Mothers,  and 
Peoples  "  (1770)  he  gives  parents  still  more  decided 
advice:  "  When  the  limbs  of  your  children  have  the 
necessary  strength  and  flexibility,  accustom  them  in  a 
safe  way  to  such  movements  as  may  be  useful  and 
which  are  dangerous  only  when  they  are  done  without 
training.  Teach  boys,  for  instance,  to  swim,  to  walk 
over  narrow  footbridges,  to  lower  themselves  by  a  rope, 
to  ride  horseback,  to  go  up  and-  down  small  elevations, 


26  HISTORY    OF   SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

to  jump  over  narrow  ditches  and  low  fences,  to  use 
the  vaulting  pole,  to  dodge  thrown  balls,  to  chase 
away  a  dog,  to  walk  on  smooth  ice,  etc." 

We  learn,  moreover,  that  his  pupils,  like  Rousseau's 
Emile,  are  urged  to  take  cold  baths,  long  walks,  and 
other  means  of  invigoration.  "  We  train  them  in  rac- 
ing, wrestling,  poising,  fencing,  dancing, — in  short,  in 
everything  which  gives  strength  to  the  nerves,  agility 
to  the  limbs,  keenness  to  the  senses,  and  firmness, 
mobility,  and  strength  to  the  whole  body." 

In  Basedow's  "  Book  of  Methods  ",  we  even  find 
manual  training  mentioned;  and  play,  "activity  in 
lightest,  ethereal  form,"  as  Jean  Paul  puts  it,  is  there 
approved  and  recommended.  The  principle  enunciated 
in  the  proclamation  made  in  1724,  entitled:  "  The 
Philanthropinum  established  at  Dessau,  a  School  of 
Humanity  for  Students  and  young  Teachers,"  sounds 
quite  modern,  though  it  is  something  of  an  exaggera- 
tion: "  As  compared  with  the  physical  and  moral  de- 
velopment of  man,  scientific  education  is  only  a  side 
issue  and  must  therefore  be  essentially  lightened, 
partly  by  the  selection  of  better  subjects  for  study, 
and  partly  by  better  methods." 

Notwithstanding  Herder's  severe  criticism  of  Base- 
dow  for  his  manifold  peculiarities  and  moral  defects: 
"  I  would  not  give  him  calves  to  educate,  to  say 
nothing  of  children  ",  he  nevertheless  followed  Base- 
dow's example  by  introducing  regular  gymnastics  into 


GOETHE  27 

the  gymnasium  at  Weimar.  In  his  fragmentary  re- 
marks "  On  Gymnasial  Instruction  ",  he  says:  "  The 
children  of  the  lower  classes  are  all  attracted  by  gym- 
nastics. Running  and  jumping  is  what  they  like;  and 
nothing  is  more  unbearable  than  sitting  still.  What 
can  we  do  in  our  restricted  circumstances  to  keep  them 
favorably  disposed  toward  the  school  ?  Xothing  but 
give  the  children — a  flock  of  birds  without  wings — as 
much  physical  exercise  as  the  class  work  will  permit." 
He  also  introduced  drawing  for  the  training  of  the  eye 
and  the  hand. 

Goethe  was  by  no  means  opposed  to  the  gymnastics 

introduced  by  Guts  Muths, 
Jahn,  and  others,  though 
he  regretted  that  politics 
had  become  mixed  up  with 
the  matter.  ' '  The  baby  is 
thereby  thrown  out  in  the 
bath,  as  the  saying  goes. 
I  want  to  see  the  gymnastic 
halls  re-established,  b  e  - 

JOHANN  WOLFGANG  VON  GOETHE 

1749-1832  cause    our    young    people 

need  them;  especially  so  the  students,  who  in  their 
varied  fields  of  activity  lack  the  physical  basis  and 
therefore  the  necessary  ability  as  well."  The  picture 
he  gives  of  the  young  scholars  of  his  time  is  not  very 
attractive.  "  Xearsighted,  pale,  with  hollow  cheeks, 


28  HISTORY    OF    SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

young  without  youth,  such,  are  the  majority,  as  I  see 
them.  They  show  no  signs  of  sound  senses,  or  of 
pleasure  in  sensuous  beauty;  the  sentiments  and  de- 
lights of  youth  are  irretrievably  lost,  for  if  a  person  is 
not  young  at  twenty,  how  can  he  be  at  forty  ?  " 

From  such  facts  we  can  understand  why  from  now 
on  physicians  begin  to  be  interested  in  the  health  of 
the  school  population  and  to  try  to  place  the  matter  on 
a  scientific  basis.  As  among  the  first  of  these  we  may 
name  Johann  Peter  Frank  l  (1745-1821).  In  the  second 
volume  of  his  work:  "A  Complete  System  of  Sanitary 
Police  "  (1780)  there  is  a  division  "  On  the  hygienic 
condition  of  school  children  and  the  police  supervi- 
sion necessary  in  institutions  of  learning."  Nearly 
every  feature  of  modern  school  hygiene  is  mentioned. 

In  the  first  section,  he  treats  of  the  injuries  result- 
ing from  burdening  the  youthful  powers  of  mind  and 
body  too  early  and  too  severely.  He  urges  that  boys 
under  eight  should  not  be  allowed  to  enter  a  Latin 
school,  and  then  only  if  they  are  especially  talented. 
Lessons  must  not  begin  too  early  in  the  morning ;  they 
should  not  last  over  five  hours,  and  should  be  discon- 
tinued in  extremely  hot  weather. 

In  the  second  section,  he  deals  with  questions  relat- 
ing to  the  location  of  the  school  building,  and  the 

1  Johann  Peter  Frank,  System  einer  vollstandigen 
medicinischen  Polizey.  2  vols.  2d  ed.  Mannheim, 
1780-84,  C.  F.  Schwan. 


FRANK,    LORINSER  29 

size,  illumination,  heating,  and  cleaning  of  class- 
rooms. The  desks  and  seats,  he  thinks,  deserve  special 
consideration.  They  must  correspond  to  the  size  of 
the  pupil,  and  have  comfortable  and  not  too  perpen- 
dicular backs,  if  deformities  of  the  spine  are  to  be 
avoided.  The  author  also  discusses  school  punish- 
ments, home  tasks,  vacations,  and  the  isolation  of  such 
pupils  as  suffer  fYom  itch,  small-pox,  or  other  conta- 
gious diseases. 

The  last  section  is  devoted  to  the  "  re-establishment 
and  value  of  gymnastics  in  public  education".  Here 
he  recommends  walks,  excursions,  tramps,  and  jour- 
neys, as  well  as  different  exercises  and  sports  such  as 
playing  ball,  climbing  trees,  walking  on  stilts,  racing, 
throwing,  dancing,  fencing,  riding,  swimming,  skating, 
and  bowling.  In  order  that  pupils  may  be  exposed  to 
the  least  possible  danger,  he  demands  the  establish- 
ment of  public  drill-grounds,  and  the  employment  of 
a  special  drill  master.  He  also  enumerates  a  long  list 
of  precaution's  to  be  observed  in  the  different  exercises 
and  games. 

While  the  work  of  Frank  discusses  school  hygiene  in 
general,  that  of  the  medical  councillor,  C.  J.  Lorinser, l 
(1836)  confines  itself  to  narrower  limits.  "  It  views 
from  a  medical  standpoint  the  mental  and  physical 

1  C.  J.  Lorinser,  Zum  Schutz  der  Gesundheit  in  den 
Schulen.  Berlin,  1836,  Th.  Chr.  Fr.  Enslin. 


30  HISTORY    OF   SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

training  now  customary  in  most  German  Gymnasia." 
In  characterizing  his  contemporaries  he  says :  '  *  With 
the  great  transformation  in  the  mode  of  life  the  body 
has  become  more  tender  and  frail ;  and  it  is  now  de- 
pendent upon  stimuli  unknown  to  our  ancestors. 
The  essential  energy  of  life  is  lower;  and  in  the  same 
degree  as  the  senses  have  become  more  mobile  and  the 
impulses  more  impetuous,  body  and  mind  have  lost  in 
firmness  and  resistance." 

He  says  further:  "  In  order  to  increase  this  diseased 
condition  of  mind  and  body,  or  to  produce  it  where  it 
is  not  already  present,  no  better  means  could  have  been 
provided  than  those  which  are  at  present  in  use  in  most 
German  gymnasia.  These  are  to  be  found  in  the  mul- 
tiplicity of  subjects,  the  great  number  of  school  hours, 
and  the  great  number  of  home  tasks.  The  first  con- 
fuses and  dulls  the  mind;  the  second  retards  the 
natural  development  of  the  body;  and  the  third  pre- 
vents recuperation  from  these  effects  outside  of  school. " 

Among  the  bodily  injuries  arising  from  the  above- 
named  evils  he  mentions  especially  defective  develop- 
ment of  the  chest  and  lungs  and  the  weakening  of  the 
eyesight.  "  Never  since  there  have  been  schools,"  he 
says,  "has  nearsightedness  been  so  prevalent  among 
young  people;  and  the  number  that  wear  spectacles  in 
the  upper  classes  increases  from  year  to  year."  He 
believes  that  the  remedies  that  have  been  suggested, 


LORIKSEE  31 

such  as  walks  by  the  pupils  and  better  illumination, 
are  inadequate.  He  adheres  rather  to  the  opinion  of 
J.  C.  Jahn,  as  expressed  in  the  New  Year-book  for 
Philosophy  and  Pedagogy :  "  It  is  a  question  well  worth 
the  consideration  of  our  school  men  and  educational 
theorists  whether  the  time  has  not  come  for  the  simpli- 
fication of  the  courses  of  study  and  the  reduction  of 
the  number  of  school  hours  in  our  gymnasia." 

Lori  user's  little  treatise  created  a  great  sensation. 
Even  though  it  occasionally  missed  the  mark,  it  was 
nevertheless  the  alarm  gun  which  aroused  slumbering 
minds  to  action.  While  it  was  partly  rejected  by  the 
pedagogues  Grotthold,  Miitzell,  Heinsius,  and  Kopke,  it 
received  the  general  approval  of  the  physician  Foriep. 
He  sums  up  his  opinion  of  the  matter  by  saying  that 
the  consequences  of  overpressure  can  be  observed 
among  the  pupils;  and  the  cause  is  to  be  found  in 
the  haste  of  pupils,  teachers,  and  parents ;  and  also  in 
the  increased  demands  by  the  present  system  of  ex- 
aminations. 

Important  aid  was  rendered  by  the  fact  that  King 
Frederic  William  III  took  notice  of  the  work  of  Lorin- 
ser,  and  in  a  letter  to  v.  Altenstein,  the  Cultus-minis- 
ter,  expressed  his  sympathy  with  the  movement.  After 
that,  means  for  removing  the  evils  in  question  began 
to  be  considered;  and  on  June  6,  1842,  appeared  the 
famous  cabinet  order  by  Frederick  William  IV,  "  which 


32  HISTORY    OF   SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

formally  recognized  physical  exercise  as  an  essential 
part  of  the  education  of  man,"  and  introduced  gym- 
nastics as  an  optional  subject  into  gymnasia,  higher 
city  schools,  and  teacher's  seminaries. 

With  the  exception  of  the  short  period  of  quiescence 
caused  by  the  political  situation  of  the  time,  the  in- 
terest in  physical  training  has  grown  rapidly  ever  since ; 
and  the  field  of  school  hygiene  has  been  steadily  ex- 
tended and  developed  by  physicians,  pedagogues,  and 
architects.  Instead  of  making  general  remarks  about 
schools  and  school  instruction,  men  now  devote  them- 
selves to  exact  investigations  and  the  study  of  special 
problems.  Thus  Lang,  Zwez,  Varrentrapp,  Eeclam, 
and  Erisman  have  ascertained  the  requirements  of 
sanitary  school-buildings  with  respect  to  location  and 
construction.  Parow,  Fahrner,  Hermann,  Schildbach, 
Kunze,  and  Buchner  introduced  the  school-desk  re- 
form; and  they  have  lately  been  joined  by  Schenk  and 
Lorenz.  Von  Pettenkoffer,  Breiting,  and  Ritschel 
have  tested  the  air  in  school-rooms. 

Attention  has  also  been  given  to  the  personal  hygiene 
of  the  pupils  and  the  so-called  school  diseases.  In 
the  study  of  eye  defects,  the  examination  of  10,060 
school  children  by  Hermann  Cohn  was  epoch-making; 
and  he  has  recently  been  followed  by  von  Arlt,  Schmidt 
Rimpler,  von  Hippel,  Pfliiger,  and  Stilling.  Von 
Reichard,  Weil,  Bezold,  and  K^ager  have  studied  the 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  33 

hearing  of  children.  Bresgen  and  Kafemann  have 
pointed  out  that  when  breathing  through  the  nose  is 
obstructed,  weakness  of  memory  and  attention  is  pro- 
duced. To  prevent  the  curvature  of  the  spine  so 
often  caused  by  writing,  Schubert  and  W.  Meyer  have 
advocated  the  introduction  of  vertical  script.  And, 
lastly,  A.  and  H.  Gutzmann  have  suggested  a  new 
method  of  curing  stuttering,  and  have  attained  note- 
worthy results  in  this  line. 

There  is  no  lack  of  comprehensive  treatises  on  school 
hygiene.  Besides  the  older  works  of  Guillaume, 
Falk,  Thome,  Gauster,  Eiemann,  and  Eembold,  we 
will  mention  those  of  Burgerstein1,  Baginski,2  Bur- 
gerstein  and  Netolitzky, 3  and  Eulenberg  and  Bach  4. 
The  first  work  of  Burgerstein  gives  a  short  survey; 

1  Leo    Burgerstein,    Die   Gesundheitspflege    in    der 
Mittelschule.     Hygiene  des  Korpers  nebst  beilaufigen. 
Bemerkungen,  1887,  A  Holder. 

2  Ad.    Baginsky,    Handbuch    der    Schul-Hygiene. 
Stuttgart,  1883,  Enke. 

3  Leo  Burgerstein  und  Aug.  Xetolitzky,  Handbuch 
der   Schulhygiene.     Mit    154    Abildungen    im    Text. 
Jena,  1895,  Gustav  Fischer. 

4H.  Eulenberg  und  Th.  Bach,  Schulgesundheitslehre. 
Das  Schulhaus  und  das  Unterrichtswesen,  vom  hygien- 
ischen  Standpunkte  fur  Arzte,  Lehrer,  Verwaltungs- 
beamte  und  Architekten  bearbeitet.  2d  ed.  Berlin, 
1898,  F.  F.  Heine. 


34  HISTORY   OF   SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

the  equally  thorough  and  original  Handbook  by  Baginski 
is  of  special  value  to  physicians;  while  the  work  of 
Burgerstein  and  Netolitzky  which  was  compiled  jointly 
by  an  educator  and  a  physician,  and  that  of  Eulenberg 
and  Bach  may  preferably  be  recommended  to  teachers. 
Burgerstein  and  Netolitzky's  treatise  has  an  interna- 
tional character;  while  that  of  Eulenberg  and  Bach 
deals  chiefly  with  the  conditions  in  Prussia. 


CHAPTEK  II 
THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  SCHOOL-BOOM 

Since  we  have  undertaken  to  treat  only  of  those 
facts  of  school  hygiene  which  the  teacher  himself  can 
observe  and  to  some  extent  control,  we  refer  the 
reader  to  the  more  complete  works  of  Baginsky, 
Burgerstein-JSTetolitzky,  and  Eulenberg-Bach  for  a  dis- 
cussion of  buildings  and  sites.  In  these  the  necessary 
information  can  be  obtained  concerning  the  location 
and  extent  of  the  site  and  the  different  parts  of  the 
building,  especially  the  foundation,  fagade,  materials, 
stories,  corridors,  and  roof. 

The  orientation1  of  the  schoolroom  is,  however, 
not  entirely  beyond  the  control  of  the  teacher.  Class- 
rooms which  have  an  unfavorable  location  may  be  ex- 
changed for  other  rooms,  such  as  the  principal's  office, 
the  conference  or  faculty  room,  the  physical  or  chemi- 
cal laboratory,  the  museum,  the  library,  etc. 

In  general,  it  should  be  the  rule  to  have  the  sun 
shine  freely  into  the  room  for  several  hours  of  the 
day,  if  possible  when  school  is  not  in  session.  Since 
sunless  rooms  are  generally  damp  and  cold,  people 
justly  call  them  unhealthful.  "  Where  the  sun  does 

1  Paul  Schubert,  Uber  Schulfenster  und  Vorhange. 
Miinchener  medizinische  Wochenschrift,  1898,  No.  14^ 

(35) 


36  THE    LIGHT   OF   THE    SCHOOL-ROOM 

not  go,  the  doctor  goes,"  says  an  Italian  proverb.  We 
know  that  on  streets  which  run  east  and  west,  the  rate 
of  mortality  is  greater  on  the  shady  than  on  the  sunny 
side.  Besides  warming  and  ventilating,  sunlight  also 
disinfects.  Pure  cultures  of  most  pathogenic  bacteria 
do  not  grow  in  the  sunlight  but  soon  perish.  Sunny 
class-rooms  are,  therefore,  to  a  certain  degree,  a  hin- 
drance to  the  spread  of  infectious  diseases  through  the 
school. 

A  southeasterly  direction  of  class-room  windows  is 
to  be  preferred.  This  provides  for  the  necessary  light 
and  warmth  from  the  sun,  does  not  expose  the  win- 
dow front  to  the  generally  prevailing  west  winds, 
and  prevents  the  early  and  almost  horizontal  rays  from 
falling  into  the  room.  In  this  respect  it  has  this 
special  advantage  over  the  pure  easterly  direction  that 
the  sun  reaches  the  room  later  in  the  day  and  leaves  it 
after  a  shorter  time. 

We  believe  that  an  easterly  exposure  is,  next  to  the 
southeasterly,  the  most  favorable,  because  here  the  sun 
shines  into  the  room  chiefly  before  instruction  begins 
and  not  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day.  Should 
it  be  found  that  the'rooms  are  too  warm  by  8  o'clock, 
the  windows  must  be  opened,  and  the  awnings, 
Venetian  blinds,  or  curtains  let  down  before  that  time. 
The  morning  sun  furnishes,  moreover,  an  excellent 
light  for  the  main  hours  of  the  day  and  has  a  cheering 
effect  on  the  minds  of  both  pupils  and  teachers. 

A  southerly  exposure  of  class-rooms  is  more  ques- 


ORIENTATION  37 

tionable,  because  the  rooms  become  too  warm  in  sum- 
mer. To  be  sure,  we  hear  the  argument  that  in  our 
climate  even  at  this  time  of  the  year  the  sky  is  often 
cloudy ;  that  the  nearly  perpendicular  rays  of  the  noon- 
day sun  do  not  fall  far  into  the  room  and  are  less  an- 
noying than  the  horizontal  light  of  the  morning  and 
evening  sun,  and  that  the  two  hottest  months  are 
mostly  taken  up  by  the  summer  vacation.  Neverthe- 
less, as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  temperature  in  the  south- 
erly rooms  rises  very  high  in  spite  of  all  protective 
measures][against  the  sun,  since  the  southern  wall  and 
the  layers  of  air  next  to  it  both  become  strongly  heated. 
A  southerly  exposure  may  be  unfavorable  not  simply  in 
summer  but  also  in  winter1.  It  would  be  possible 
only  with  an  easily  regulated  heating  apparatus  to  keep 
the  temperature  of  the  room  constant,  with  the  win- 
dows now  shaded  and  cool  and  now  heated  by  the  noon- 
day sun. 

The  objection  raised  by  Varrentrapp  2  against  rooms 
located  on  the  west  side,  namely,  that  they  are  heated 
more  intensely  and  lighted  more  uncomfortably  than 
others,  is  not  valid,  since  schools  with  two  sessions 

1  Chr.    Nussbaum    Zur  Orientierung  der  Schulzim- 
mer.     Zeitschrift   fur    Schulgesundheitspflege,     1888, 
No.  3  p.  70-74.     Id.   Gunstigste  Lage  der  Schulzim- 
mer.     Gesundheitsingenieur,  1894,  No.  16. 

2  Varrentrapp,  Hygienische  Anforderungen'an  Schul- 
bauten.     Deutsche  Vierteljahrsschrift  fur  offentliche 
Gesundheitspflege,  1869,  Vol.  I,  Part  4,  p.  469. 


38  THE    LIGHT   OF   THE    SCHOOL-BOOM 

close  at  4,  and  those  with  one,  at  2  to  3  o'clock,  when 
the  sun  is  still  comparatively  high  in  the  heavens. 
We  would  not,  however,  advocate  a  westerly  direction, 
because  as  stated  above,  it  is  the  side  exposed  to  the 
weather.  Wind  and  rain  would  often  strike  the  win- 
dows, prevent  their  being  opened  in  summer,  and  in 
large  cities  blow  dust  and  smoke  into  the  room. 

A  northerly  exposure  is  admissible  for  drawing-rooms, 
and  in  fact  to  be  recommended  for  this  purpose,  be- 
cause north  rooms,  not  being  open  to  the  sun,  need  no 
blinds.  The  light  can  therefore  all  be  utilized;  and 
it  remains  exceedingly  uniform.  If  a  northerly  draw- 
ing-room is  well  heated  and  well  ventilated,  it  is  not 
likely  to  be  injurious  to  health,  notwithstanding  the 
lack  of  sunlight,  because  pupils  spend  in  it  only  a  few 
hours  per  week. 

The  natural  illumination  of  the  school-room  is 
closely  connected  with  its  orientation.  For  it  is  evi- 
dent that  rooms  facing  the  northeast,  have  more  light 
in  the  morning  than  those  facing  the  southwest,  while 
at  noon  the  reverse  is  true ;  and  that  rooms  facing  the 
south,  other  things  being  equal,  receive  more  light 
than  those  facing  the  north. 

Sufficient  daylight  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
the  eyes,  and  therefore  efforts  have  been  made  for  a 
long  time  to  ascertain  in  figures  the  amount  of  light 
in  different  parts  of  the  school-room. 

This  was  first  made  possible  by  the  Photometer  of 


NATURAL   ILLUMINATION  39 

Leonhard  Weber  l  of  Breslau.   (Fig.  I.)     This  instru- 


FIG.  1.  LEONHARD  WEBER'S  PHOTOMETER 

1  Beschrieben  im  Journal  fur  Gasbeleuchtung,  1885, 
Vol.  28,  p.  267  ff. ;  Compare  Hugo  Kriiss,  Uber  einege 
Abanderungen  des  Weber-schen  Photometers.  Seper- 
atabdruck  aus  Schillings  Journal  fur  Gasbeleuchtung 
und  Wasserversorgung,  1898. 


40  THE   LIGHT   OF   THE   SCHOOL-BOOM 

ment,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  illustration,  consists  of, 
(1)  the  pillar  Z>,  and  the  case  E,  which  also  serves  as  a 
base;  (2)  the  receptacle  C,  which  contains  a  benzine 
candle;  (3)  the  fixed  tube  A\  and  (4)  the  tube  jft, 
which  is  perpendicular  to  A  and  turns  on  an  axis  coin- 
cident with  the  axis  of  A.  In  the  case  C,  is  a  little 
device  for  regulating  the  flame,  and  a  small  scale  at- 
tached to  a  mirror.  By  looking  through  a  slit  oppo- 
site, the  length  of  the  flame,  which  is  to  be  2  cm.,  can 
be  read  on  this  scale.  Along  the  full  length  of  tube  A 
is  a  millimeter  scale.  In  this  tube  a  ring  holding  a 
plate  of  glass-porcelain  can  be  moved  back  and  forth 
by  means  of  a  little  button  /;  and  a  small  index  con- 
nected with  the  ring  shows  on  its  millimeter  scale  the 
distance  between  the  glass  plate  and  the  benzine  flame. 
The  movable  tube  B  can  be  turned  fully  180  °  out  of 
the  position  jt  has  in  the  cut,  where  the  ocular  h  is 
down ;  and  it  can  be  fixed  in  any  position  by  means  of 
a  set  screw.  In  the  middle  of  B  is  a  reflection  prism, 
one  perpendicular  plane  of  which  is  turned  toward  the 
middle  axis  of  A,  and  the  other  toward  the  ocular  h.  By 
means  of  this  prism  the  light  that  comes  from  A  is 
reflected  at  an  angle  of  90  °  toward  the  eye  of  the  ob- 
server. At  the  end  of  the  tube  B,  opposite  the 
ocular,  is  a  square  metal  box  g  to  which  a  tube  (i)  can 
be  attached  to  exclude  light  from  the  sides.  In  case 
the  light  to  be  measured  is  too  strong,  one  or  more 


WEBER'S  PHOTOMETER  41 

glass  plates  can  be  introduced  into  the  box  g  from  the 
side  in  order  to  dimmish  the  intensity. 

The  light  that  goes  to  the  ocular  from  here  fills 
the  left  side  of  the  field  of  vision.  On  looking  into 
the  ocular  one  sees  to  the  right  only  the  light  which 
comes  from  A',  and  to  the  left,  only  that  which  enters 
through  the  box  g.  If  the  two  lights  are  equal  in 
color  and  intensity  the  two  parts  of  the  field  of  vision 
merge  into  one  with  a  scarcely  noticeable  line  of  divi- 
sion. To  enable  the  observer  to  give  the  light  to  be 
measured  the  same  color  as  the  benzine-light,  the 
ocular  contains  a  slide  with  an  aperture  and  a  red  and 
a  green  plate  of  glass,  so  that  the  photometer  can  at 
pleasure  be  set  for  white,  red,  or  green,  light. 

A  white  slate,  forming  a  part  of  the  outfit,  is  fastened 
to  a  stand  and  placed  in  that  part  of  the  school-room 
where  the  light  is  to  be  measured.  The  movable 
tube  B  is  directed  as  nearly  as  possible  toward  the 
centre  of  the  slate;  and  the  glass  porcelain  plate  in 
the  tube  A  is  then  shifted  back  and  forth  by  means  of 
the  button  /,  until  the  left  and  the  right  sides 
of  the  field  of  vision  become  alike.  The  intensity  of 
the  light  thus  measured  is  computed  by  means  of  a 
formula  given  by  Weber.  The  result  gives  the  num- 
ber of  "  normal  candles  "  which  one  would  have  to  place 
at  1  m.  distance  from  the  slate  in  order  to  illuminate 
the  same  as  strongly  as  it  is  illuminated  by  the  diffuse 
daylight  as  the  time  of  examination. 


42 


THE   LIGHT   OF   THE    SCHOOL-KOOM 


Hermann  Cohn,  the  first  investigator  to  try  to  fix 
upon  a  standard  of  light  for  the  different  parts  of  the 
school-room,  has,  after  numerous  measurements, 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  minimum  light  in- 
tensity must  equal  that  of  10  of  Weber's  meter-candles, 
which  corresponds  to  20-30  ordinary  normal  meter- 
candles. 

The  stereogoniometer  l  is  another  instrument  pro- 
posed by  Weber  for  measuring  the  quantity  of  daylight 
in  school-rooms.  In  the  accompanying  illustration 
(Fig.  2),  G  represents  the  base;  P,  a  movable  plate;  Z, 


FIG.  2.     LEONIIARD  WEBER'S  STEREOGONIOMETER 

a  lens,  which  can  be  shifted  on  the  rod  s;  B,  an  arc 

1  Beschreibung  eines  Raumwinkelmessers  von  Pro- 
fessor Dr.  L.  Weber.  Zeitschrift  fiir  Instrumenten- 
kunde,  1884,  Part  10,  pp.  343-347;  Dingler's  Poly- 
technisches  Journal,  1886,  Vol.  259,  Part  1,  p.  122  ff. 


WEBER'S  STEREOGONIOMETER  43 

divided  into  degrees ;  and  H,  a  holder  fastened  to  the 
plate  P,  from  which  the  plumb-line  H  E  is  suspended. 
After  the  instrument  has  been  placed  on  the  spot  to 
be  tested  and  the  lens  turned  toward  the  window,  the 
base  is  made  horizontal  by  the  aid  of  three  leveling 
screws  and  the  plumb-line  H  E.  For  this  operation 
the  plate  P  has  to  be  moved  so  that  the  index  m  at- 
tached to  it  points  to  the  zero  mark  on  B.  The  base 
is  level  when  the  plumb  is  directly  over  a  given  point 
in  it. 

By  shifting  the  lens  L  on  the  rod  s  an  inverted 
image  of  the  window  sash,  the  roofs  and  steeples,  as 
well  as  of  that  part  of  the  sky  visible  at  the  place 
under  investigation,  is  produced  on  a  sheet  of  paper 
fastened  with  brass  clasps  on  the  plate  P.  This  paper 
is  divided  by  lines  into  2  mm  squares.  If  the  outline 
of  the  image,  which  ought  to  be  grouped  as  uniformly 
as  possible  around  the  point  C,  is  traced  with  a  lead 
pencil  and  the  squares  it  covers  counted,  the  fractions 
of  squares  being  estimated,  the  number  obtained  will 
give  the  solid  angle  w;  which  represents  the  extent  of 
the  visible  part  of  the  sky  in  square  degrees.  The 
equation  h  =  w  sin  a  will  then  be  true.  Here  h  repre- 
sents the  light  intensity,  10  the  solid  angle,  a  the  angle 
of  incidence  shown  on  the  graduated  arc  B  by  the  in- 
dex m,  and  w  sin  a  the  reduced  solid  angle. 

According  to  Cohn,  a  reduced  solid  angle  of  50 
square  degrees  is  required  to  give  the  least  permissible 


44  THE    LIGHT   OF   THE    SCHOOL-ROOM 

intensity  of  10  meter  candles.  Gillert  criticises  this 
method,  urging  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  brightness  of 
the  sky  varies  with  the  climate,  the  country,  and  the 
elevation  of  the  sun,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
amount  of  light  at  a  desk  depends  not  only  on  direct 
skylight  but  also  on  reflected  light.  The  reduced  solid 
angle  measures  only  the  former,  while  under  certain 
conditions  the  latter  is  predominant.  Erismann  found, 
moreover,  that  in  four  school-rooms  in  Moscow  the 
average  light  intensity  with  an  angle  of  from  10  to  20 
square  degrees  was  three  or  four  times  as  great  as  the 
minimum  required  by  Cohn;  and  the  least  intensity 
observed  with  an  angle  of  from  5  to  10  square  degrees- 
came  up  to  this  mark.  Even  when  the  sky  was  wholly 
invisible  the  average  light  intensity  was  still  as  great 
as  that  from  10  meter  candles. 

Though  we  may  admit  that  this  instrument  gives  us 
in  some  degree  a  measure  of  the  illumination,  yet,  for 
purely  practical  purposes,  the  preference  must  be  given 
to  a  method  recommended  by  Schmidt- Rimpler,  by 
which  the  intensity  of  the  light  at  a  desk  is  ascertained 
by  means  of  test  types.  Those  of  Snellen1,  Cohn2,. 

1  Herm.  Snellen,  Optotypi  ad  Visum  determinandum 
secundum    formulam    V-     — ^— .     Edit.   XI,   metrico 
systemate.     Berlin,  1892,  Herm.  Peters. 

2  Herm.  Cohn,  Tafel  Zur  Priifung  der  Sehleistung 
und  Sehschiirfe  der  Schulkinder,  Soldaten,  Seeleute, 
und  Bahnbeambten.    5  Ed.  Breslau,  1897,  Priebatsch. 


WEBEK'S  STEREOGONIOMETER  45 

and  Albrand1  are  the  best.  If  the  smaller  types, 
which,  by  the  normal  eye  can  be  recognized  in  good 
light  at  a  distance  of  0.5,  0.6,  or  0.8  m  respectively, 
can  not  be  read  at  all  at  the  place  examined  or  only 
at  -f-  of  the  above  distance,  the  light  is  insufficient. 
This  will  generally  be  true  where  no  portion  of  the 
sky  is  visible.  These  dark  places  are  usually  near  the 
wall  opposite  the  windows  or  directly  adjacent  to  the 
wall  spaces  between  them.  Moreover,  Huth  has  shown 
in  a  school  in  Berlin  that  at  a  distance  of  6-7  meters 
from  the  windows  the  light  was  reduced  to  a  thirtieth 
of  its  original  intensity;  and  in  cloudy  weather  it  fell 
below  that  of  one  meter  candle. 

If  the  light  supply  is  insufficient  in  a  school-room, 
what  can  be  done  to  remedy  the  matter  ?  Sometimes 
we  may  leave  dark  places  unused,  or  else  exchange 
them  for  others  that  have  more  light.  If  this  is  im- 
possible, we  must  paint  dirty  ceilings  white,  and  dark 
walls  either  light  gray  or  green;  but  in  neither  case 
should  the  color  be  dazzling.  Above  all,  light  must  be 
given  free  passage  through  the  windows.  These  must 
be  cleaned  carefully,  and  kept  free  from  paint;  and 
the  blinds  must  be  raised  as  high  as  possible. 

A  still  better  plan  would  be  to  fasten  the  blinds 
above  so  that  they  could  not  obstruct  any  part  of  the 
window.  When  the  upper  parts  of  arched  or  Gothic 
windows  have  draperies,  as  is  often  the  case  in  upper 
grades,  these  must  be  removed,  because  the  "greater 

1  Albrand,  Sehproben,  Leipzig,  1893,  H.  Hartung 
u.  Sohn. 


THE    LIGHT    OF   THE    SCHOOL-BOOM 


part  of  the  light  of  a  school-room  comes  through  the 
upper  panes.  The  removal  of  vines  and  especially  of 
trees  which  shade  the  windows  improves  the  light  in  a 
school-room  very  much.  If  adjacent  wings  of  build- 
ings are  in  the  way  of  one  another's  light,  it  is  often 
a  very  good  thing  to  paint  the  outsides  a  light  color 
to  increase  the  reflection. 

Light  can  also  he  thrown  into  a  dark  room  by  means 
of  prisms  and  reflectors.  Forster1  in  Breslau  was  the 
first  to  use  prisms  for  this  purpose ;  but,  as  far  as  we 
know,  they  have  not  been  used  elsewhere.  The  day- 
light reflector  by  F.  W.  Hen- 
nig  of  Berlin,  the  use  of 
which  will  be  explained  by 
the  accompanying  illustra- 
tion (Fig.  3),  has  proved 
much  more  satisfactory.  It 
is  composed  of  a  somewhat 
wavy  plate  of  glass  coated 
with  silver  and  attached  to 
the  window  at  an  angle  of 
about  45°.  The  corrugation 
increases  the  surface  of  re- 
flection and  secures  a  better 
distribution  of  the  light. 

1  Forster,  Einige  Grundbedingungen  fur  gute  Ta- 
gesbeleuchtung  in  den  Schulsalen.  Seperatabdruck 
aus  der  Deutschen  Vierteljahrsschrift  fur  offentliche 
Gesundheitspflege,  1884,  Vol.  16. 


FIG.  3.     F.  W.  HENNIG'S  DAY- 
LIGHT REFLECTOR 


DAYLIGHT  REFLECTOR  47 

The  layer  of  silver,  which  increases  the  intensity  of  re- 
flection, is  given  a  coating  of  waterproof  varnish  to 
protect  it  from  the  weather. 

After  putting  up  such  a  reflector,  Perlia1  found  that 
acuteness  of  vision  was  nearly  doubled.  Diamond 
type  was  read  13,  and  Bourgeois  19  cm.  farther  away. 
In  correspondence  with  this,  it  was  found  photometric- 
ally that  the  amount  of  light  was  nearly  twice  as  great. 

If  the  necessary  light  cannot  be  secured  even  by  the 
introduction  of  reflectors,  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to 
enlarge  the  windows.  This  has  often  been  done  in  the 
schools  of  Breslau,  In  Prussia,  according  to  the  Royal 
Technical  Building  Deputation,  the  window  and  floor 
spaces  must  have  a  ratio  to  each  other  of  1:5.  In 
Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Lower  Austria  a  ratio  of 
1 :  6  is  required  when  the  building  stands  free ;  and  one 
of  1:4,  when  the  light  is  obstructed  by  neighboring 
buildings. 

In  enlarging  the  windows,  care  should  be  taken  to 
have  the  apertures  made  rectangular,  since  arched  or 
Gothic  styles  lessen  the  window  surface  unnecessarily. 
The  top  of  the  window  ought  to  extend  as  nearly  as 
possible  to  the  ceiling ;  and  the  lower  part  must  be  1 
to  1.25  m.  above  the  floor,  according  to  the  size  of  the 

1  Perlia,  Uber  einen  Tageslicht  reflektor  fur  Schulen. 
Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1893,  No.  10,  p. 
521-541  and  No.  11,  p.  588-610. 


48     .  THE    LIGHT   OF   THE   SCHOOL-ROOM 

pupils,  so  that  they  may  not  be  troubled  by  having 
light  fall  into  their  eyes  from  below. 

Walls  containing  windows  should  be  bevelled  both  on 
the  inner  and  outer  edges,  especially  at  the  top  outside. 
The  panes  must  be  as  large  and  the  sashes  as  narrow 
as  possible.  In  the  Francke  Institute  at  Halle  on  the 
Saale  where  the  windows  of  ordinary  size  have  twenty- 
four  panes,  Liebrecht  8  found  that  the  amount  of  sky 
visible  was  diminished  one-fourth  by  the  many  cross 
pieces. 

The  illumination  may,  furthermore,  be  too  strong 
as  well  as  too  weak.  Direct  sunlight  should  not  fall 
on  the  eyes  or  work  of  the  pupils,  as  it  will  irritate 
the  retina.  To  prevent  this,  school-windows  should 
have  means  of  protection  either  on  the  outside  or  on 
the  inside.  Outside  awnings  have  this  advantage,  that 
they  can  be  placed  according  to  the  position  of  the 
sun,  and  so  do  not  unnecessarily  diminish  the  light  in 
the  room.  They  also  protect  the  children  from  the 
heat  of  the  sun  and  permit  the  opening  of  the  win- 
dows. They  are,  on  the  other  hand,  expensive ;  and  do 
not  last  long,  since  they  are  exposed  to  the  weather. 
This  holds  true,  also,  of  blinds  and  shutters  suspended 
outside  from  the  top  of  the  window  frame  and  held 
away  a  certain  distance  at  the  bottom  by  iron  rods. 
When  they  are  drawn  up  they  darken  the  school-room 
more  than  the  awnings  do. 


CURTAINS   AND    BLINDS  49 

Boiler  curtains  or  similar  arrangements  on  the  inside 
of  windows  are,  therefore,  to  be  preferred.  Fine  white 
shirting,  ecru  or  cre'me  colored  twilling,  and  strong 
white  dowlas  are,  according  to  Cohn,  l  most  suitable 
for  the  purpose,  since  other  materials  on  the  market, 
which  are  usually  green  or  deep  blue,  absorb  too  much 
light. 

Common  curtains  which  roll  up  at  the  top  have 
the  disadvantage  not  only  of  being  usually  out  of 
order,  but  also  of  letting  in  light  at  the  sides.  If 
people,  nevertheless,  will  have  them,  they  must  be 
put  up  so  as  to  extend  a  little  over  the  window  frame. 
Better  than  these  just  mentioned  are  curtains  that  can 
be  drawn  up  from  the  bottom  by  a  crank  or  such  as 
are  fastened  in  pairs  at  the  middle  of  the  window  and 
can  be  drawn  one  up  one  down.  With  the  latter,  it  is 
possible  to  leave  the  upper  parts  of  the  windows, 
through  which  the  brightest  sky  light  enters,  uncov- 
ered, as  soon  as  the  sun  permits. 

To  secure  the  same  results,  Liebrecht2  proposed  to 
use  blinds  which  can  be  moved  sideways,  and  which 

1  Herm.  Cohn,  Uber  Fenstervorhange  in  Schulen. 
Sonderabdruck  aus  der  Deutschen  medizinischen 
Wochenschrift,  1894,  No.  46. 

2K.  Liebrecht,  die  Lichtverhiiltnisse  in  den  Schulen 
der  Stadt  Halle  a.  S.  Zeitschrift  fiir  Schulgesundheits- 
pflege,  1893,  No.  10,  p.  521-541  and  No.  11,  p.  588- 
610. 


50  THE    LIGHT   OF   THE    SCHOOL   ROOM 

are  divided  into  an  upper  and  a  lower  half,  thus  mak- 
ing it  possible  to  cut  off  the  light  from  any  part  of  the 
room. 

Venetian  blinds,  whose  slats  can  be  set  horizontally, 
diagonally,  or  perpendicularly,  are  not  suitable  for 
school-rooms.  With  the  slats  inclined  45°,  only  0.6  to 
1.5$  of  the  daylight  passes  through  them;  and  they 
are,  besides  too  expensive,  costing  at  least  20  marks 
($5.00)  for  each  window. 

In  addition  to  having  the  light  sufficient  and  not  too 
strong,  it  is  important  to  see  that  it  comes  from  the 
right  direction.  The  windows  must,  therefore,  be  in 
a  wall  lengthwise  of  the  room  and  to  the  left  of  the 
pupils.  If  the  windows  are  in  front,  the  light  will  fall 
directly  into  the  pupils  eyes  and  irritate  the  retina. 

Another  inconvenience  from  windows  so  located  is 
described  by  Baginsky  from  his  own  experience.  He 
writes:  "  In  the  senior  class-room  in  the  gymnasium  I 
attended,  the  light  came  from  in  front  and  was  com- 
bined with  a  deficient  lighting  from  the  left,  and  I  re- 
member distinctly  how  difficult  it  was  to  recognize 
mathematical  figures  and  formulas  on  the  blackboard. '* 

It  would  be  no  better  to  have  the  windows  to  the  right 
of  the  pupils  rather  than  in  front,  because  in  such  cases 
the  shadow  of  the  hand  with  which  the  pupil  is  writ- 
ing falls  on  the  paper  and  darkens  it.  Still  stronger 
shadows,  caused  by  the  whole  upper  part  of  the  body, 
appear  when  the  windows  are  located  behind  the  pupils. 
Besides,  the  teacher  is  here  dazzled  by  the  light,  which 


FKOM    ONE    SIDE    OR   TWO  51 

lie  has  to  face  directly.  Consequently  the  light  from 
the  left  is  the  only  proper  light,  and  hence  is  most 
commonly  used  in  higher  schools. 

There  still  remains  the  question,  whether  light  might 
not  enter  the  school-room  from  the  two  sides.  In 
France,  one  often  finds  windows  both  to  the  right  and 
to  the  left  of  the  pupils  ;  and  eminent  authorities, 
like  Javal  of  Paris,  favor  this  plan  when  the  light  from 
the  left  is  insufficient. 

The  Medical  Expert  Commission  of  Strassburg  1 
take  the  same  view.  They  say  that  with  light  coming 
in  on  both  sides  places  between  the  windows  and  in 
the  corners  of  the  room  are  better  lighted.  The  ob- 
jection, that  with  two  rows  of  windows  the  shadow  of 
the  writing  hand  is  troublesome,  they  hold  is  not  valid; 
since  in  the  first  place,  one-half  of  the  pupils  get  the 
greater  amount  of  light  from  the  left  side,  and,  in  the 
second  place,  the  other  half  gets  enough  light  from 
the  left  to  do  away  with  any  considerable  shadow  which 
might  be  formed  by  the  light  coming  from  the  right. 
Berlin  and  Eembold, 2  also,  assert  that  the  light  from 

1  Arztliches  Gutachten  iiber  das  hohre  Schulwesen 
Elsass-Lothringens.      Im   Auftrage   des   Kaiserlichen 
Statthalters  erstattet,  von  einer  medizinischen  Sachver- 
standigen-kommission.     Strassburg  i.  E.,  1882. 

2  Berlin   und  Rembold,   Untersuchungen  iiber  den 
Einfluss  des  Schreibens  auf  Auge  und  Korperhaltung 
der  Schulkinder.     2  ed.  Stuttgart,  1883. 


52  THE   LIGHT   OF   THE   SCHOOL   ROOM 

two  sides,  which  is  so  severely  proscribed  in  Germany, 
is  not  at  all  undesirable.  But  the  facts  which  they  cite 
to  substantiate  their  opinion,  namely,  that  those  school- 
rooms which  had  the  least  number  of  myopic  children 
received  abundant  light  both  from  the  right  and  left, 
we  can  not  admit  as  a  demonstration,  because  myopia 
is  due  to  many  other  causes  besides  deficient  lighting. 
French  hygienists  have,  themselves,  repeatedly  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  forms  are  recognized  with 
great  difficulty  when  light  comes  from  two  sides,  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  shadows.  And  lastly,  with 
this  arrangement  the  right  and  the  left  eyes  are  illum- 
inated differently,  which  may  give  rise  to  the  develop- 
ment of  defective  refracting  power. 

Lighting  from  both  right  and  left  can,  therefore,  be 
sanctioned  only  if  sufficient  light  can  be  had  in  no 
other  way.  Windows  both  at  the  left  and  rear  of  the 
pupils  should  still  more  emphatically  be  prohibited 
except  in  cases  of  emergency.  If  they  are,  neverthe- 
less, in  use,  the  light  from  behind  ought  to  be  checked 
by  dulled  panes,"curtains,  or  similar  devices.  All  other 
combinations  of  two-sided  lighting  are  to  be  absolutely 
rejected. 


CHAPTER  III 


ARTIFICIAL  ILLUMINATION  OF  SCHOOL-ROOMS 
Daylight  is  undoubtedly  the  light  most  suitable  for 
the  eyes ;  nevertheless,  artificial  illumination  may  some- 
times become  necessary  in  school-rooms.  This  hap- 
pens most  frequently  in  schools  with  two  sessions  in 
winter,  when  the  first  and  last  periods  do  not  always 
have  sufficient  natural  light.  But  even  at  other  seasons 
dense  mists,  fogs,  clouds,  etc.,  may  darken  the  room 
so  that  artificial  illumination  becomes  a  necessity. 
Boarding-schools  must  have  it,  at  any  rate.1. 

The  electric  light  ranks  first  among  the  different  kinds 
of  artificial  light.  It  is  white,  and  resembles  daylight 
most  closely  leaving  colors  almost  unchanged ;  it  does 
not  contaminate  the  air;  it  involves  almost  no  risk  of 
fire ;  and  it  can  be  conveniently  handled.  The  flicker- 
ing, which  is  so  disagreeable  to  the  eye  on  account  of 
the  changes  in  intensity,  has  in  consequence  of  recent 
technical  progress  wholly  disappeared  in  the  incan- 
descent, and  almost  wholly  in  the  arc  lamps. 

Even  the  plunge  into  sudden  darkness  due  to  the 

1  Uber  die  Beleuchtung  in  einem  Alumnat.  Eulen- 
bergs  Vierteljahrsschrift,  1879,  Vol.  XXXI,  p.  63. 

(53) 


54  ARTIFICIAL    ILLUMINATION 

stopping  of  the  machinery  is  hardly  to  be  feared  any 
longer ;  and   besides  a  storage  battery  may  be  kept , 
constantly  in  readiness.    Such  batteries  are  particularly 
serviceable  in  places  like  schools  where  a  current  is 
needed  on  the  instant  and  for  a  short  time  only. 

The  arc  light  has,  as  is  well  known,  great  intensity 
and  must  be  covered  by  ground  glass  globes,  alabaster 
shades,  or  something  similar.  It  might  otherwise 
cause  inflammation  and  swelling  of  the  conjunctiva, 
and  photophobia,  with  spasmodic  contractions  of  the 
lids  and  narrowing  of  the  pupils;  also,  hemeralopia,  and 
possibly  amaurosis.  The  eyes  of  the  pupils  must  even 
be  shielded  from  the  glowing  carbon  of  the  incande- 
scent lamps,  which  in  Pfliiger's1  opinion  are  the  best 
for  school  purposes,  especially  since  they  are  more 
durable  than  is  generally  supposed. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  shades  absorb  from  J  to  f 
of  the  light. 2  Besides,  the  arc  and  incadescent  light,  as 
ordinarily  used,  give  rise  to  more  or  less  prominent 
shadows,  which  also  diminish  the  illumination  consid- 
erably. Erismann3  found  that  the  shadow  of  the  head 

1  E.  Pfliiger,  Kurzsichtigkeit  und  Erziehung.     Aka- 
demische  Festrede  zur  Feier  des  Stiftungsfestes  der 
Universitat  Bern.     Wiesbaden,  1887,  J.  F.  Bergmann. 

2  H.  Cohn,  tiber  den  Beleuchtungswert  der  Lam- 
pengiocken.     Wiesbaden,  1885. 

3  Fr.  Erismann,  Die  Schulhygiene  auf  der  Jubilaums- 
ausstellung  der  Gesellschaft  fur  Beforderung  der  Ar- 


ELECTRIC    LIGHT  55 

of  the  writer  reduced  the  light  nearly  a  half,  and  that 
of  the  hand  four-fifths.  He  accordingly  made  use  of 
indirect,  dispersed  light,  similar  to  ordinary  daylight, 
as  Jasper,  Sautter,  Lemonnier,  and  Schlenk1  had  done 
before. 

Schlenk  describes  the  apparatus  as  follows :  "  An  arc 
lamp  of  the  Gramme  system  is  hung  in  the  middle  of 
the  room  so  that  the  focus  is  3m.  above  the  floor.  Un- 
der the  lamp  is  a  closed,  nickel-plated  sheet-iron  re- 
flector having  the  form  of  a  truncated  cone  33  cm.  in 
height,  the  lower  circle  having  a  diameter  of  15  cm., 
the  upper,  one  of  100  cm.  Most  of  the  light  from  the 
arc  is  caught  by  this  reflector  and  thrown  on  the  white 
ceiling.  Many  rays  also  strike  the  latter  directly,  and 
still  more  the  upper  parts  of  the  walls  which  are  like- 
wise kept  bright.  From  here  they  are  reflected  in  all 
directions  and  light  up  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
room  uniformly ;  and  what  is  most  important  they  pre- 

beitsamkeit  in  Moskau.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesund- 
heitspflege,  1888,  No.  10,  p.  3677.  Id.,  Die  Kiinstliche 
Beleuchtung  der  Schulzimmer.  Op.  cit.  1897,  No.  10, 
p.  529-553.  Emanuel  Bayr,  Uber  Beleuchtungsver- 
suche  in  Schulzimmern  mit  direkter  und  indirekter 
Beleuchtung  bei  Anweiidung  von  Gas-  und  Gasgliihlicht 
Elektrischen  Gliih-  und  Bogenlicht  Lampen.  Op. 
cit.,  1898,  No.  3,  p.  129-160. 

1  Leo  Burgerstein,  Zur  kiinstlichen  Beleuchtung  der 
Schulzimmer.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege, 
1889,  No.  1,  p.  18. 


56  ARTIFICIAL     ILLUMINATION 

vent  the  formation  of  shadows.  The  source  of  light 
is  in  this  way  wholly  concealed  from  the  eyes  of  the 
pupils.  How  bright  and  pleasant  such  a  light  can  be 
I  have  myself  been  able  to  observe  in  a  school  in  Ham- 
burg, where  the  rooms  were  illuminated  not  by  one 
but  by  several  arc  lamps  with  reflectors." 

A  side  reflector  based  on  the  same  principle  as  the 
above,  the  patent  for  which  is  owned  by  the  general 
electric  company,  is  especially  recommended  by  Cohn1 
for  rooms  used  in  drawing  lessons.  Two  reflectors 
with  faces  opposite  are  placed  on  the  wall,  so  as  to  make 
a  certain  angle  with  it.  The  larger  reflector  has  the 
shape  and  size  of  a  German  studio  window.  The  focus 
is  in  the  middle  of  the  smaller  reflector,  which  is  made 
of  a  variety  of  transparent  materials.  Half  of  the 
light  falls  on  the  objects  to  be  illuminated  after  a 
single  reflection  from  the  large  reflector;  the  other 
half  falls  on  the  small  reflector  and  is  partly  trans- 
mitted, partly  reflected  to  the  larger.  To  a  person  in 
the  room  the  large  reflector  looks  like  a  luminous  body 
several  square  meters  in  area  with  nearly  uniform 
brightness,  having  only  in  the  middle  a  somewhat 
brighter  spot.  The  illuminating  power  of  the  centre 
can  be  changed  by  putting  in  glass  slides  so  that  the 

1  H.  Cohn.  Uber  kiinstliche  Beleuchtung  insbeson- 
dere  fiir  Zeichen-  und  Horsale.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schul- 
gesundheitspflege,  1893,  No.  6,  p.  336. 


ELECTRIC    LIGHT  57 

teacher  can  make  the  shadows  marked  or  indistinct  as 
he  wishes.  The  instrument  is  made  either  with  one 
or  with  two  arc  lamps,  the  latter  having  the  advantage 
of  producing  a  more  uniform  light.  The  strong  points 
about  the  side  reflector  are  that  it  gives  a  diffused 
light,  which  is  not  dazzling,  but  variable  at  will,  and 
more  evenly  distributed  than  daylight. 

While  the  latter  is  a  hundred  times  stronger  at  the 
windows  than  at  a  distance  of  ten  meters  from  them ; 
the  light  from  the  reflector  shows  an  intensity  of  11.6 
meter-candles  at  2  meters,  and  one  of  1.3  meter-can- 
dles at  10  meters,  giving  only  a  ninefold  diminution. 

In  connection  with  this  subject  we  must  also  give  an 
account  of  Hrabowski's  overhead  reflector  (see  Fig.  4). 


J8 


FIG.  4.     HRABOWSKI'S  OVERHEAD  REFLECTOR 

He  observed  that  only  a  small  amount  of  light  radi- 
ates above  an  angle  of  20  °  or  below  an  angle  of  70  ° 
with  reference  to  the  horizontal  plane,  on  account  of 


58  ARTIFICIAL     ILLUMINATION 

the  interference  of  the  carbons.  Most  of  the  light 
comes  forth  between  25  °  and  45  °  below  this  plane. 
Accordingly  he  constructed  his  reflector  as  follows :  A 
wire  frame  A  B  E  F  covered  with  white  material  is  at- 
tached to  the  large,  white,  concave  top  B  C  D  E,  which 
is  firmly  fixed  to  the  lamp.  An  adjustable  prismatic 
glass  ring  G  H  suspended  from  this  top  surrounds  the 
arc,  under  which  is  the  opal  glass  shield  L.  The  rays 
from  above  down  to  25  °  (0  F,  0  K,  0  Z,  0  A)  strikes 
the  conical  surface  A  B  E  F  directly  and  are  reflected 
down ;  those  from  25  °  to  45  °  pass  through  the  glass 
ring  and  are  refracted  toward  this  white  mantel  (H E, 
HP,  HS,  H  T,  H  F)  and  then  as  in  the  previous  case 
reflected  down;  those  between  45°  and  70°  fall  on  the 
opal  shield  i,  some  passing  through,  others  going  to 
the  reflector  (R  U,  N  V,  M  W)  and  then  to  the  floor. 
The  school-room  receives  in  this  way  a  well  distributed 
diffused  illumination;  shadows  are  insignificant;  and 
the  dazzling  arc  is  completely  concealed. 

The  electric  light  is  doubtless  the  light  of  the  future ; 
but  on  account  of  its  costliness  most  schools  will  have 
to  be  satisfied  with  a  different  kind  of  illumination. 
Gas  light  and  kerosene  lamps  must  claim  our  attention. 

The  Siemen's  regenerative  gas-burner  has  the  special 
advantage  of  not  contaminating  the  air;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  improves  the  ventilation.  If  it  is  to  be  used, 
arrangements  for  the  foul  air  pipes  should  be  made 


GAS  59 

when  the  ceiling  and  ventilating  shafts  are  constructed. 
These  burners  are  exceedingly  bright  but  have  the  dis- 
advantage of  producing  strong  shadows. 

The  gas  arc-light  of  Butzke  of  Berlin  and  the  similar 
Wenham  light  also  gives  an  illumination  suitable  for 
schools.  Both  contain  regenerative  burners  with  the 
flame  downwards.  They  produce  a  steady  white  light 
•comparable  with  the  electric  light,  throw  no  shadows 
below,  are  regulated  automatically,  and  have  arrange- 
ments for  carrying  away  the  gases  from  the  flame.  In 
a  school-room  illuminated  by  4  Butzke  burners,  which 
was  examined  by  Renk,  the  average  light  intensity  was 
9.8  meter-candles,  and  the  difference  between  the 
darkest  and  brightest  spot  was  only  4.6  meter-candles. 

With  respect  to  the  Auer  incandescent  gas-light,  re- 
cent opinions  differ.  The  burning  gas  is  not  in  this  the 
direct  source  of  light  but  is  used  only  to  keep  the  so- 
called  mantle,  a  network  of  cotton  fibres  which  have 
been  soaked  in  pure  toriumoxide,  at  a  constant  white 
heat.  And  this  with  its  far  greater  brilliancy  is  the 
Teal  illuminating  body.  One  advantage  of  the  Auer 
burner  is  that  only  a  small  amount  of  gas  is  consumed 
in  comparison  with  the  amount  of  light  produced.  In 
the  physico-technical  Reichsanstalt  at  Berlin  it  was 
ascertained  that  this  burner  with  a  gas  consumption  of 
120  liters  per  hour  produced  a  light  of  60  normal  can- 
dles, while  the  common  Argand  burner  produced  a 


60  ARTIFICIAL    ILLUMINATION 

light  of  only  20  normal  candles  with  a  gas  consumption? 
of  200  liters  per  hour. 

Since  the  glowing  network  surrounds  the  flame  on. 
all  sides,  no  unconsumed  gas  can  escape,  no  soot  is- 
formed,  and  the  air  of  the  room  remains  pure.  Finally, 
the  incandescent  burner  gives  a  light  of  superior 
brightness,  whiteness,  uniformity  and  steadiness ;  and 
produces  only  a  small  amount  of  heat,  not  enough  to 
cause  overheating.  For  these  reasons  it  has  been- 
recommended  by  the  Prussian  cultus-minister  for  use 
in  public  institutions,  universities,  etc.  In  the  K.  K. 
Theresia  academy  in  Vienna  it  has  been  found  suitable 
both  for  the  class-rooms  and  for  rooms  in  the  boarding 
house.  Since  its  introduction,  there  has  been  a  decrease 
in  diseases  of  the  respiratory  organs,  myopia,  and  cases 
of  conjunctival  catarrh. 

The  city  board  of  works  of  Vienna,  however,  gives- 
us  a  different  view  of  the  matter.  According  to  a  re- 
port by  this  body  a  gradual  decrease  of  brightness  can 
be  observed  in  the  Auer  light.  Its  intensity  and  color, 
especially  when  the  light  is  first  introduced,  irritate- 
the  retina;  and  the  frequent  explosions  of  the  chim- 
neys endanger  personal  safety. 

We  can  say  with  greater  certainty  that  the  Albocar- 
bon  gaslight  is  not  fit  for  school-rooms.  It  is  true  the 
flame  does  not  flicker  on  account  of  the  increase  of 
the  specific  gravity  of  the  gas  through  the  Naphthaline 


GAS  61 

Yapors;  and  it  gives  a  very  intense  and  pleasant  light. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  takes  a  quarter  of  an  hour  for 
the  flame  to  become  bright  and  it  must  be  regulated 
frequently  to  prevent  sooting;  this  makes  it  impracti- 
cal for  school  purposes. 

Illumination  by  means  of  simple  broad  flame  burners, 
— such  as  are  often  found,  either  with  or  without  opal- 
escent glass  globes,  in  halls  for  physical  training,  and  in 
'Corridors,  is  also  to  be  rejected  for  school-room  use.  The 
flames  flicker  so  much  that,  for  this  reason  alone  the 
light  cannot  be  used  for  reading  and  writing;  and, 
besides,  they  lack  sufficient  brightness.  Bound  burn- 
ers properly  constructed  are  much  to  be  preferred;  but 
they  must  be  supplied  both  with  chimneys  and  with 
globes  or  shades. 

The  chimneys  answer  a  threefold  purpose.  They 
prevent  the  flickering  so  hurtful  to  the  eye;  they 
retard  the  vitiation  of  the  air  by  the  products  of 
incomplete  combustion ;  and,  finally  they  afford  a  con- 
siderable protection  against  the  heat  of  the  flame.  If 
they  have  a  thickness  of  from  2  to  3  mm. ,  40  to  50  per 
cent  of  the  heat  will  be  kept  from  penetrating  the 
glass. 

The  upward  going  rays  should  be  reflected  down  up- 
on the  pupils  desks  by  globes  and  shades  so  as  to  in- 
crease the  illumination,.  What  can  be  accomplished 
In  this  way,  we  can  learn  from  Cohn's  measurements. 


62  ARTIFICIAL    ILLUMINATION 

According  to  these,  a  place  with  a  light  intensity  of  one- 
meter-candle  may  have  this  increased  to  23,  by  a  shade 
of  paper;  to  30,  by  one  of  opalescent  glass;  to  64  by 
one  of  white  japanned  metal ;  and  to  260  by  a  hemis- 
pherical reflector. 

With  regard  to  the  use  of  kerosene  lamps,  the  objec- 
tion is  usually  made  that  too  much  care  is  required  to 
keep  them  clean  and  in  order;  and  that  books  and 
tablets  are  liable  to  be  soiled  by  them  because  petrole- 
um vapors  condense  in  the  combustion  on  the  cold 
reservoir. 

Nevertheless,  they  have  many  advantages  over  gas- 
light. There  is  no  danger  of  poisoning  connected 
with  them,  whereas  gas  escaping  from  leaky  pipes  con- 
tains, as  is  well  known,  the  dangerous  carbonic  oxide. 
They  will  not  injure  the  respiratory  organs,  as  impure 
illuminating  gas  will,  which  forms  ammonia  and  sul- 
phuric acid  during  combustion. 

Furthermore,  kerosene  light  does  not  pollute  the 
air  as  much  as  gas  light.  For  a  hundred  candle  power 
light,  petroleum  gives  oS  800  grams  of  water,  and  gas 
2140;  and,  what  is  still  more  important,  petroleum 
under  the  same  circumstances  gives  off  950  liters,  and 
gas  1300  liters  of  carbonic  acid.  Renk1  found,  for 
instance,  that  the  air  in  lecture  rooms  illuminated  with 

1  Fr.  Renk,  Uber  die  kunstliche  Beleuchtung  von 
Horsiilen.  Halle,  1892. 


KEROSENE  63 

gas,  at  Halle  a.  S.,  contained  2  to  3  parts  per  thous- 
and of  carbonic  acid,  even  though  there  were  no  people 
in  the  rooms,  while  breathable  air  should  not  contain 
more  than  1  part  per  thousand. 

Finally,  petroleum  generally  gives  off  less  heat  than 
gas.  It  is  true  both  kinds  of  light  have  nearly  the 
same  number  of  heat  rays,  the  former  having  94  %  and 
the  latter  92$;  but  gas  flames  are,  as  a  rule,  larger 
and  therefore  hotter  than  petroleum  flames.  Cohn1 
found  that  the  temperature  of  a  school-room  was 
25.8  C  ==  78.44  F,  after  the  gas  lights  had  been  burn- 
ing one  hour.  Such  a  temperature  will  necessarily 
prove  enervating  for  pupils  and  teachers  alike.  Fur- 
thermore, hot  flames  cause  a  rapid  evaporation  of  the 
moisture  in  the  eye,  and  in  this  way  bring  about  a 
feeling  of  dryness  in  this  organ.  They  also  cause  the 
face  to  become  heated  and  red;  and  they  produce 
headache, — all  evils  which  are  seldom  found  where 
petroleum  light  is  used. 

Whether  gas  or  petroleum  lights  be  chosen,  the 
illumination  must  in  every  case  be  so  great,  that  at 
all  places  in  the  room  diamond  type  can  be  read  by  a 
person  with  normal  vision  at  a  distance  of  0.5m. 
This  is  equivalent  to  a  light  intensity  of  at  least  10 
meter  candles. 

As  this  is  possible  only  for  seats  close  under  a  lamp, 
there  must  be  at  least  one  lamp  for  every  4  pupils. 

1  H.  Cohn,  op.  cit.,  p.  335. 


64  AKTIFICIAL    ILLUMINATION 

The  lamps  must  also  be  so  distributed  that  all  desks 
may  have  as  uniform  a  light  as  possible ;  though  this 
idea  can  not  be  carried  out  completely,  since  there  will 
always  be  a  number  of  pupils  who  will  sit  in  the  shad- 
ows cast  by  their  neighbors.  Especially  strong  illumi- 
nation is  required  for  blackboards,  charts,  etc. ;  and 
the  lights  used  for  this  purpose  should  be  provided 
with  shades,  or  better  still,  with  reflectors,  so  that  the 
eyes  of  the  pupils  may  be  protected. 

And,  lastly,  the  lights  must  be  at  least  0.5  m.  distant 
from  the  heads  of  the  pupils ;  otherwise  the  heat  will 
cause  a  congestion  of  blood  in  the  head,  and  a  disa- 
greeable feeling  of  heat,  especially  in  the  forehead,  the 
upper  part  of  nose,  and  the  eyelids.  Eiibner  believes 
this  due  not  only  to  the  high  temperature  but  to  the 
drying  of  the  skin  and  the  more  uneven  distribution 
of  light  and  shade  than  is  customary  with  sunlight. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  VENTILATION  AND  CLEANING  OF  SCHOOL-BOOMS 

In  the  foregoing  pages  we  have  repeatedly  spoken  of 
the  pollution  of  the  air  by  products  of  combustion 
from  artificial  lighting.  "We  are  thus  led  to  consider 
one  of  the  most  important  topics  in  school  hygiene. 

Everybody  knows  that  atmospheric  air  is  composed 
of  oxygen,  nitrogen,  water,  and  carbonic  acid;  and 
that  the  proportion  of  these  components,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  water,  is  subject  to  but  very  slight  changes. 
In  all  tests,  where  and  whenever  made,  the  per  cent  by 
volume  has  been  as  follows:  Oxygen  20.94,  nitrogen 
79.02,  carbonic  acid  .03  to  .04,  with  water  in  varying 
quantities. 

Lately  the  so-called  precious  gases  argon,  helium, 
and  krypton,  which  were  formerly  counted  with  nitro- 
gen, have  been  discovered,  and  found  to  be  constant 
components  of  the  air.  Argon  makes  1  %  of  the 
atmosphere.  It  is  not,  as  was  first  supposed,  an  ele- 
ment, but  consists  of  the  real  argon,  a  solid,  metargon, 
and  a  volatile  gas,  neon. 

Outdoor  air  also  has  traces  of  ammonia,  and  nitrous 
and  nitric  acid.  But  to  these  normal  components, 
manifold  impurities  may  be  added  particularly  in  large 

(65) 


66  VENTILATION 

cities:  soot,  chlorine,  hydrochloric  acid,  sulphuretted 
hydrogen,  sulphurous,  and  sulphuric  acid,  carburetted 
hydrogen,  and  especially  gases  caused  by  putrefaction. 

"  The  air  in  the  school-room  ought  if  possible  to 
have  the  same  composition  as  pure  outdoor  air;  but  it 
varies  from  this  in  two  ways,  partly  by  the  addition 
of  foreign  substances  and  partly  by  having  the  usual 
components  in  an  abnormal  proportion.  The  chief 
cause  of  this  is  excretions  from  the  lungs  and  skin  of 
teachers  and  pupils. 

u  After  pure  atmospheric  air  has  been  through  the 
lungs,  it  is,  by  volume,  composed  of  16.03  %  oxygen, 
79.59$  nitrogen,  and  4.38$  carbonic  acid;  and  con- 
tains besides  much  more  water  than  before."  If  we 
compare  these  figures  with  those  above  on  the  com- 
position df  outdoor  air,  we  find  that  the  oxygen  has 
decreased  by  one-fifth,  and  that  the  carbonic  acid  has 
increased  at  least  a  hundredfold. 

To  this  must  be  added  the  carbonic  acid  excreted  by 
the  skin,  although  this  is  only  a  hundredth  or  at  most 
an  eightieth  part  of  that  excreted  by  the  lungs.  The 
more  the  carbonic  acid  in  a  room  increases,  the  less 
readily  will  it  be  given  off  from  the  blood  of  the  per- 
sons in  it.  Respiration  becomes  more  and  more 
obstructed;  and  it  would  eventually  cease  altogether, 
should  the  proportion  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  air  of  the 
room  increase  to  such  an  extent  that  diffusion  could 


EFFECTS   OF    IMPURE    AIR  67 

no  longer  take  place  between  it  and  the  air  of  the- 
lungs. 

On  account  of  this  interference  with  the  respiratory 
processes,  anaemia  and  sometimes  the  first  symptoms 
even  of  lung  diseases  set  in  after  repeated  exposures 
to  air  charged  with  carbonic  acid.  It  is  often  possible 
to  see,  especially  in  the  case  of  young  and  delicate 
children,  how  a  fresh,  healthy  appearance  gradually 
disappears  and  gives  place  to  a  pale,  anaemic  color, — a 
condition  traceable  chiefly  to  the  impure  air  of  the 
schools. 

The  noxiousness  of  the  air  is  due  not  only  to  the 
increase  of  carbonic  acid,  but  far  more  to  certain 
organic  impurities  given  off,  partly  by  the  lungs  and 
partly  by  the  skin.  According  to  Brown-Sequard  and 
d' Arsonval,  respired  air  nearly  always  contains  ammonia 
and  small  quantities  of  organic  matter,  which,  if  not 
decayed  when  exhaled,  show  a  great  tendency  to  dis- 
integrate even  at  a  low  temperature ;  and  from  experi- 
mental evidence  they  conclude  that  these  volatile 
substances  are  poisonous.  For,  on  condensing  vapors 
from  their  own  lungs  or  those  of  their  students,  they 
secured  a  fluid,  which  when  filtered  and  injected  under 
the  skin  of  a  rabbit  produces  the  following  phenomena : 
dilation  of  the  pupils,  marked  retardation  of  respira- 
tion, a  lowering  of  the  temperature  by  from  0.5  C  to 
5°  C,  paralytic  weakness,  especially  in  the  hind  legs., 


68  VENTILATION 

and  an  increase  of  the  heart  beats  from  240  to  320  per 
minute.  They  furthermore  injected  some  fresh  fluid 
taken  directly  from  the  trachea  of  a  dog  into  the 
anterior  carotid  artery  of  a  rabbit.  Violent  convul- 
sions followed,  the  activity  of  the  heart  and  lungs 
ceased  almost  entirely,  and  death  resulted  in  less  than 
a  minute. 

Moreover,  toxic  products  are  contained  not  only  in 
the  exhalation  of  the  lungs  but  also  in  the  perspiration 
of  the  skin.  In  the  case  of  the  latter  we  must  dis- 
tinguish between  sweat  composed  of  water,  a  little 
table-salt,  and  urea,  and  the  so-called  "perspiration 
insensibilis  ",  which  more  properly  ought  to  be  called 
"  invisibilis  ",  because  it  can  be  detected  only  by  the 
sense  of  smell.  That  the  excreted  organic  substances 
which  have  a  tendency  to  putrify  are  poisonous  is  shown 
by  covering  animals  with  varnish.  Animals  so  covered 
die  without  exception,  because  they  cannot  get  rid  of 
the  perspiratory  products.  People  properly  speak  of 
these  cases  as  cases  of  self-poisoning,  since  every  ex- 
cretion has  a  disagreeable,  paralyzing,  and  toxic  effect 
on  its  producer. 

It  is  these  decomposed  organic  materials  which  make 
the  air  of  the  school-room  so  offensive.  It  clings  not 
only  to  the  walls  and  furniture,  but  also  to  the  cloth- 
ing of  both  teacher  and  pupils,  so  firmly,  indeed,  that 
it  can  not  always  be  removed  by  careful  ventilation. 


ORGANIC    DUST   PARTICLES  69 

The  influence  which  this  foul  air  has  as  soon  as  it  is 
charged  to  a  certain  degree  with  the  excretions  from 
the  lungs  and  the  skin,  is  described  by  Schiller-Tietz1  as 
follows:  "Children  become  uncomfortable,  fretful, 
dull,  irritable,  and  peevish,  especially  during  the  last 
periods.  This  is  by  no  means  due  simply  to  mental 
fatigue;  but  body  and  mind  are  so  depressed  by  the 
auto-toxic  products  in  the  air  that  the  ability  to  work 
is  lessened.  Mental  activity  relaxes  as  a  result  of  a 
bodily  weariness,  which  has  all  the  symptoms  of  pois- 
oning by  auto-toxic  products."  In  assembly  rooms 
crowded  with  pupils,  individuals  often  faint,  while 
others  suffer  from  headache,  dizziness,  and  nausea, 
— effects  also  traceable  to  impure  air. 

In  addition  to  these  organic  impurities  from  respira- 
tion and  perspiration,  the  air  in  school-rooms  contains 
also  noxious  organic  dust  particles.  These  readily 
combine  with  oxygen,  and  can  therefore  reduce  a 
solution  of  potassium  permanganate,  thus  depriving  it 
of  its  red  color.  Uffelmann2  has  by  means  of  this 
property  effected  a  quantitative  determination  of  the 
organic  matter.  He  does  not  believe  that  air  which  is 
filled  with  organic  matter,  especially  dust  particles,  is 

1  Schiller-Tietz,  Ein  offenses  Wort  zur  Frage  der  Zim- 
mer-  und  Schulluft.  Zeitschrift  fiir  Schulgesundheits- 
pflege,  1888,  Xo.  3,  p.  121-132. 

2Uffelmann  im  Archiv  fiir  Hygiene,  1888,  Vol.  VIII, 
Parts  2  and  3. 


70  VENTILATION 

auy  longer  sufficiently  pure  when  one  million  parts  of 
it  require  more  than  12  parts  of  oxygen  for  oxidation. 

In  such  air  there  are  generally  many  micro-organ- 
isms. Hesse1  found  that  in  every  cubic  meter  of  air 
in  the  school-room  there  were  2,000  bacteria  before, 
16,500  during,  and  35,000  at  the  end  of  the  school 
hours.  The  figures  of  Ignatieff  2  correspond  pretty 
well  with  these.  According  to  his  observations  one 
cbm.  of  air  in  the  V  gymnasium  of  Moscow  contained 
on  an  average  16,250  microbes.  A  pupil  would,  thus, 
in  a  five-hour  session  inhale  44,655  germs. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  number  of  bacteria 
varied  during  the  day.  In  this  gymnasium  it  was 
found  that  in  two  liters  of  air,  which  was  allowed  to 
flow  through  a  glass  tube  lined  with  peptonized  meat 
gelatine  for  an  hour,  there  were  38  colonies  of  bacteria 
about  8  A.  M.  before  instruction  began;  6,  about  12 
M.  before,  and  78,  after  the  long  recess;  and  8,  just 
before  the  pupils  left  school.  We  see  that  the  num- 
bers are  smallest  when  the  dust  in  the  room  is  undis- 

*W.  Hesse,  Uber  quantitative  Bestimmung  der  in 
der  Luft  eirthaltenen  Mikroorganismen.  Mitteilungen 
aus  dem  Kaiserl.  Gesundheitsamte,  1884,  Vol.  II. 

2  Ignatieff,  Einige  Daten  zur  Beurteilung  der  Schul- 
luft  in  bakteriologischer  Beziehung.  Arbeiten  aus 
dem  hygienischen  Laboratorium  der  Moskauer  Univer- 
sitat,  1888,  II  (russisch). 


BACTERIA  71 

turbed ;  and  that  they  increase  considerably  when  it  is 
stirred  up  by  the  movements  of  the  pupils. 

The  number  of  micro-organisms  is,  furthermore, 
dependent  to  a  considerable  extent  upon  the  character 
of  the  school  building.  In  institutions  with  artificial 
ventilation,  Carnelley  and  Foggie  found  18.5,  and  in 
those  with  only  natural  ventilation  27.8  germs  per 
liter  of  air.  Rooms  which  were  clean  and  new  had 
85,  and  those  which  were  old  and  dirty,  139  germs  in 
the  same  quantity  of  air.  But  the  most  striking  result 
was  that  the  number  of  bacteria  has  an  unquestionable 
relation  to  the  age  of  the  pupils;  the  younger  they 
are,  the  more  the  microbes.  With  very  small  children 
there  were  167;  in  class  VI,  146;  in  V,  106;  in  IV, 
76;  in  III,  69;  in  II,  68;  and  in  I,  51  germs  per  liter 
of  air.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  young 
children  are  not  as  cleanly  as  older  ones. 

As  to  the  different  sorts  of  micro-organisms  in  the 
school-room,  Erismann1  found  many  kinds  of  moulds 
such  as  Aspergillus  niger,  Aspergillus  flavesceiis, 
Penicillium  glaucum,  etc. ;  also  numerous  chromo- 
geiiic  bacteria,  generally  Sarcina  lutea  or  aurantiaca; 
then  white  colonies  of  bacteria ;  lastly,  such  as  more  or 
less  quickly  liquefy  the  gelatine. 

JFr.  Erismann,  Die  Schulhygiene  auf  der  Jubilaums- 
ausstellung  der  Gesellschaft  fur  Beforderung  der 
Arbeitsamkeit  in  Moskau.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulges- 
undheitspflege,  1888,  Xo.  11,  p.  402. 


72  VENTILATION 

It  is  true  the  majority  of  these  fungi  do  not  in  a 
strict  sense  cause  sickness ;  but  the  greater  their  num- 
ber, the  more  probable  is  it  that  pathogenic  bacteria, 
such  as  germs  of  tuberculosis  and  diptheria,  will  be 
among  them. 

In  connection  with  this  subject  one  needs  only 
make  a  comparison  of  the  mountain  and  the  sea  air 
with  that  of  the  school-room.  On  the  high  mountains 
of  Switzerland  Freudenreich  often  had  to  examine  2 
to  3  cbm.  of  air  before  he  found  a  single  bacterium. 
It  is  the  same  with  sea-air,  which  is  also  remarkably 
free  from  micro-organisms. 

But  even  if  the  dust  in  the  school-room  were  free 
from  disease  germs,  it  would,  nevertheless,  be  injurious 
to  the  mucuous  membrane  of  the  bronchial  tubes  and 
the  eyes  for  purely  mechanical  reasons.  In  comparison 
with  the  tender,  microscopic,  epithelial  layers  of  these 
membranes,  even  small  dust  particles  are  enormous 
bodies  which  are  liable  to  injure  them  with  their  sharp 
edges  and  corners.  This  is  the  cause  of  the  many  cases 
of  catarrh  of  the  bronchial  tubes,  throat,  and  larynx, 
found  among  those  who  teach  in  dusty  quarters;  and 
also  of  the  many  cases  of  conjunctival  inflammation  of 
the  eyes  found  among  pupils,  as,  for  example,  in  the 
investigations  by  Schmidt-Kimpler  in  the  higher  insti- 
tutions in  Hessen-Nassau. 

Since  the  air  of  school-rooms  can  be  polluted  in  so 


MEASUREMENT   OF    CARBONIC    ACID  73 

many  ways,  we  need  some  means  of  measuring  the  de- 
gree of  impurity.  As  such,  it  has  been  customary  to 
use  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  contained  in  it.  The 
organic  excretions  from  the  lungs  and  skin  found  in 
the  air  can  not  be  used  for  this  purpose,  since  analy- 
tical chemistry  has  not  yet,  notwithstanding  its  great 
progress,  been  able  to  give  them  even  a  qualitative, 
much  less  quantitative  determination.  Xeither  can 
the  number  of  germs  which  may  be  found  be  used  un- 
conditionally as  a  test  of  the  purity  of  the  air.  The 
distribution  of  these  germs  in  the  air  is  too  accidental 
and  irregular,  and  depends  in  any  given  case  on  too 
many  circumstances  which  cannot  easily  be  ascertained. 

Carbonic  acid  is,  therefore,  the  only  means  of  meas- 
urement left;  and  it  has  many  special  advantages  for 
the  purpose.  In  the  first  place,  it  distributes  itself 
with  extraordinary  uniformity  in  closed  rooms.  More- 
over, we  know  that  the  oxidizable  organic  substances- 
and  carbonic  acid  increase  in  the  same  ratio ;  and,  lastly, 
the  quantitative  determination  of  carbonic  acid  pre- 
sents no  great  difficulties. 

The  method  employed  is  generally  that  of  Petten- 
koffer.  A  four  to  six  liter  flask  is  required,  the 
capacity  of  which  must  be  determined  exactly  by 
weighing  it  first  empty  and  then  filled  with  water, 
and  calculating  its'  capacity  from  the  difference  of  the 
two  weights.  This  done,  we  rinse  it  carefully  with  al- 


74  VENTILATION 

cohol  and  ether;  let  it  become  dry;  and  then  close  it 
with  a  tight  fitting  paraffine  stopper,  over  which  we 
draw  a  rubber  cap.  Glass  stoppers  cannot  be  recom- 
mended because  they  do  not  fit  tightly  enough ;  and 
even  cork  and  rubber  would  let  carbon  dioxide  through. 

Thus  sealed,  the  flask  is  taken  into  the  school-room, 
where  the  air  is  to  be  tested,  and  opened ;  air  is  now 
forced  into  it  by  means  of  bellows  until  its  contents 
ha\e  changed  at  least  five  times.  Then  100  ccm.  of 
baryte  solution,  composed  of  6  to  7  g.  of  baryte  in 
one  liter  of  water  mixed  with  .5  g.  of  barium  chloride, 
is  poured  into  it.  The  flask  is  then  closed  tightly; 
and  after  the  fluid  has  been  shaken  repeatedly  to  bring 
it  in  contact  with  the  enclosed  air,  it  is  left  standing 
for  half  an  hour.  At  the  end  of  this  time  all  the  car- 
bonic acid  is  absorbed  and  has  separated  as  insoluble 
barium  carbonate.  The  100  ccm.  baryte  solution  is 
now  poured  from  the  large  flask  into  a  small  one ;  and 
the  barium  carbonate  is  allowed  to  precipitate ;  25  ccm. 
of  the  clear  solution  is  then  mixed  with  2  drops  of  a 
solution  composed  of  0.2  g.  phenolphthalin  in  10  g. 
of  absolute  alcohol.  Titration  is  begun  by  letting 
oxalic  acid,  2.8G36  g.  dissolved  in  one  liter  of  water, 
flow  into  it  till  the  liquid  which  was  colored  red  by 
the  phenolphthalin  assumes  a  yellowish  color. 

In  the  same  way  we  determine  the  standard  solution, 
that  is,  ascertain  the  exact  quantity  of  barium 


PETTEtfKOFFER'S    METHOD  75 

hydroxide  in  the  fresh  baryte  solution  that  has  not 
come  into  contact  with  the  air  in  the  flask.  From 
the  difference  in  amount  of  this  compound  in  the  two 
cases  we  calculate  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  ab- 
sorbed ;  and  also,  its  ratio  per  thousand  in  the  air  of 
the  school-room.  The  following  example  by  Kirchiier 
will  serve  as  an  illustration. 

In  one  case  to  produce  a  precipitation,  23.7  ccm.  of 
the  oxalic  acid  solution  were  required  for  25  ccm. 
of  the  fresh  baryte  solution;  and  19.1  ccm.  were  re- 
quired for  the  same  quantity  when  it  had  been  in  con- 
tact with  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air,  giving  a  differ- 
ence of  4.6,  or  18.4  per  hundred.  The  capacity  of 
the  flask  was  5,734  ccm.,  and  the  volume  of  air  in  it 
was  5, 634  ccm.,  as  it  also  contained  100  ccm.  of  baryte 
solution.  When  a  reduction  is  made  for  a  tempera- 
ture of  23°  C.  and  a  barometic  pressure  of  756  mm., 
at  which  the  examination  took  place,  this  quantity 
becomes  5,168  ccm.  One  ccm.  of  a  solution  com- 
posed of  2.8636  g.  of  oxalic  acid  in  1  liter  of  water 
corresponds  to  1  mg.  of  C02  and  1  mg.  of  C02  cor- 
respond to  0.5  ccm.  of  C02.  Hence  18.4X1  mg.= 
18.4  mg.  or  18.4X0.5=9.2  ccm.  of  carbonic  acid  in 
5,168  ccm.  of  air,  the  contents  of  the  flask.  To  find 
the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  per  thousand  ccm.  of 
air,  the  following  proportion  is  used:  5,168  :  9.2= 
1,000  :  x.  From  this  we  get  x=ffff=1.78  parts  per 
thousand. 


76 


VENTILATION 


Though  Pettenkoffer's  is  the  only  exact  method,  and 
therefore  the  only  one  available  for  scientific  investiga- 
tions, nevertheless,  the  far  simpler  and  quicker  mini- 
metric  process  of  Smith-Lunge1  is  sufficient  for  purely 
practical  purposes.  The  principle  of  this  is  to  intro- 
duce known  quantities  of  the  air  to  be  tested  into  a. 
given  quantity  of  baryte  solution  till  it  becomes- 
cloudy.  The  more  quickly  this  happens,  the  less  car- 
bonic acid  there  is  in  the  air — the  more  slowly,  the  more. 

The  Smith-Lunge  method  requires  a  round  bottle 
3.8  ccm.  in  diameter,  and  9  cm.  high,  having  a  capac- 
ity of  about  53  ccm.  (see  figure  5). 
a 
b! 
f 


FIG.  5.     THE  SMITH-LUNGE  AIR  TESTER 

Two  tubes  pass  through  holes  in  the  stopper.  One 
(be)  is  straight  and  extends  to  the  bottom ;  the  other  (de) 

1Georg  Lunge,  Zur  Erage  der  Ventilation  und 
Beschreibung  des  minimetrischen  Apparates  zur  Bes- 
timmung  der  Kohlensaure.  Zurich,  1877. 


SMITH-LUNGE    METHOD  77 

-which  is  bent  at  right  angles  and  barely  passes  through 
the  stopper,  has  the  rubber  tube  (d  f  g  h  i),  20  to 
30  cm.  long,  with  the  pearshaped  bulb  k  of  about  28 
ccm.  capacity,  attached.  In  this  rubber  tube  there  is 
at  (f)  a  longitudinal  slit  1  cm.  long, — which  acts  as  a 
yalve. 

If  the  tube  (a  b)  is  pressed  together  with  one  hand, 
and  the  rubber  bulb  k  with  the  other,  the  air  in  the 
latter  will  escape  through  the  slit  (f).  The  bulb  now 
•expands  through  its  own  elasticity  and  fills  with  air 
drawn  through  the  bottle  by  means  of  the  tube  (ac), 
which  is  now  left  open.  After  the  test  bottle  has  thus 
been  filled  several  times  with  the  air  to  be  examined, 
7  ccm.  of  a  solution  of  6  g.  of  barium  hydrate  in  one 
liter  of  water  is  poured  in  and  the  height  of  the  fluid 
marked  by  means  of  a  line.  The  bottle  is  now  care- 
fully closed  and  shaken  several  times. 

The  amount  of  air  which  thus  comes  in  contact  with 
the  baryte  solution  is  equal  to  two  fillings  of  the  bulb. 
With  every  compression  and  expansion  the  bulb  draws 
through  the  bottle  28  ccm.  of  air,  which  gives  up  its 
carbonic  acid  to  the  barium  hydrate.  A  piece  of  paper 
having  a  cross  marked  with  a  lead  pencil  is  pasted  on 
the  side  of  the  bottle  to  make  it  possible  to  judge 
more  correctly  of  the  increasing  cloudiness.  When 
the  cross  becomes  invisible,  the  baryte  solution  is 


78  VENTILATION 

sufficiently  cloudy.     The  question  now  is,  how  many 
times  did  the  bulb  have  to  be  compressed  ? 

4  fillings  indicate  22    parts  CO"  in  10,000  parts  of  air. 

5  "  "  17.6  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

6  "  "  14.8  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

7  "  "  12.6  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

8  "  "  11.0  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

9  "  "  9.8  "  "  "  "  "  "  (i 

10  "  "  8.8  "  "  M  "  "  "  " 

11  "  "  8.0  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

12  "  "  7.4  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

13  "  "  6.8  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

14  "  "  6.3  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

15  "  "  5.8  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

16  "  "  5.4  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

17  "  "  5.1  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

18  "  "  4.9  "  "  "  "  "  "  " 

Five  fillings  of  the  bulb  show  that  there  are  1.76 
parts  of  carbonic  acid  to  1,000  parts  of  air,  providing 
we  always  count  the  air  originally  in  the  bottle  as  two 
of  these  bulbfuls.  The  figures  thus  obtained  give,  of 
course,  only  approximate  values  because  the  determina- 
tion of  the  momement  when  the  cross  disappears  de- 
pends too  much  upon  individual  opinion. 

The  automatic  air- tester  of  A.  Wolpert  of  Niirnberg 
is  still  simpler  but  also  less  accurate.  A  glance  at  the 
scale  of  the  apparatus  is  sufficient  to  show  one  whether 
the  air  in  the  class-room  is  "extremely  bad",  "very 
bad  ",  "  bad  ",  "  still  permissible  ",  or  "  pure  ".  Ac- 
cording to  Wolpert,  air  is  to  be  considered  "  extremely 
bad"  when  it  has  more  than  4  parts  C02  per  1,000;, 


WOLPEKT'S  METHOD  79 

and  "very  bad"  with  2  to  4;  "bad"  with  1  to  2; 
"still  permissible"  with  0.7  to  1;  and  "pure"  with 
0.5  to  0.7  parts  per  1,000. 

The  amount  of  carbonic  acid  is  ascertained  by  means 
of  a  colored  liquid  upon  which  the  carbonic  acid  has  a 
bleaching  effect.  This  liquid,  which  consists  of  a 
solution  of  soda  colored  red  with  phenolphthalin,  is 
poured  into  a  vessel  placed  on  a  bracket  and  is  then 
protected  from  the  air  by  a  thin  layer  of  mineral  oil. 
It  then  drops  automatically  from  a  capillary  tube  at- 
tached to  a  float  in  the  fluid  upon  a  specially  prepared 
white  linen  thread  about  0.5  m.  long,  and  colors  it  red, 
as  it  flows  down.  This  red  color  extends  uniformly 
down  the  whole  length  of  the  thread  when  the  air  is 
very  pure,  i.  e.  has  less  than  0.5  parts  C02  per  1,000. 
If  the  air  is  impure  the  carbonic  acid  has  a  bleaching 
effect  in  proportion  to  amount  of  it  present.  The 
more  carbonic  acid  there  is  in  the  air,  the  more  of  the 
thread  will  appear  white  from  below  upward.  In 
reading  the  scale  we  take  the  highest  point  at  which 
the  thread  is  still  white,  i.  e.,  the  limit  between  pure 
white  and  faint  red;  but  this  point  can  not  always  be 
accurately  ascertained. 

Whatever  method  may  be  employed,  a  considerable 
amount  of  carbonic  acid  will  very  often  be  found  in 
the  air  of  a  school-room.  This  is  due  to  the  rapid 
metabolism  and  the  consequently  great  amount  of  car- 


80  VENTILATION 

bonic  acid  thrown  off  by  young  people,  which  is  only 
little  less  than  that  of  adults.  During  one  school 
hour  a  boy  of  sixteen  produces  17.4,  a  boy  of  ten 
10.3,  and  one  pupil  on  an  average,  12  liters  of  carbonic 
acid;  while  we  estimate  15  liters  as  an  average  for  an 
adult  in  the  same  time. 

These  figures,  it  is  true,  are  not  constant,  since  the 
production  of  carbonic  acid  depends  on  varying  condi- 
tions. Besides  the  temperature  of  the  air,  the  time  of 
day,  and  the  state  of  nutrition,  we  must  here  especially 
take  into  account  the  frequency  and  depth  of  respira- 
tion. It  has  been  observed  that  the  amount  of  car- 
bonic acid  increased  especially  during  the  period  for 
gymnastics  and  music.  A  thirteen  year  old  boy,  for 
instance,  exhales  17.01  liters  of  carbonic  acid  per 
hour  during  instruction  in  singing — a  result  undoubt- 
edly due  to  the  quickening  and  deepening  of  the 
respiration. 

There  is  still  another  class  of  circumstances  which 
affect  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  in  school-rooms. 
In  the  first  place,  it  makes  a  difference  whether  ventila- 
tion takes  place  by  an  artificial  system  or  only  through 
the  pores  of  the  walls  or  the  cracks  of  the  windows 
and  doors.  On  this  subject  we  have  the  investigations 
which  were  made  by  Kietschel1  in  several  gymnasia  in 

1H.  Eietschel,  Mitteilung  iiber  die  Ergebnisse  der 
Untersuchungen  der  Luft  in  verschiedenen  hohern 
Berliner  Lerhanstalten.  Berlin,  1886.  H.  Eietschel. 
Liiftung  und  Heizung  der  Schulen.  Berlin,  1886. 


SYSTEMS    OF   VENTILATION  81 

Berlin.  According  to  his  report,  Sexta  B  of  the 
Fried erich  Wilhelm  gymnasium  of  that  city  has  an  air 
capacity  of  155.6  cbm.,  or  3  cbm.  per  pupil.  It  is 
heated  by  means  of  a  tile  stove  and  is  without  any 
artificial  means  of  ventilation.  Doors  and  windows 
remained  closed  during  recesses  as  well  as  during  the 
recitation  periods.  Consequently  a  maximum  amount 
of  carbonic  acid  of  9.7  and  an  average  of  5.55  parts 
per  thousand  were  found  at  various  times  of  the  dayy 
— an  evidence  of  extremely  impure  air,  as  the  amount 
of  carbonic  acid,  according  to  the  generally  accepted 
view  of  Pettenkoffer,  ought  not  to  exceed  1  part  per 
thousand. 

Sexta  B  of  the  Wilhelm  gymnasium,  with  a  capacity 
of  164  cbm.  and  2.83  cbm.  per  pupil,  is  heated  by  hot 
water  and  has  Venetian  blinds  in  its  doors  and  win- 
dows for  ventilation.  During  recesses  all  doors  are 
open.  Here  the  maximum  amount  of  carbonic  acid 
was  only  4.8  parts  per  thousand  and  the  average  2.55.. 
If  the  ventilating  apparatus  ^failed  to  work  well,  an 
increase  of  carbonic  acid  set  in  immediately. 

Sexta  A  of  the  Luise  gymnasium  has  a  capacity  of 
253.58  cbm.,  or  4.61  cbm.  per  pupil.  It  is  heated  by 
hot  air  and  has  a  ventilating  shaft  into  the  garret, 
from  which  the  air  is  removed  by  an  aspirating  chim- 
ney. With  regularity  in  the  manipulation  of  the  sys- 
tem, the  maximum  amount  of  carbonic  acid  was  1.9,, 


82  VENTILATION 

and  the  average  1.45  parts  per  1,000;  with  irregularity 
it  rose  to  2  and  1.55  parts  per  1,000,  respectively. 

The  beneficial  effects  of  ventilating  flues  on  the  air 
of  school-rooms  have  also  been  emphasized  by  Gillert. x 
In  schools  without  such  flues  he  found  that  in  only 
5.3$  of  his  tests  was  the  air  good  or  still  permissible; 
whereas  it  was  of  this  grade  in  67.7$  of  the  tests, 
where  the  schools  were  supplied  with  the  flues.  The 
reverse  was  true  for  extremely  impure  air,  the  figures 
being  36.8  $  and  6.1  $,  respectively. 

Gillert  was  also  able  to  show  that  the  amount  of  car- 
bonic acid  in  a  closed  and  occupied  room  is  in  inverse 
proportion  to  the  rapidity  of  the  currents  of  air  out- 
side. In  windy  weather,  for  instance,  the  amount  of 
carbonic  acid  in  these  schools  in  Berlin  did  not  even 
reach  1  part  per  1,000  during  two  successive  recitation 
periods.  On  the  other  hand,  on  a  quiet  day  more 
than  4  parts  of  carbonic  acid  per  thousand  were  found 
in  three  rooms  at  the  end  of  4  hours;  5.63  parts  in  a 
room  in  the  third  story  at  the  end  of  4j-  hours;  and 
1.21  parts  in  another  room  in  the  third  story  after  5 
hours  of  school  work,  although  six  windows  had 
been  open  at  the  bottom  all  the  time.  Outside 
currents  of  air  will  naturally  assist  in  ventilating  a 

JE.  Gillert,  Luftpriifungen  auf  Kohlensiiure,  aus- 
gefiihrt  in  Berliner  Gemeindeschulen.  Zeitschrift  fiir 
Schulgesundheitspflege,  1893,  ^To.  4,  p.  185-203. 


OTHER   COKDITIOKS  83 

school-room  in  proportion  as  it  is  exposed  and  easily 
accessible  to  the  wind. 

Moreover,  differences  of  temperature  between  at- 
mospheric and  school-room  air  have  an  effect  similar 
to  that  of  the  wind  upon  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid. 
According  to  Pettenkoffer1,  the  amount  of  fresh  air 
received  by  natural  ventilation  into  an  occupied  room 
of  about  73  cbm.  was,  with  a  difference  of  tempera- 
ture between  inner  and  outer  air  of  20°,  95  cbm. ;  with 
a  difference  of  19°,  75  cbm.;  with  a  difference  of  4°, 
22  cbm.  Hence,  all  other  things  being  equal,  the 
natural  ventilation  of  a  class-room,  and  therefore  the 
diminution  of  the  carbonic  acid  in  it,  is  greatest  dur- 
ing the  cold  and  least  during  the  warm  weather. 

Since  this  change  of  air,  as  has  already  been  said, 
takes  place  partly  through  the  interstices  of  the  build- 
ing-materials, the  porosity  of  the  latter  affects  the  ac- 
cumulation of  carbonic  acid  in  the  school-room. 
Mortar,  brick,  and  sandstone  lose  their  permeability 
as  soon  as  they  are  sufficiently  saturated  with  water, 
as  Pettenkoffer  2  has  shown.  The  mechanical  force 
of  the  air  cannot  displace  it;  and  .hence  the  pores  of 
the  wall  remain  clogged  and  only  regain  their  per- 
meability upon  the  evaporation  of  the  moisture.  This 

1  Pettenkoffer,    Uber  den  Luftwechsel  in  Wohnge- 
bauden,  p.  91. 

2  The  same,  p.  97. 


84  VENTILATION 

shows  how  detrimental  wet  walls  may  be  with  respect 
to  the  purity  of  the  air  in  school-rooms,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  fact  that  they  promote  the  formation  of  mould. 

Finally,  the  duration  of  the  school  period  affects 
the  accumulation  of  carbonic  acid  in  class-rooms. 
Boubnoff  and  Ignatieff  found  in  the  I.  gymnasium  of 
Moscow  at  8  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  lessons 
began,  1.16  parts;  at  the  end  of  the  first  hour,  4.51 
parts;  at  the  end  of  the  second,  5.59  parts;  and  at 
the  close  of  the  third,  6.12  parts  carbonic  acid  per 
thousand.  The  long  recess  of  30  minutes,  customary 
in  Eussian  gymnasia  was  then  taken,  and  most  of  the 
pupils  left  the  class-room  to  exercise  in  the  corridor  or 
the  "  recreation  hall  ".  During  this  whole  intermis- 
sion, a  window  was  open.  The  amount  of  carbonic 
acid  was  consequently  reduced  to  2.82  parts;  but  it 
rose  in  the  fourth  hour  to  4.35;  and  in  the  fifth  to 
5.74  parts  per  thousand. 

Entirely  similar  results  were  obtained  in  the  V.  gym- 
nasium and  in  the  Komissaroff  technical  school.  The 
striking  thing  is,  not  simply  the  great  impurity  of  the 
air  even  before  school  work  begins,  but  also  the  rapid- 
ity with  which  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  increases 
even  in  the  first  hour.  During  the  rest  of  the  day, 
the  increase  is  not  so  rapid  probably  because  the 
breathing  of  the  pupils  in  the  room  has  become  more 
and  more  repressed. 

What  can  teachers  do  to  improve  the  ventilation  in 
their  school-rooms  ?  In  the  first  place  they  can  learn 


RECKNAGEL'S   VENTILATION    GAUGE 


85 


to  use  properly  the  ventilating  arrangements  that  have 
been  supplied.  Large  ventilating  systems  ought  to 
work  so  as  to  secure  a  renewal  of  the  air  in  a  room 
three  times  every  hour,  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  No 
drafts  which  in  any  way  annoy  the  pupils  should  be 
produced  either  by  the  introduction  of  the  pure  out- 
side air,  which  should  have  been  previously  warmed  in 
the  winter,  or  by  the  removal  of  the  impure  inner  air. 


FIG.  6.     CROSS  SECTION  OF  RECKNAGEL'S  VETILATION  GAUGE 


F 


FIG.  7.     RECKNAGEL'S  VENTILATION  GAUGE,  ATTACHED 

This  can  be  prevented  by  not  having  the  velocity  of 
the  air  more  than  1.5  m.  per  second. 

Whether  the  air  in  the  school-room  is  really  changed 
three  times  per  hour  can  be  ascertained  by  means  of 
Recknagel's  patented  ventilation  gauge1  (see  figs.  6 

1  Karl  Hintrager,  Eecknagels  Kontrollapparat  fur 
Ventilationsanlagen  in  Schulen.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schul- 
gesundheitspflege,  1895,  No.  1,  p.  18-23. 


KECKNAGEL'S  VENTILATION  GAUGE  87 

and  7).  This  consists  of  a  support  K  S  (fig.  6)  one 
end  of  which  is  attached  to  the  inlet  grate  D  E  F  G 
(fig.  7)  by  a  screw,  while  the  other  is  shaped  to  hold 
two  points.  Between  these  the  easily  movable  valve  F 
(fig.  6,  cf.  c,  a,  and  b,  fig.  7)  is  placed  to  receive  the 
pressure  of  the  incoming  air.  To  give  it  any  required 
degree  of  sensitiveness  it  has  a  compensating  weight 
A  G-  (fig.  6),  which  besides  increasing  the  moment  of 
inertia  makes  it  possible  to  set  the  apparatus  so  that 
the  valve  will  be  blown  out  45°  from  the  perpendicular 
when  the  air  is  coming  in  with  the  right  velocity. 

The  slightest  change  in  the  velocity  of  the  air  is 
sufficient  to  move  the  valve  from  this  position,  which 
is  indicated  by  a  fixed  pointer.  If  the  valve  falls  be- 
low this  pointer,  the  velocity  is  too  small;  if  it  rises 
above,  it  is  too  great.  This  is  evidently  true  only 
when  the  cross  section  of  the  ventilating  shaft  has 
such  a  ratio  to  the  size  of  the  room  that  with  a  cur- 
rent of  1.5  m.  per  second  the  air  is  changed  three 
times  an  hour. 

The  air  introduced  should  be  as  pure  as  possible.  It 
should  not  be  taken  from  cellars,  passage-ways,  small 
enclosures,  the  neighborhood  of  dung-pits,  privies,  or 
chimneys.  In  the  real-gymnasium  of  Hamburg  where 
the  latter  was  the  case,  smoke  and  other  products  of 
combustion  came  into  the  rooms. 

Occasionally  the  mouth   of    the   fresh  air  duct  is 


88  VENTILATION 

located  near  the  dumping  place  for  fuel,  and  a  great 
deal  of  coal  dust  and  other  stuff  is  brought  into  the 
school-room.  Sometimes  we  find  it  placed  not  above 
but  below  the  level  of  the  ground,  so  that  dirt  and 
sprinkling  water  flow  in.  At  other  times  it  may  be  so 
situated  as  to  have  a  grate  over  which  people  walk,  the 
dirt  from  the  shoes  falling  in. 

Even  where  every  precaution  has  been  taken,  and 
shrubs  have  been  planted  around  the  inlet  as  a  protec- 
tion against  the  dust,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  obtain 
air  entirely  free  from  it.  Additional  means  of  purifica- 
tion will  in  that  case  have  to  be  used,  such  as  allowing 
dust  to  settle  in  a  large  room,  or  removing  it  by  an 
air  filter  or  a  spray. 

Dust  may  also  mix  with  the  air  further  on  in  its 
passage  through  the  pipes  and  flues.  To  prevent  this, 
these  must  not  only  be  smooth  and  tight,  and  con- 
structed so  as  to  be  easily  cleaned;  but  both  these  and 
the  dust-chambers  must  be  cleaned  frequently.  The 
removal  of  the  foul  air  in  a  school-room  is  usually 
effected  by  means  of  a  flue  in  a  partition  wall  near  the 
chimney.  This  has  two  openings,  one  near  the  floor 
and  one  near  the  ceiling,  both  of  which  may  be  closed 
by  means  of  dampers  or  doors.  The  flue  goes  up 
above  the  roof  into  the  open  air,  or  it  ends  in  the 
garret,  which  in  that  case  is  provided  with  ventilators. 
The  walls  of  the  garret  should  be  smooth  and  accessi- 


MANAGEMENT    OF    APPARATUS  89 

We  to  cleaning,  and  the  cleaning  should  be  done  re- 
peatedly. 

With  respect  to  the  details  of  managing  the  ventilat- 
ing apparatus,  the  upper  of  the  two  dampers  or  doors 
mentioned  above,  namely,  the  one  near  the  ceiling,  is  to 
l>e  kept  open  when  there  is  no  artificial  heating,  as  are 
also  the  ventilators  sometimes  found  in  the  opposite 
wall  near  the  floor. 

During  the  heating  period  on  the  other  hand  the  air 
Is  to  be  removed  by  the  lower  opening  in  the  ventilat- 
ing flue.  The  summer  ventilators  in  the  outer  wall  if 
there  be  any,  and  the  upper  opening  in  the  foul  air 
flue  in  the  partition  wall,  and  the  door  in  the  jacket, 
where  a  jacketed  stove  is  used,  should  now  be  kept 
tightly  closed.  On  beginning  to  heat  the  room,  all 
openings  are  to  be  closed  except  the  door  in  the  jacket 
of  the  stove  between  the  air  in  the  school-room  and 
that  in  the  jacket,  which  is  to  be  opened.  The  influx 
of  fresh  air  is  to  be  regulated  according  to  the  outside 
temperature  and  the  outside  air  currents  by  the  proper 
setting  of  the  dampers.  That  all  this  may  be  done 
accurately,  it  is  advisable  to  have  the  regulations  for 
the  use  of  the  ventilating  apparatus  posted  in  every 
school-room. 

Where  there  are  no  special  fresh  and  foul  air  flues, 
hinged  sections  of  the  upper  parts  of  windows  may 
be  used  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation  during  school- 


90  YENTILATIOX 

hours.  The  window  panes  are  in  this  case  fixed  inter 
frames  which  in  outside  windows  are  hinged  at  the 
top, — in  inside  windows  at  the  bottom.  These  outer 
and  inner  hinged  sections  are  so  connected  that  they 
open  and  close  at  the  same  time,  and  there  should  be 
a  convenient  device  for  managing  them  from  below. 
The  inner  one  also  has  side  guards  of  tin  to  prevent 
the  cold  air  from  falling  directly  on  the  pupils  sitting 
near. 

A  glass  arrangement  resembling  a  Venetian  blind,, 
though  less  effective  than  the  above,  is  much  used  in 
schools.  In  this  case,  one  of  the  upper  panes  consists- 
of  horizontal  glass  strips  10  cm.  wide  which  can  be 
opened  and  closed  like  the  wooden  blinds.  The 
influx  of  air  is  regulated  at  will  by  turning  the  strips. 
Among  other  things,  they  have  the  disadvantage  of 
letting  the  air  which  enters  sink  directly  to  the  floor 
and  spread  over  it  in  a  gradually  thickening  layer.  It 
then  becomes  considerably  colder  there  and  the  differ- 
ence in  temperature  between  the  feet  and  the  head  is- 
decidedly  increased. 

Castaning  has  lately  suggested  a  system  of  window 
glazing  which  may  prove  useful  for  ventilating  purposes 
in  schools.  Two  panes  of  glass  are  put  in  parallel, 
like  the  panes  of  a  double  window  and  so  as  to  be  from 
8  to  10  cm.  apart.  The  outer  pane  (d),  as  will  be 
seen  in  figure  8,  does  not  rest  directly  upon  the  lower 


SIMPLE    APPLIANCES  91 

cross  piece  (a)  but  leaves  an  opening  about  4  cm.  high. 
The  inner  pane  (f)  which  rests  upon 
the  cross  piece  (a)  does  not  reach  the 
upper  cross  piece  (b)  but  leaves  a  slit 
there  4  cm.  high.  Outside  air  will 
now  rush  in  as  indicated  by  the  arrows 
and  be  warmed  somewhat  by  the  in- 
ner panes,  and  will  then  enter  the 
room  through  the  upper  slit.  The  in- 
ner opening  should  be  provided  with  a 
shutter  of  tin,  or  better  still  of  glass, 
so  as  to  prevent  the  air  from  rushing 

FIG.  8.      C  A  S  T  A  N  - 

ING'S  SYSTEM  OF  in  during  storms  and  extremely  cold 

WINDOW-VENTI-  .    .  . 

LATIOX.  weather.     It  is  also  desirable  to  sup- 

port the  free  edges  of  the  panes  with  thin  iron  guards 
to  make  them  more  secure  and  keep  them  from  break- 
ing easily. 

But  even  if  all  ventilating  arrangements  are  lacking, 
we  can  do  much  for  the  improvement  of  the  air  in 
school-rooms  by  opening  windows  and  doors.  To  be 
sure,  when  the  school  is  in  session,  the  opening  of 
windows  is  necessarily  restricted.  During  the  winter, 
the  cold  air  would  rush  into  the  room  and  often  lower 
the  temperature  too  suddenly  and  expose  pupils  sitting 
near  to  the  dangers  of  catching  cold.  In  summer, 
the  noise  in  the  street  is  often  so  great  that,  with  open 
windows,  lessons  would  be  much  disturbed.  Even  the 


92 


VENTILATION 


comparatively  noiseless  pavements  of  wood  or  other 
materials  often  found  near  schools  in  large  cities  can 
not  always  prevent  this  evil  entirely.  On  the  other 
hand,  all  class-rooms  must  be  ventilated  at  the  end  of 
every  lesson,  both  winter  and  summer,  by  opening  all 
doors  and  windows.  The  length  of  this  airing  should 
be  governed  by  the  weather;  in  Dresden  the  following 
rule  has  been  proposed : 


Outside  Temperature 

DURATION  OF  VENTILATION 

At  Recesses 

At  the  end  of  forenoon 
or  afternoon  session 

+10°  to  -|-50  C 

4 

—  10  minutes 

20  —  50  minutes. 

+5°  to  0°  C 

3 

—    7 

20  —  35 

0°  to  —5°  C 

2 

—    5 

15  —  25 

—5°  to  -10°  C 

1 

—    3 

10  -  15 

below  to  —10°  C 

1 

-  H       " 

5  —  10 

With  a  short  airing  like  this  the  walls,  furniture, 
and  floors  of  the  school-room  are  but  slightly  cooled; 
and,  as  soon  as  the  doors  and  windows  are  closed,  the 
temperature  of  the  room  begins  to  rise,  owing  to  the 
heat  given  off  by  the  walls,  etc.  How  great  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  in  a  room  may  be 
made  in  this  way  is  shown  by  figures  from  Dankwarth. 
In  a  school-room  which  he  examined  the  amount  of 
carbonic  acid  in  the  morning  at  10  o'clock  before  ven- 
tilation was  1.7  parts  per  thousand.  After  doors  and 
windows  had  been  opened,  with  four  persons  remaining 
in  the  room,  he  found  the  following  amounts: 


AIRING    THE    ROOM  93 

At  10  o'clock  0  min.  30  seconds.— 0.860  parts  carb.  acid  per  1000. 
«    «       „       1     «<       0        «          0666      „       «      ,<        M       „ 

"    "      "       1     "      30       "  0.665      "       "       "        "      " 

"    "       "       2     "      30       "          0.655      "       "       "        "       " 
"    "       "       5     "       0       "  0.552      "       "      "        "       " 

While  the  ventilation  is  going  on,  the  pupils  go  into 
the  yard  or  corridors,  and  in  this  way  get  a  little  exer- 
cise and  bring  fresh  air  back  with  them  in  their  cloth- 
ing. The  hall  windows  are  accordingly  opened  during 
recitations  and  closed  during  recesses  when  the 
rooms  are  being  ventilated.  It  is  especially  necessary 
to  have  prolonged  ventilation  of  this  sort  between 
the  forenoon  and  afternoon  sessions,  though  it  is  gen- 
erally omitted  entirely  in  cold  weather.  Accordingly, 
a  decree  of  the  Prussian  Cultus-Minister  rightly  re- 
quires that  the  windows  of  class-rooms  shall  be  open 
even  at  night  in  warm  summer  weather;  at  other  times 
till  dark,  and  from  four  in  the  morning. 

Experiments  made  at  the  Hygienic  Institute  of  the 
University  of  Budapest  testify  to  the  success  of  this 
plan.  During  the  summer  the  windows  were  first  kept 
open  during  the  day  and  closed  at  night,  and  then  the 
reverse ;  and  in  each  case  the  temperature  of  the  room 
was  compared  with  that  of  the  outside  air.  It  was 
found  that  with  the  windows  open  during  day  time 
the  temperature  in  the  room  was  almost  as  high  as 
that  out  doors;  whereas,  when  the  windows  were  closed 
during  the  day  and  open  at  night,  the  temperature  in 


94  YE2STTILATIOK 

the  room  was  at  least  7°  C  lower  than  it  was  out  doors, 
the  difference  being  especially  great  when  the  outside 
temperature  was  very  high. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  cleanliness  does  not  prevail  in 
the  school-room  and  the  air  is  constantly  being  pol- 
luted by  filth,  no  amount  of  ventilation  will  prove 
sufficient.  Cleanliness  should  extend  in  the  first  place 
to  the  pupils  themselves.  Not  only  ought  their  bodies 
to  be  scrupulously  clean,  but  also  their  clothes  and 
shoes. 

In  connection  with  this  matter  the  school  shower- 
baths  introduced  by  the  city  of  Gottingen  deserve 
more  attention  from  higher  institutions  of  learning 
than  they  have  hitherto  received.  For  one  thing  they 
promote  the  cleanliness  of  the  skin ;  and  for  another, 
they  lead  the  pupils  to  desire  clean  underclothing. 

The  school  should  provide  ample  facilities  for 
the  pupils  to  wash  themselves.  There  should  be 
scrapers  and  foot-mats,  for  cleaning  their  feet;  and 
the  constant  use  of  them  ought  to  be  insisted  upon, 
the  more  so  since  the  amount  of  dirt  brought  in  daily 
according  to  measurements  by  Meyrich1  is  on  an  aver- 
age 1.4  grams.  Overcoats,  hats,  caps,  rubbers,  um- 
brellas, all  give  off  unpleasant  vapors  when  they  are 

1  Oswald  Meyrich,  Die  Staubpnage  in  der  Schule 
und  Vorschlage  Zu  ihrer  Beseitigung.  Op.  cit.,  1894, 
Ko.  8,  9,  p.  452-473. 


CLEANLINESS  95 

wet,  and  ought  on  that  account  not  to  be  taken  into 
the  school-room,  but  should  be  left  in  the  hall,  or  in 
special  cloak  rooms,  which  had  better  be  separated  from 
the  hall  by  wire  netting. 

Pupils  with  diseases  that  infect  the  air  demand  special 
attention.  Those  with  an  ill-smelling  discharge  from 
the  ear  must  be  suspended  until  completely  cured. 
The  pestilential  odor  from  perspiring  feet  sometimes 
defies  all  treatment;  but  even  in  this  case  we  ought 
to  insist  at  least  on  an  attempt  at  betterment.  The 
most  effective  measure  against  the  odors  from  ulcer- 
ated, decaying  teeth  is  the  introduction  of  a  regular 
care  of  the  teeth ;  and  the  school  must  do  its  part  to 
secure  it. 

Cleanliness  must  also  be  maintained  with  respect  to 
the  school-room1.  Since  dirt  and  dust  collect  mostly 
on  the  floors,  the  proper  construction  and  care  of  these 
is  of  great  importance.  Too  soft  wood  or  too  narrow 
boards  must  not  be  used.  The  first  slivers  easily 
and  is  not  durable  enough;  it,  moreover,  absorbs 
moisture  readily  and  dries  very  slowly,  so  that  rooms 
with  such  floors  when  scrubbed  have  a  smell  even  the 
next  day.  It  also  makes  the  good  oiling  which  school - 

1  Grundsatze  fur  die  Aufrechterhaltung  der  Sauber- 
keit  an  den  hohern  Schulen  im  Aufsichtsbezirke  des 
Kgl.  Provinzialschulkollegiums  zu  Kassel.  Ver- 
fiigung  vom  25.  November,  1890. 


96  VENTILATION 

room  floors  should  receive  every  year  or  two  impossible.. 
Too  narrow  and  lathlike  flooring  increases  unnecessarily 
the  number  of  cracks  into  which  dust  may  settle. 
Matched  floors  of  oak  or  American  hard  pine  are  prob- 
ably the  best  for  schools.  They  must  in  any  case  be 
kept  in  order,  and  any  cracks  or  seams  that  may 
arise  must  be  closed  up  at  once. 

Linoleum  has  lately  been  used  in  many  places  as  a 
covering  for  school-room  floors.  In  fact,  it  fulfills  all 
the  requirements  that  have  to  be  made  of  a  good  floor. 
It  is  elastic,  waterproof,  wholly  free  from  cracks  or 
holes,  permanent,  and  very  durable.  It  has  the  further 
advantage  of  deadening  the  noise  made  by  the  feet  of 
the  children;  and  it  can  be  easily  and  thoroughly 
swept  and  washed. 

As  far  as  cleaning  is  concerned,  all  class-rooms,  draw- 
ing-rooms, and  music-halls,  ought  to  be  swept  thor- 
oughly at  least  twice  a  week.  In  the  case  of  schools 
with  two  sessions  this  may  best  be  done  on  the  free 
afternoons  of  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays.  Daily 
sweeping  would  be  still  better. 

To  prevent  the  raising  of  dust,  the  floor  must  be 
covered  with  plenty  of  wet  sawdust,  tanning  bark,  or 
turf  powder,  which  should  have  been  moistened  with 
warm  water.  With  dry  sweeping  the  dust  cannot  be 
thoroughly  removed  even  with  open  windows;  but  is 
simply  carried  from  one  place  to  another.  A  short 


CLEANING   THE    ROOMS  97 

time  after  sweeping,  the  chairs,  the  benches,  the  book 
shelves  under  the  pupils  desks,  the  teacher's  desk,  the 
cases,  and  the  tiles  of  the  stoves  are  to  be  wiped  with 
a  moist  cloth, — the  iron  parts  of  the  stove  should  be 
wiped  with  a  dry  cloth. 

Since  entries,  corridors,  and  stairways  are  particu- 
larly exposed  to  dirt,  two  sweepings  per  week  will  not 
be  enough  for  them ;  but  they  must  be  swept  daily  with 
wet  sawdust  or  the  like  and  be  scrubbed  every  week. 
The  latter  should  also  be  done  with  class-rooms. 

One  or  two  wet  sweepings  per  week  is  sufficient  for 
the  assembly  halls,  since  they  are  less  used;  but  they 
ought  to  be  washed  out  several  days  before  every  school 
festival.  If  they  have  been  decorated  with  garlands 
and  wreaths  these  should  be  removed  in  eight  days  at 
the  latest,  since  withering  foliage  gives  out  a  peculiar 
odor  and  dry  leaves  are  a  good  resting  place  for  dust. 

Libraries,  physical  and  natural  science  cabinets,  and 
chemical  laboratories  do  not  need  to  be  cleaned  so  often ; 
brushing  them  out  once  or  twice  a  month  in  the  wet 
way  will  be  sufficient. 

The  windows  in  every  room  ought  always  to  be  kept 
clean;  and  panes  covered  with  moisture  or  sills  wet 
from  thawing  panes  should  be  wiped  without  delay. 

Besides  this  regular  cleaning  there  ought  to  be  a 
thorough  general  renovation  at  least  four  times  a  year 
during  vacations.  All  walls  and  ceilings  are  then  to 


98  VENTILATION 

have  the  dust  wiped  off,  if  they  have  not  been  freshly 
painted  or  whitewashed.  Oiled  and  parquetry  floors 
should  be  cleaned  with  warm  water,  soap,  and  scrub- 
bing-rag;  and  unoiled  floors  with  warm  water,  sand, 
soap,  scrubbing  broom,  or  brush.  In  like  manner  the 
wainscoating  and  furniture  should  be  washed  with 
warm  water  and  soap,  as  should  also  the  windows  both 
inside  and  outside.  Furthermore,  all  door  knobs, 
mountings,  lamps,  gas  fixtures,  chandeliers,  busts,  pic- 
tures, charts,  and  blackboards,  as  well  as  all  heating 
apparatus,  stoves,  etc.,  are  to  be  properly  wiped  and 
polished;  and,  lastly,  the  dusting  or  washing  of  the 
curtains  or  other  sorts  of  blinds  must  not  be  neglected, 
though  it  may  be  necessary  only  once  or  twice  a  year. 

Special  care  is  to  be  exercised  in  cleaning  the  books 
belonging  to  the  teacher  and  the  school  library,  the 
history  collection,  and  the  physical  and  chemical 
apparatus.  This  should  be  done  under  the  direction 
of  the  librarian  and  the  corresponding  department 
teachers.  The  shelves  should  first  be  wiped  with  a 
moist  cloth  and  then  rubbed  with  a  dry  one. 

How  detrimental  dirty  gymnastic  halls  may  be  to  the 
health  of  the  pupils  has  lately  been  brought  out 
clearly  by  F.  A.  Schmidt.1  The  increased  activity  of 

1  F.  A.  Schmidt,  Die  Staubschadigungen  beim 
Hallenturnen  und  ihre  Bekampfung.  Leipzig,  1890. 
Edward  Strauch. 


CLEANING   GYMNASTIC   HALLS  99 

the  lungs  and  the  consequent  impossibility  of  keeping 
the  mouth  closed,  cause  dust  particles  to  penetrate 
even  into  the  smallest  branches  of  the  bronchia,  where 
they  either  give  rise  to  an  inflamation  or  increase  one 
already  existing. 

They  may  even  act  as  carriers  of  pathogenic  bacteria 
and  produce  infectious  diseases.  The  entrance  of  the 
germs  of  consumption  into  the  most  delicate  alveolar 
parts  of  the  lungs  is  especially  promoted  by  deep 
breathing  and  therefore  by  gymnastics. 

The  bringing  in  of  dust  into  gymnastic  halls  is  ac- 
cordingly to  be  prevented  as  much  as  possible.  Pupils 
should  on  this  account  before  entering  put  on  clean 
gymnasium  shoes  in  special  dressing  rooms. 

To  prevent  the  production  of  dust  in  the  exercises, 
mats  should  be  used  as  little  as  possible.  Those  made 
of  cocoa  fibers  ought  to  be  discarded  altogether. 
Aside  from  the  fact  that  it  is  easy  to  slip  on  them, 
and  that  they  can  not  be  used  for  high  jumping,  they 
are  dust  catchers  of  the  first  order.  On  the  other 
hand,  little  dust  can  get  into  mats  with  leather  covers 
on  both  sides,  especially  if  the  seams  have  been  care- 
fully made.  After  having  been  used  they  should  be 
placed  so  as  not  to  bring  the  dusty  underside  of  one 
into  contact  with  the  upper  side  of  another. 

Spring  boards  must  be  repeatedly  oiled  or  tarred. 
But  above  all  gymnasium  floors  must  be  washed 


100  VENTILATION 

thoroughly  at  least  once  a  week  and  be  swept  with 
moist  sawdust  or  mopped  once  a  day,  i.  e.,  after  being 
used,  special  attention  being  given  to  the  spaces  be- 
tween and  under  the  apparatus.  After  such  cleansing, 
the  walls  are  to  be  dusted  dry,  and  the  apparatus  then 
wiped  off  with  a  moist  cloth.  It  is  also  a  very  good  plan 
to  clear  the  air  at  the  end  of  every  gymnastic  lesson  by 
sprinkling  with  a  hose  or  sprinkling  can,  the  former 
having  the  preference  because  it  enables  us  to  reach 
the  upper  layers  of  air. 

That  the  miasma  from  closets  can  very  greatly 
pollute  the  air  is  sufficiently  well  known.  These  ought 
therefore  to  be  located  in  out-houses  and  connected 
with  the  main  buildings  by  covered  walks. 

If  they  are  placed  in  the  school  building  itself,  they 
ought  to  be  accessible  only  from  the  corridors,  and 
that  by  means  of  an  ante-room  which  is  easily  venti- 
lated. Between  the  closet  and  coridor  there  should  be 
two  self-closing  doors. 

To  make  it  possible  to  clean  the  floors  more  easily 
they  should  be  made  waterproof.  The  bowls  must 
also  be  waterproof  and  had  better  be  made  of  castiron 
or  stone-ware.  In  places  with  water  works,  closets 
should  be  provided  with  the  water  flushing  and  car- 
riage system,  and  the  discharge  pipe  should  be  trapped 
if  there  are  no  other  means  of  preventing  the  gases 
from  rising. 


CLEANING    CLOSETS  101 

In  places  without  water  works  the  excreta  should  be 
collected  in  casks  that  can  be  closed  hermetically  and 
carried  away  as  often  as  possible,  say  once  every  two 
or  three  days.  Casks  ought  to  have  overflow  pipes 
with  catch  basins  underneath.  They  should  moreover 
be  placed  in  special,  easily  accessible  chambers  with 
waterproof  floors  and  plenty  of  light  and  air.  Great 
care  should  be  taken  to  give  the  discharge  pipe  an  air- 
tight connection  with  casks. 

Where  vaults  are  used  for  school  privies,  they  should 
have  a  cement  wall  separate  from  the  walls  of  the 
school-house  and  should  be  impervious  to  water.  On 
the  inside,  the  cracks  should  be  filled  with  a  coating 
of  asphalt.  To  facilitate  emptying  they  should  have 
concave  bottoms  and  concave  corners.  They  must 
also  have  waterproof  and  fairly  airtight  coverings. 

Whatever  the  kind  of  closet  in  use  in  a  school,  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  it  constantly  clean,  and 
as  odorless  as  possible.  Since  experience  shows  that 
the  reverse  is  often  true,  directors  and  teachers  ought 
not  to  consider  it  below  their  dignity  to  inspect  them 
repeatedly.  Aside  from  this  inspection,  the  scouring 
of  the  floors  and  the  seats  once  or  twice  a  week  regu- 
larly will  best  promote  cleanlines0.  This  should  take 
place  daily  in  time  of  epidemics. 

It  is  also  a  good  thing  to  have  the  closets  as  well 
lighted  as  possible  so  that  filth  may  be  more  readily 


102  VENTILATION 

detected.  Foul-smelling  gases  are  best  removed  by  a 
ventilating  flue  extending  from  the  cask  room  or  vault 
to  the  foundation  wall  and  then  up  over  the  gable  of 
the  roof.  If  it  is  built  near  a  chimney  or  if  a  flame 
is  kept  burning  in  it,  the  current  of  air  generated  will 
promote  the  escape  of  miasma. 

For  deodorizing  or  disinfecting  the  contents  of  the 
closets,  turf  powder  deserves  high  recommendation, 
especially  if  super-phosphate  in  the  proportion  of  1  to 
5  is  added.  The  latter  at  the  same  time  increases  the 
value  of  the  excreta  for  fertilizing  purposes.  Lime 
may  also  be  used  as  a  disinfectant  when  added  in 
sufficient  quantities  to  render  the  contents  strongly 
alkaline.  For  this  purpose  2.5  liters  calcium  hydrate 
powder  mixed  with  four  times  its  volume  of  water  will 
suffice  for  224  liters  of  the  excrementious  matter. 
This  process  has  this  disadvantage  that  it  is  difficult 
to  get  the  lime  everywhere  in  close  contact  with  the 
refuse  materials. 

Where  deodorization  and  disinfection  do  not  take 
place,  the  vaults  should  be  emptied  by  means  of  a 
pump  as  often  as  possible, — at  least  every  two  or  three 
months,  provided  they  are  not  filled  before. 

The  pungent  odor  given  off  by  urinals  because  of 
the  liberation  of  ammonia  in  the  decomposition  of 
urea,  should  be  removed  by  a  permanent  flow  of 
water.  Not  only  must  the  wet  wall  be  isolated  from 


CLEANING   CLOSETS  103 

the  building  but  the  floor  must  be  made  impervious, 
and  the  discharge  pipe  be  supplied  with  a  trap.  If  it 
is  impossible  to  arrange  for  the  flow  of  water,  the  wet 
places  should  be  sprinkled  regularly  with  powdered 
carbolic  acid,  which  is  usually  colored  red  to  prevent 
poisoning. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  HEATING  OF  SCHOOL-ROOMS  1 
This  is  usually  closely  connected  with  the  ventilation 
discussed  in  the  preceding  chapter.  According  as 
heating  apparatus  is  designed  for  warming  single  rooms 
or  several  rooms  at  the  same  time,  we  may  speak  of 
separate  and  general  heating,  respectively.  For  the 
former  stoves  are  used  and  for  the  latter  large  central 
heating  plants. 

To  settle  the  question  whether  stoves  or  central  heat- 
ing plants  are  to  be  preferred,  economical,  technical, 
pedagogical,  and  hygienic  items  must  be  considered. 
As  to  economy  the  original  outlay  for  stoves  is  less 
than  that  for  central  plants.  For  even  the  cheapest 
central  plant,  namely  the  hot  air  system,  costs  about 
65  cts.  per  cbm.  of  the  room  to  be  heated,  whereas  the 
corresponding  cost  for  stoves  rarely  exceeds  40  cts. 

In  making  this  comparison  we  must,  however,  take 
this  fact  into  consideration  that  the  stoves  heat  only 
the  school-rooms  and  offices,  while  central  plants  also 
heat  the  stairways,  corridors,  ante-rooms,  water-closets, 
etc.  This  diminishes  the  comparative  economic  ad- 

JE.  Haesecke,  Die  Schulheizung,  ihre  Mangel  und 
deren  Beseitigung.  Berlin,  1893. 

(104) 


STOVES   YS.  CENTRAL   SYSTEM  105 

vantage  of  heating  by  stoves.  The  operating  expenses 
for  stoves  are  also  greater  than  those  for  central  heat- 
ing plants.  In  20  schools  in  Vienna  it  was  found  that 
the  annual  expense  for  fuel  and  janitor  per  100  cbm. 
of  space  to  be  heated  was  with  stoves  $7.40,  and  with 
central  heating  plants  only  $6.58. 

From  a  technical  point  of  view  the  disadvantages  of 
stove-heating  become  still  more  apparent.  It  is  well- 
known  that  schools  especially  those  of  larger  cities 
owing  to  the  expensiveness  of  building  sites,  are  liable 
to  suffer  from  lack  of  room.  This  evil  is  counteracted 
to  a  certain  extent  by  using  central  heating  plants, 
because  these  are  located  in  otherwise  almost  useless 
rooms  in  the  basement.  On  the  other  hand  if  stoves 
are  used,  they  not  only  occupy  more  or  less  room  them- 
selves but  some  floor  space  is  also  lost  by  shortening 
the  neighboring  seats  in  order  not  to  expose  individual 
pupils  to  extreme  heat. 

Another  technical  objection  to  the  stove  is  the  in- 
convenience experienced  in  caring  for  it.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  to  supply  a  number  of  places  with  fuel  takes 
more  trouble  than  to  supply  only  one,  and  also  that  it 
is  more  burdensome  to  attend  to  more  than  one  fire 
than  to  attend  to  one  only. 

Lastly,  danger  of  fire  increases  with  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  stoves,  whereas  the  concentration  of 
the  heating  apparatus  into  one  room  where  it  can  be 


106  HEATING 

conveniently  watched  not  only  enhances  security  from 
fire,  but  also  makes  it  easier  to  get  control  of  any  fire 
that  might  break  out. 

From  a  pedagogical  stand-point  it  may  be  said  that 
the  repeated  attention  required  by  stoves  especially 
the  old  style  iron  stoves,  disturbs  the  work  of  the 
school.  Moreover,  when  the  temperature  is  either  too 
high  or  too  low,  the  janitor  has  to  be  notified  and  this 
again  interrupts  the  recitations,  while  with  the  more 
recent  central  plants  the  temperature  of  the  room  can 
be  ascertained  outside  and  can  be  regulated  without 
entering  the  room. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  heating  question,  however, 
the  hygienic  side  is  of  pre-eminent  importance.  The 
ideal  in  this  respect  is  to  have  an  absolutely  uniform 
temperature  throughout  the  room,  since  it  is  disa- 
greeable to  have  a  rapid  decrease  of  temperature  from 
the  ceiling  to  the  floor.  In  the  latter  case  the  head  is 
exposed  to  a  high  and  the  feet  to  a  low  temperature, 
while  the  old  Salernitan  rule  demands  that  the  head  be 
kept  cool  and  the  feet  warm. 

With  a  stove,  as  we  know,  it  is  impossible  to  heat  a 
given  room  uniformly  in  all  its  parts.  For  its  effec- 
tiveness depends  in  the  first  place  upon  the  radiation 
of  heat ;  and  the  amount  of  this  decreases  with  extra- 
ordinary rapidity  as  the  distance  from  the  stove  in- 
creases. To  secure  a  uniform  temperature  even  with 


STOYES  107 

a  central  heating  plant  presents  many  difficulties ;  but 
it  can  nevertheless  be  effected  more  easily  than  with 
.stoves. 

Another  hygienic  advantage  which  the  central  has 
over  the  separate  heating  method  is  that  it  brings  more 
air  into  the  room.  A  stove  will  serve  far  less  satisfac- 
torily for  this  purpose,  since  it  can  be  only  of  moderate 
.size,  if  the  first  cost  and  the  running  expenses  are  not 
to  be  too  great ;  and  it  will  therefore  not  be  able  to 
bring  about  the  required  changes  of  air  in  the  room. 
On  the  other  hand,  with  a  central  plant  the  introduc- 
tion of  pure  and  the  removal  of  impure  air  can  be 
Tegulated  in  a  mathematically  definite  way.  This  en- 
-ables  us  to  furnish  the  amount  of  air  required  in  any 
.given  place. 

Accordingly,  where  the  location  and  construction  do 
not  prevent  it,  large  school-buildings  ought  to  be  pro- 
vided with  central  heating  plants.  In  fact  they  are 
found  in  the  public  schools  of  most  large  cities,  as  for 
instance  almost  without  exception  in  Berlin,  Hamburg, 
Munich,  and  Frankfort  a.  M.  The  use  of  stoves 
may,  however,  be  considered  allowable  in  schools  with 
-only  a  few  rooms,  since  the  hygenic  disadvantages  are 
not  so  great  that  stoves  must  be  absolutely  forbidden. 

Stoves  may  best  be  placed  near  the  middle  of 
the  long  wall  opposite  the  windows.  They  have  been 
made  ot  clay,  Russian  tiles,  iron,  or  a  mixture  of 


108  HEATING 

these  materials.  Tile  stoves  are  not  well  adapted  for 
school  purposes  because  they  heat  up  too  slowly,  fur- 
nish insufficient  ventilation,  and  consume  too  much 
fuel.  The  same  is  true,  although  in  a  less  degree,  of 
combinational  stoves  which  have  an  iron  base  and  a- 
tile  top. 

Nor  can  the  iron  cylinder  or  cannon  stove — so-called 
on  account  of  its  shape — be  recommended  for  schools. 
The  brisk  fire  in  these  stoves,  it  is  true,  draws  the  air 
from  the  floor  of  the  school-room,  and  thus  aids  ven- 
tilation; but  as  an  offset,  they  consume  a  great  deal  of 
fuel  and  must  be  filled  repeatedly. 

But  regulable  reservoir  stoves,  -which  have  a  large 
jacket  or  casing  and  heat  the  incoming  air  only  mod- 
erately, may  be  said  to  be  satisfactory.  Of  these  there 
are  many  different  kinds.  We  shall  mention  only  the 
Jacobi  or  Meissner,  the  Kaiserlautern,  and  Wolpert  and 
Meidinger,  reservoir  stoves,  the  Kauffer  and  Keidel 
patented  stoves,  and  the  somewhat  similar  Irish  and 
American  base  burners  or  self-feeders. 

According  to  the  test  made  by  the  hygienic  institute 
of  Berlin,  the  Kauffer  Parlor  stove  and  the  large 
Keidel  patented  stoves  keep  the  most  permanent  fire. 
This  holds  true  of  the  smaller  ones  of  this  kind  only 
when  anthracite  is  used.  Within  the  wide  casing  of  the 
Keidel  stove,  the  incoming  air  from  the  outside  is  only 
moderately  warmed;  and  a  sufficient  quantity — about 


GAS   STOVES  109 

ten  times  as  much  as  is  furnished  by  the  Meidinger 
stove, — is  introduced  into  the  room  without  creating 
drafts.  These  stoves  have,  moreover,  a  special  device 
for  keeping  the  parts  in  the  fire  from  getting  too  hot ; 
and  they  can  be  managed  very  economically,  since  the 
size  of  the  fire  pot  can  be  changed  by  movable  pans. 

Quite  recently  stoves  heated  by  gas1  have  been  em- 
ployed in  institutions"  of  learning  as  for  instance,  to 
name  only  a  few  large  cities,  in  Berlin,  Hamburg, 
Copenhagen,  Munich,  Frankfort  a.  M.,  Cologne, 
Stuttgart,  Strassburg  in  Alsace,  Karlsruhe,  Freiburg 
in  Baden,  and  Barmen.  The  disadvantages  of  heating 
with  illuminating  gas,  according  to  Ostender,  are, 
aside  from  the  heavy  running  expenses,  the  vitiation  of 
the  air  by  overheated  heating  surfaces  and  filling  the 
school-room  with  gas.  Meidinger,  however,  has  proved 
that  these  criticisms  are  not  correct. 

But  we  must  concede  the  greater  expense  of  gas 
heating.  For  one  room  the  expense  per  hour  was,  for  in- 
stance, in  Cologne,  where  gas  is  2J  cts.  per  cbm.,  4  cts; 
in  Frankfort,  a.  M.,  and  in  Karlsruhe,  where  gas 
is  3  cts.  per  cbm.,  4.8  cts.  Even  with  the  gas  at  1  ct. 
in  Karlsruhe,  the  expense  for  each  room  per  hour  is 
still  1.6  cts.  On  the  other  hand,  the  same  amount  of 
stove  heat  costs  only  1J  cts.,  and  hot  air  heat  1^  cts. 

*Gustav  Behnke,  Die  Gasofenheizung  fur  Schulen. 
Darmstadt,  1894.  Arnold  Bergstrasser. 


110  HEATING 

That  gas  heating  is  more  expensive  than  stove  or  hot 
air  heating  is  due,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  greater 
cost  of  gas  in  comparison  with  coal  or  coke;  and,  in 
the  second  place,  to  the  fact  that  the  heat  is  but  im- 
perfectly utilized.  The  amount  utilized  varies  between 
29.4  and  88.7$,  but  in  eight  out  of  eleven  cases 
tested  it  was  more  than  60  %. 

The  expense  aside,  gas  stoves  have  these  advantages 
in  their  favor,  namely,  that  they  require  no  special  fire- 
man, no  room  for  fuel,  no  removal  of  slag  and  ashes, 
and  that  they  can  be  attended  to  without  the  least 
difficulty,  since  they  can  be  turned  on  or  off  at  any 
moment,  thus  making  the  regulation  of  temperature 
in  the  school-room  very  much  easier.  In  the  higher 
schools  of  Hamburg  where  gas  heating  is  used,  it  ac- 
cordingly gives  complete  satisfaction. 

Whatever  sort  of  a  stove  the  school  may  have,  the 
teacher  needs  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the  following 
points  in  overseeing  it : 

In  the  first  place,  gases  from  the  combustion  must 
not  be  allowed  to  escape  into  the  room.  Although 
many  of  them  produce  only  a  feeling  of  discomfort, 
others,  especially  carbon  monoxide,  are  very  detri- 
mental to  health.  On  account  of  poisoning  by  carbon 
monoxide,  which  escaped  into  a  school-room  from  a 
defective  stove,  the  pupils  showed  the  following  symp- 
toms up  to  the  fourteenth  day:  Pain  in  the  forehead 


CARE   OF   STOVES  111 

and  in  the  temples,  heaviness  in  the  head,  dizziness, 
humming  of  the  ears,  weakness  of  memory,  dullness, 
partly  sleeplessness,  partly  sleepiness,  pain  in  the 
breast,  weakness  of  the  legs,  lessened  patellar  reflexes, 
coated  tongues,  nausea,  diarrhea,  and  pallor. 

It  is  now  believed  by  many  that  the  red  hot  walls  of 
an  iron  stove  permit  the  escape  of  carbon  monoxide. 
This  idea  was  first  defended  by  Morin.  He  based  his 
conclusions  on  the  investigations  of  St.  Clair-Deville 
and  Troost.  Many  experiments,  of  which  we  will  only 
mention  "VVolfflmgel's,  have  shown,  however,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  demonstrate  that  carbon  monoxide  escapes 
into  the  room  from  good  metal  stoves  even  when  they 
are  red  hot.  Moreover,  the  fire  pots  of  these  stoves  are 
lined  with  fire  brick,  so  that  they  are  in  general  not 
liable  to  get  so  hot. 

Though  it  is  an  assured  fact  that  the  gases  from 
combustion,  especially  carbonic  oxide,  do  not  pene- 
trate the  walls  of  iron  stoves,  such  gases  may,  never- 
theless, under  certain  conditions  escape  from  any  kind 
of  a  stove.  This  is  least  to  be  feared  when  the  fire  is 
in  full  blast,  because  the  great  difference  of  tempera- 
ture between  the  inside  and  the  outside  of  the  stove 
gives  rise  to  pressure  toward  the  inside.  In  this  case 
the  gases  do  not  rush  out  of  the  pipes,  but  on  the 
contrary,  air  rushes  into  them.  It  is  only  when  a  stove 
has  been  neglected  and  allowed  to  develop  cracks — 


HEATING 

which  is  often  the  case  with  school  stoves — that  gases 
can  escape,  when  the  fire  is  well  under  way. 

The  escape  of  gas  occurs,  however,  very  readily 
when  the  fire  is  being  started,  because  the  pipes  are 
not  then  sufficiently  warm  to  produce  the  necessary 
draft.  At  such  times,  especially  where  there  are  con- 
tractions and  curves  in  the  pipes,  the  gases  inside  may 
develop  a  greater  pressure  and  consequently  escape 
into  the  room. 

It  is  well  to  call  the  janitor's  attention  to  the  mat- 
ter. He  must  be  particularly  instructed  not  to  close 
the  dampers  in  the  stovepipe  and  chimney  too  soon. 
With  the  draft  completely  closed  in  this  way,  carbonic 
oxide  gas,  which  is  a  product  of  incomplete  combus- 
tion, is  formed,  and  escapes  into  the  room  through  the 
door  or  other  openings  in  the  stove.  Since  even  dam- 
pers with  holes  in  them  do  not  afford  sufficient  protec- 
tion against  this  evil,  it  it  is  better  to  prohibit  the  use 
of  dampers  altogether  in  schools. 

CENTRAL  HEATING  PLANTS 

These  are  designated  steam,  air,  or  water  heating 
systems  according  as  the  heat  conducting  agent  is 
steam,  air,  or  water.  Several  of  these  agents  may, 
however,  be  used  simultaneously  when  we  have  steam- 
water  heaters,  steam-air  heaters,  etc. 

Hot  Air  Furnaces  for  the  most  part  transmit 
heat  from  the  gases  in  the  furnace  through  a  metal 


CENTRAL   HEATING    PLANTS  113 

heating  surface  in  contact  with  the  air,  which  then  be- 
comes the  heating  medium  and  is  conveyed  in  special 
pipes  to  the  rooms  to  be  heated.  Where  this  method 
is  used  complaints  from  the  teacher  are  often  heard. 

The  most  general  one  is  that  the  air  is  too  dry.  This 
dryness  is,  however,  frequently  only  apparent.  If  dust, 
for  instance  has  settled  on  the  heating  surface  of  the 
furnace  or  if  dust  laden  air  conies  in  contact  with  it, 
the  dust  particles  are  scorched;  and  burnt  products  are 
produced,  which  irritate  the  mucous  membranes  of 
the  throat  and  eyes,  causing  a  disagreeable  feeling 
of  dryness.  The  temperature  of  the  heating  surface 
must  therefore  be  kept  low;  and  the  settling  of  dust 
on  it  must  be  prevented  as  far  as  possible.  The  first 
can  be  done  by  lining  the  fire-pot  and  adjacent  parts 
with  Chamotte  stone ;  and  the  latter,  by  not  having 
large  horizontal  heating  surfaces,  and  making  those  we 
have,  smooth  and  not  corrugated  outside,  to  facilitate 
cleaning.  Teachers  must  see  to  it  that  the  cleaning 
be  done  with  regularity. 

The  air  may,  on  the  other  hand,  really  become  too 
dry  in  hot-air  heating.  Whether  this  is  so  or  not  can 
be  determined  by  the  relative  humidity,  that  is,  the 
ratio  of  the  amount  of  aqueous  vapor  in  a  cubic 
meter  of  air  to  the  maximum  it  might  contain  at 
this  temperature.  If  for  instance  the  relative  humid- 
ity is  small  so  that  the  air  could  -still  absorb  a  great 


114  HEATIKG 

deal  of  water  before  saturation,  a  considerable  amount 
of  moisture  will  be  taken  from  the  surface  of  the  body ; 
and  this  gives  rise  to  a  peculiar  feeling  of  discomfort. 
By  feeling  we  can,  however,  discriminate  between 
moist  and  dry  air  only  to  a  limited  extent,  as  has  been 
shown  by  Voit  and  Forster1. 

One  of  them  would  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
other  produce  different  degrees  of  humidity  in  the  air 
of  a  room  for  the  other  to  describe  by  his  feelings. 
Neither  could  do  this,  since  the  temperature  of  the 
room  and  the  general  condition  of  the  body  played  too 
great  a  part.  For  this  reason  only  limiting  values, 
wide  apart,  can  be  given  as  to  the  proper  degree  of 
humidity  in  a  school-room.  According  to  Rubner 
there  should  be : 

For    7°  C,    4— 45*  of  aqueous  vapor. 

"    10°  C,  10-48*." 

"    15°  C,  19-54$  " 

"    20°  C,  30-60*  " 

"    25°  0,33-62*  " 

With  the  temperature  customary  in  school-rooms, 
the  humidity  of  the  air  may,  therefore,  vary  from  30 
to  60  ic.  The  physicist  of  the  institution  ought  to 
make  hygrometric  tests  to  ascertain  whether  this  meas- 
ure is  attained,  especially  when  there  are  complaints 

1E.  Yoit,  Hygienische  Anforderungen  an  Heizan- 
lagen  in  Schulhiiusern.  Zeitschrift  fiir  Schulgesund- 
heitspflege,  1893,  No.  1,  p.  5  if. 


HOT   AIR   FURNACES  115 

that  the  air  is  too  dry.  If  we  assume  that  1,000  cbm. 
of  hot  air  per  hour  are  necessary  for  a  room  of  medium 
size,  16  liters  of  water  should  be  evaporated  in  the 
heating  chamber  during  the  same  time.  If  there  is  a. 
lack  of  moisture,  we  should  ascertain  whether  the 
water  tank  in  the  heating  chamber  has  an  evaporating 
surface  large  enough  to  fulfill  these  requirements ;  and 
if  it  has,  whether  it  is  always  sufficiently  full  of 
water;  the  self -regulating  stop  cocks  may  sometimes  be 
out  of  order. 

Another  defect  often  found  in  hot-air  heating  is  the 
unequal  distribution  of  the  heat  in  the  room.  In  a 
school-room  warmed  by  this  method,  the  air  near  the 
ceiling  had  a  temperature  of  38°  C  and  near  the  floor 
13°  C;  the  average  temperature  increase  vertically  was 
3.6°  C  per  meter. 

In  another  room  heated  by  the  hot-air  system,  a 
thermometer  hanging  0.5  meters  from  the  ceiling 
showed  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  hour  28°  R,  an- 
other at  a  man's  height  from  the  floor  10°  R,  and  one 
on  the  floor  8°  R.  While  the  middle  one  gradually 
rose  during  the  first  hour  to  12°  R,  and  the  lower  one 
to  9-10°  R,  the  upper  one  remained  unchanged. 

This  difference  of  temperature  between  the  different 
horizontal  layers  of  air  in  a  school-room  is  first  of  all 
detrimental  to  the  teacher.  The  hot  air  near  the  ceil- 
ing may,  for  instance,  be  brought  down  by  currents  of. 


116  HEATING 

air,  and  when  it  reaches  the  head  of  the  teacher,  he 
will  stand  there  with  a  warm  head  and  cold  feet. 
"  In  such  cases  "  says  Breckling1,  "  I  have  often  had  a 
severe  headache  and  felt  a  benumbing  pressure  over  the 
forehead,  which  made  profitable  instruction  impossible. 
The  pupils  are  similarly  affected,  and  manifest  it  by 
yawning,  by  inattention,  and  by  an  inclination  to  rest 
their  heads  on  their  hands." 

Considerable  differences  in  temperature  may  be 
found  not  only  in  a  vertical  but  also  in  a  horizontal 
direction  in  rooms  heated  with  hot  air.  In  the  first 
one  of  the  two  rooms  mentioned  above  the  temperature 
half  way  between  the  floor  and  ceiling  varied  from  14° 
to  21°  C;  and  even  at  the  height  of  the  pupil's  seats 
it  was  not  uniform. 

That  this  condition  of  things  may  injure  the  pupil's 
health  needs  no  proof.  According  to  what  has  been 
said,  it  would  be  well  for  teachers  employed  in  schools 
heated  by  the  hot  air  system  to  measure  the  temperature 
repeatedly  in  different  parts  of  the  room.  It  is  true, 
that  such  differences  when  found  can  be  remedied  often 
only  with  great  difficulty,  and  sometimes  not  at  all. 

They  are  almost  always  due  to  the  air  being  of  too 
high  a  temperature  as  it  flows  in  near  the  ceiling.  If 

Sonke  Breckling,  Die  Luftheizung  in  den  Ham- 
burger Schulen.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheits- 
pflege,  1891,  No.  3,  p.  159. 


HOT   WATER   SYSTEMS  117 

this  were  reduced  the  amount  of  warm  air  would  have 
to  be  increased  considerably  if  the  rooms  are  not  to 
become  too  cold.  To  accomplish  this  we  should  have 
to  increase  the  cross-section  of  the  pipes  in  the  wall; 
this  would  require  a  change  in  the  building  and  often 
even  a  complete  reconstruction  of  the  school. 

We  must  note,  finally,  that  the  above  mentioned 
differences  of  temperature,  as  a  rule,  occur  only  with  old 
hot  air  systems,  while  the  more  recent  give  in  this 
respect  very  satisfactory  results. 

Hot  Water  Systems  heat  the  water  which  serves  in 
this  case  as  the  distributing  medium  in  conducting 
pipes,  which  are  either  open  or  closed  to  the  air. 

In  the  first  case,  the  water  is  never  heated  above 
the  boiling  point  (100°  C)  and  there  is  no  pressure  in 
the  pipes.  This  is  called  the  warm  water  or  the  low- 
pressure  system. 

With  closed  pipes,  or  the  so-called  hot  water  sys- 
tem, the  temperature  of  the  water  can  be  raised  as  high 
as  is  desired.  If  the  temperature  rises  to  130°  C,  which 
gives  a  pressure  of  1^  atmosphere,  it  is  called  a  medium- 
pressure  hot  water  system.  If  it  rises,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  is  the  case  in  the  old  Perkins'  hot  water  sys- 
tem, to  about  200°  C,  which  gives  a  pressure  of  14 
atmospheres,  it  is  called  the  high-pressure  hot  water 
system. 

On  account  of  the  high  pressure,  the  latter  is  some- 
what dangerous,  and,  therefore,  unsuitable  for  school 


118  HEATING 

purposes.  The  medium  pressure  system  is  somewhat 
better.  But  it  is  possible  that  even  with  this  system 
the  dust  will  be  scorched,  since  this  may  happen  with 
a  temperature  of  from  100° — 150°  C.  Moreover,  the 
high  pressure  may  prevent  the  valves  which  regulate 
the  heat  from  working  satisfactorily. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  rather  uniform  distribution  of 
heat  can  be  obtained  by  this  system ;  and  where  a  heat- 
ing plant  is  to  be  introduced  into  old  school  buildings, 
it  is  often  the  only  one  possible.  The  necessary  pipes 
or  flues  in  the  walls  would  be  lacking  for  hot-air  heat- 
ing, whereas  the  small  pipes  of  this  medium  pressure 
system  can  be  introduced  anywhere  without  much 
difficulty. 

Warm  water  systems  are,  however,  at  all  points  bet- 
ter than  hot  water  systems.  The  temperature  of  the 
radiating  surface  is  never  so  high  that  burnt  products 
are  produced  by  the  dry  distillation  of  scorched  dust 
particles.  Since  the  pipes  are  usually  placed  near  the 
floor,  the  latter  is  especially  well  warmed;  and  the  un- 
pleasantness of  cold  feet  is  prevented. 

But  there  are  some  disadvantages  connected  with 
this  method  of  heating.  Even  wThen  the  circulation 
of  the  water  is  completely  closed,  the  radiation  of 
heat  does  not  cease,  and  so  for  instance  a  room  may 
be  still  heated  when  the  heat  is  no  longer  desired. 
Furthermore,  these  warm  water  systems  are  very  ex- 


STEAM — HIGH    AtfD    LOW    PRESSURE  119 

pensive,  and  for  this  reason  alone  they  are  hardly  ever 
put  into  schools  in  recent  years. 

Steam  heating  systems  are  coming  more  and  more 
into  use.  These  are  also  designated  respectively  as 
low  or  high-pressure  systems,  according  to  the  press- 
ure in  the  pipes.  High  pressure  steam  systems  are 
probably  never  installed  in  schools,  because  the  use  of 
high-pressure  boilers  in  inhabited  buildings  is  forbid- 
den on  account  of  the  danger  from  explosion. 

Low-pressure  steam  systems,  such  as  those  of  Bechem 
and  Post,  which  have  a  pressure  of  ^  to  J  of  an  at- 
mosphere, are,  on  the  other  hand,  very  properly  com- 
ing more  and  more  into  use  in  schools.  Like  all  other 
steam  and  water  systems,  they  have  this  advantage 
over  the  hot-air  heating  that  with  them  ventilation  and 
heating  are  separated.  One  may  be  in  operation  with- 
out the  other,  or  they  may  work  together  in  varying 
degrees;  whereas  the  closing  of  the  register  in  a  hot- 
air  system  reduces  the  ventilation  to  a  minimum.  An- 
other advantage  is  the  low  temperature  of  the  heating 
surface  in  the  low  pressure  steam  system,  the  utility 
of  which  has  been  discussed  before.  The  heat  can  be 
regulated  easily  and  accurately  by  means  of  valves,  and 
can  even  be  almost  entirely  shut  off,  since  the  amount 
of  steam  remaining  in  the  radiator  has  but  small  heat- 
ing capacity. 

Finally,  the  large  fire-pot  of  the  low  pressure  sys- 


120  HEATING 

tern  enables  us  to  keep  the  fire  night  and  day,  thus 
securing  a  uniform  and  thorough  heating  of  the  whole 
building.  The  agreeableness  of  this  is  especially  to 
be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  walls  are  never  so 
cold  as  they  would  be  otherwise.  To  prevent  a  waste 
of  fuel  with  a  continuous  fire,  the  draft  in  the  furnace 
and  consequently  the  heating  itself  should  be  regulated 
automatically  by  the  steam  pressure  in  the  boiler. 
When,  for  instance,  the  radiator  on  account  of  a  high 
temperature  in  the  room  gives  off  less  heat,  it  increases 
the  pressure  in  the  boiler.  This  increased  pressure 
closes  the  furnace  draft  and  lets  in  less  air  to  the  fire, 
which  then  quiets  down  a  little.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  radiation  of  heat  is  increased,  the  steam 
pressure  decreases  and  the  draft  is  opened  and  the 
amount  of  air  admitted  to  the  fire  is  greater. 

Lately  the  indirect  low-pressure  steam  systems  have 
been  recommended  more  strongly  than  the  direct  low- 
pressure  steam  system.  The  board  of  public  works  of 
Vienna  speaks  of  them  as  positively  the  best  heating 
systems1  for  schools  at  the  present  time.  They  have, 
instead  of  furnaces,  low-pressure  steam  radiators  in 
the  air  chambers,  so  that  the  warm  air  introduced  into 
the  school-room  is  not  heated  directly  by  the  fire  but 

1  Neumann,  Antrag  und  Bericht  des  Stadtrates  von 
Wien,  betreffend  die  Heizungs  und  Liiftungsanlagen  in 
den  stadtischen  Schulen.  Wien,  1893. 


TEMPERATUKE  MAINTAINED          121 

indirectly  by  steam.  This  makes  the  plant  cost  50  to 
80  #  more ;  but  the  operating  expenses  are  considerably 
reduced,  because  low-pressure  steam  heaters  are  more 
durable  than  furnaces,  which  crack  readily. 

With  respect  to  the  last  point,  the  indirect  low-pres- 
sure steam  systems  have  a  further  advantage  over  the 
hot-air  systems.  With  the  latter,  the  air  may  be  pol- 
luted by  gases  escaping  from  the  cracks,  while  this  is 
absolutely  impossible  with  the  former. 

According  to  reports  from  Vienna  these  indirect  low- 
pressure  steam  systems  have  proved  eminently  satisfac- 
tory in  the  schools  of  that  city;  and  will  therefore  in 
the  future  be  used  exclusively.  With  a  good  plan, 
proper  installation,  and  careful  operation  by  an  experi- 
enced fireman,  no  inconveniences  at  all  can  arise  from 
them. 


Whatever  the  heating  system  may  be,  a  temperature 
of  16°-19°  C,  or  13°-15°  R,  or  61°-66°F,*  should  be 
maintained  in  class-rooms  and  drawing-rooms;  while 
a  temperature  of  14°-17°  C,  or  11°-13°  R,  will  suffice 
for  the  gymnasium,  and  one  of  10°  to  8°  C,  or  8°  to 
6.5°  R,  for  closets,  stairways,  and  corridors.  Even  at 
the  desks  nearest  the  stove,  the  thermometer  should 
not  be  more  than  a  few  degrees  above  the  normal  tem- 

*  The  temperature  required  in  schools  in  the  U.  S. 
is  usually  about  5°  F.  higher. 


122  HEATING 

perature,  and  stoves  ought  to  be  supplied  with  either 
permanent  or  movable  screens  to  prevent  them  from 
becoming  so.  The  former  have  the  advantage  that  they 
can  not  be  put  away  or  knocked  down;  the  latter  that 
they  make  the  cleaning  of  the  room  easier. 

If  the  temperature  of  the  room  is  below  16°  C,  or 
13°  K,  the  room  must  be  heated,  irrespective  of  the 
season  of  the  year.  Since  the  heat  takes  effect  only 
after  some  time,  it  is  best,  especially  when  the  children 
are  young  and  the  weather  is  very  cold,  to  give  them 
some  gymnastic  exercises,  or  else  allow  them  to  run  a 
few  moments  on  the  play-ground  till  the  rooms  become 
comfortable. 

A  mistake  is  often  made  at  the  Christmas  or  Easter 
vacation  by  not  beginning  to  heat  the  building  one  or 
two  days  before  school  opens.  If  the  heating  is  only 
begun  the  morning  of  the  first  day  it  is  impossible  to 
raise  the  air  in  the  now  thoroughly  cooled  rooms  to  the 
proper  temperature.  The  heating  apparatus  is,  also, 
usually  overtaxed  at  this  time  because  the  fireman 
tries  to  do  in  a  few  hours  what  it  would  take  him  at 
least  a  day  to  accomplish.  Hot-air  furnaces  are  es- 
pecially liable  to  be  ruined  in  this  way,  and  an  over- 
heating of  the  fire-pot  and  burning  out  of  the  grate, 
has  been  observed  even  in  the  case  of  the  low-pressure 
steam  system. 

Not  only  should  the  fireman  be  watched  in  these  par- 


TEMPERATURE   TO    BE    CONSTANT  123 

ticular  matters,  but  the  effort  should  also  be  made  to 
see  that  he  keeps  the  proper  temperature  in  the  rooms 
.at  all  times.  To  be  sure,  a  perfectly  uniform  tempera- 
ture cannot  be  obtained;  for  the  children  themselves 
are  living  stoves,  which  after  a  while  heat  the  air  in  the 
room.  In  the  I.  gymnasium  of  Moscow1,  which  has 
been  referred  to  before,  the  temperature  at  8  A.  M., 
before  instruction  began,  was  16°  C;  at  the  end  of  the 
first  hour,  17.7°;  at  the  end  of  the  second  18.3°;  and 
at  the  end  of  the  third,  19.4°  C.  At  11  o'clock  there 
Tvas  a  long  recess,  during  which  a  window  was  opened. 
The  temperature  consequently  fell  to  15.1°  C,  but  rose 
:again  the  next  hour  to  18.6°  C,  and  in  the  following 
hour  even  as  high  as  20.1°  C. 

Xothwithstanding  this,  we  must  aim  at  a  constant 
temperature  in  the  school-room  and  for  this  purpose 
test  it  repeatedly.  A  thermometer  should  accordingly 
be  hung  up  in  every  class-room  about  1.2  to  1.6  meters 
above  the  floor,  in  a  place  where  the  temperature  may 
be  said  to  be  about  average.  A  standardized  thermo- 
meter had  better  be  procured,  if  the  expense  does  not 
have  to  be  avoided.  Otherwise  a  common  thermome- 
ter will  do,  as  its  error  may  be  determined  by  the 

*Fr.  Erismann,  Die  Schulhygiene  auf  der  Jubiliiums- 
ausstellung  der  Gesellschaft  fur  Beforderung  der 
Arbeitsamkeit  in  Moskau.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulge- 
.sundheitspflege,  1888,  Xo.  11,  p.  101  ff. 


124  HEATING 

physicist  of  the  school  by  comparison  with  one  that  is 
accurate. 

.  In  several  schools  in  France,  the  temperature  is- 
noted  every  hour,  and  a  curve  of  its  variations  con- 
structed upon  plotting  paper;  This  is  done  now  and 
then  by  pupils,  since  they  can  at  the  same  time  learn 
to  observe.  In  Germany,  we  often  find  the  tempera- 
ture at  the  end  of  every  recitation  recorded  in  the  class 
book;  but  a  curve  gives  a  more  evident  picture  of  the 
matter  than  a  table  of  figures,  and  is  just  as  easily 
constructed. 

In  order  to  maintain  normal  temperature  in  school- 
rooms, attempts  have  lately  been  made  to  assist  the  fire- 
man by  means  of  instruments  which  would  indicate 
the  temperature  of  the  rooms  by  some  signal  near  the 
furnace.  To  this  class  of  instruments  belong  the  dis- 
tance thermometer  of  Bonnesen,  and  the  central  ap- 
paratus for  electric  temperature  signals  by  Bastelmann 
and  others.  The  former  consists  of  a  barometer  tube 
placed  in  the  furnace  room  in  the  cellar;  of  a  tin 
cylinder  filled  with  absolutely  dry  air  and  placed  in 
every  room;  and  of  a  capillary  lead  tube,  which  con- 
nects the  cylinder  with  the  short  arm  of  the  barometer. 
A  change  of  temperature  in  the  room  causes  a  change 
of  the  pressure  of  the  air  in  the  cylinder,  which  is 
then  communicated  by  the  capillary  tube  to  the  fur- 
nace room,  where  the  temperature  of  the  rooms  can  be 
read  on  the  scale  of  the  barometer. 


TEMPERATURE    SIGNALS  125 

Bastelmann's  contact  apparatus  for  electrical  tem- 


FIG.  9,     BASTELMANN'S  CONTACT  THERMOMETER  FOR  ELECTRIC 
TKMPKRATURE  SIGNALS 


126 


HEATING 


perature  signals,  on  the  other  hand,  has  contact  ther- 
mometers (figure  9)  which  have  platinum  wires  melted 
into  them  in  such  a  manner  that  with  a  temperature 
of  16°,  17.5°,  and  19°  C  the  mercury  touches  the 
wires.  These  thermometers  are  suspended  in  the 
school-room  and  are  connected  with  the  signal  board 
in  the  furnace  room  by  means  of  wires  (figure  10). 
When  the  mercury  rises  so  that  it  touches  the  platinum 
wires,  an  electrical  circuit  is  closed  by  means  of  pres- 
sure on  the  corresponding  contact  buttons  (a,  b,  c,  d, 
e,  i,  in'  figure  10),  and  this  releases  an  indicator 
on  the  signal  board.  The  indicators  in  the  upper 


FIG.  10.     BASTLEMANX'S  TEMPERATURE  SIGNAL  BOARD 

row  are  for  the  minimum  temperature  of  16°  C;  those 
in  the  middle  row  for  17.5°;  and  those  in  the  lower 
row  for  the  maximum  temperature  of  19°  C.  The 
fireman  needs  only  to  press  the  buttons  a  and  d  to  see 
in  which  rooms  the  temperature  has  reached  16°  C. 


TEMPERATURE    SIGNALS  127 

In  the  same  way  he  can  learn  in  what  room  the  tem- 
perature has  reached  17.5°  and  19°  C  by  pressing  the 
buttons  b  and  e,  and  c  and  f,  respectively.  These  in- 
struments should  be  tested  not  only  when  they  are  put 
up,  but  every  now  and  then  afterwards  by  the  physicist 
of  the  school. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SCHOOL   FURNITURE 

The  inside  furnishings  of  the  school-room,  the  chief 
of  which  are  the  seats  and  desks,  or  subsellia,  are  no 
less  important  than  the  heating  and  ventilation.  For 
it  is  clear  that  an  incorrectly  constructed  school  bench 
occupied  by  pupils  daily  four  to  six  hours  for  twelve 
years  must  necessarily  prove  injurious  to  their  physical 
development.  Moreover,  the  school  work  suffers,  since 
a  seat  which  compels  pupils  to  sit  or  stand  uncomfort- 
ably leads  to  rapid  fatigue. 

The  following  principles  of  the  mechanics  of  sitting1 
are  applicable  to  the  matter  in  hand.  The  chief  re- 
quirement to  enable  a  pupil  to  sit  at  all,  is  that  the 
centre  of  gravity  of  the  trunk,  which  is  somewhat  in 
front  of  the  centrum  of  the  ninth  or  tenth  dorsal  ver- 
tebra, shall  be  over  a  supporting  surface. 

This  surface  is  determined,  in  the  first  place,  by  the 
points  of  contract  of  the  two  seat  bones  of  the  pelvis 
with  the  seat.  The  edge  of  the  seat  bones  is  curved 
from  back  to  front  and  looks  from  the  side  something 

1  Hermann  Meyer,  Die  Mechanik  des  Sitzens  mit 
besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  der  Schulbankfrage.  Vir- 
chows  Archiv,  1867,  Januarheft,  38,  pp.  15-30. 

(128) 


PHYSIOLOGICAL    PRINCIPLES  129 

like  an  arc  of  90°.  The  two  accordingly  resemble  the 
rockers  on  a  rocking  chair ;  and  so  touch  the  seat  in 
two  points  only. 

Now  two  points  are  not  sufficient  to  fix  the  position 
of  a  plane.  A  third  is  necessary ;  or  else  a  line  par- 
allel to  the  line  joining  the  points  of  contract  of  the  twe 
seat  bones.  This  third  point  may  be  the  place  where 
the  end  of  the  coccyx — or  rather,  since  this  is  out  of 
the  way  and  besides  movable, — where  the  end  of  the 
sacrum  comes  into  contact  with  its  support.  If  a 
plummet  be  dropped  from  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the 
trunk  upon  this  triangular  supporting  surface,  it  will 
strike  it  in  a  point  back  of  the  connecting  line  of  the 
two  seat  bones.  This  may,  accordingly,  be  called  the 
backward  sitting  position. 

Besides  this  we  have  the  forward  sitting  position. 
In  this  the  body  rests  on  the  two  seat  bones  and  on  the 
line  of  contact  of  the  thighs  with  the  edge  of  the  seat. 
If  we  imagine  a  perpendicular  dropped  from  the  centre 
of  gravity  of  the  trunk  upon  the  plane  thus  determined, 
it  will  strike  it  in  front  of  the  connecting  line  of  the 
seat  bones. 

The  trunk  can  not  only  be  moved  as  a  whole  on  the 
hip  joints,  but  since  it  has  inner  articulations  it  can 
change  shape  within  itself.  It  can  therefore  not  only 
tilt  forward  and  backward,  to  the  left  and  to  the  right, 
but  it  can  also  bend  so  as  for  example  to  give  the  spinal 


130  SCHOOL    DESKS 

column  a  hump.  To  prevent  the  trunk  from  getting 
such  curvatures  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  it  from 
falling  backward  or  forward  in  the  corresponding  sit- 
ting positions,  a  great  many  muscles  have  to  be  ad- 
justed. They,  however,  become  fatigued  in  time  and 
we  find  in  the  case  of  tired,  feeble,  or  sleeping  persons 
that  not  only  has  the  whole  body  fallen  forward  but  the 
spinal  column  has  received  a  certain  curvature. 

The  muscles  employed  in  sitting  upright  must,  there- 
fore be  given  a  chance  to  recuperate  by  being  relieved 
now  and  then.  There  is  no  other  way  of  doing  this 
than  by  leaning  against  the  back  of  the  seat  in  the 
backward  sitting  position;  and  in  the  forward  position 
by  resting  the  arms  on  the  top  of  the  desk  or  placing 
the  breast  against  its  rear  edge.  The  latter  should 
not,  however,  be  permitted,  since  the  pressure  on  the 
chest  will  interfere  with  breathing,  and  endanger  the 
lungs.  The  only  thing  left  is  to  lean  against  the  back 
of  the  chair  or  place  the  arm  on  the  desk.  That  an 
upright  position  is  possible  in  the  latter  case  will  be 
made  evident  by  figure  11,  the  reproduction  of  the 
photograph  of  a  writing  class. 

From  what  has  been  said  and  for  other  reasons,  the 
following  are  the  requirements  for  a  good  school  desk. 

The  seat  should  be  of  such  a  height  that  the  feet 
may  be  placed  evenly  on  the  floor  or  foot  rest,  while 
the  upper  and  lower  legs  make  right  angles  with  one 
another.  Its  height  must,  therefore,  be  somewhat  less 
than  the  distance  from  the  sole  of  the  foot  to  the  knee. 


132 


SCHOOL    DESKS 


According  to  Zwez,this  distance  is  30.7  cm.  for  children 
of  six  to  eight;  34.9  cm.  for  those  eight  to  ten;  38.5 
cm.  for  those  ten  to  twelve;  and  40.3  cm.  for  those 
twelve  to  fourteen.  Hence  a  royal  decree  of  Saxony 
demands  that  for  the  above  named  ages  the  height  of 
seats  without  foot-boards  should  be  28-29,  31-32,  34- 
35,  37-38  cm.,  respectively;  and  of  those  with  a  foot- 
board 4-5  cm.  high,  33,  36,  39,  42  cm.,  respectively. 

The  width  of  the  seat  had  better  be  about  two-thirds 
the  length  of  the  upper  leg,  since  a  person  likes  to  sit 
so  as  to  have  one-third  of  it  extending  beyond  the 
seat.  The  table  below  is  constructed  in  accordance 
with  this  plan. 

The  little  differences  in  the  requirements  are  due  on 
the  one  hand  to  the  difficulty  of  ascertaining  just  how 
much  of  the  upper  leg  should  rest  on  the  seat,  and 
on  the  other,  to  the  fact  that  the  upper  leg  varies  in 
length  with  different  racial  and  social  conditions. 


4 

WIDTH  OF  THE  SEAT 

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Besides  having  the  proper  width,  the  seat  should 


THE    SEAT— FOOT    RESTS  133 

have  a  slight  inclination  backward.  This  is  best  se- 
cured by  hollowing  it  out  in  the  rear.  It  becomes 
especially  necessary  in  case  the  back  rest  arches  over 
backward,  since  a  pupil  leaning  against  it  would  slide 
forward  and  finally  off  the  edge  of  the  seat  if  it  were 
level.  Kunze,  therefore,  demands  a  difference  in 
height  between  the  front  and  rear  of  the  seat  of  1  to  1. 
7  cm.  Lickroth's  seats  have  a  still  greater  slope  from 
front  to  rear,  namely,  of  one  in  eight.  These  seats 
are  indeed  very  comfortable,  but  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  the  inclination  of  the  desk  must  increase 
with  that  of  the  seat. 

The  front  edge  of  the  seat  must  not  be  angu- 
lar but  rounded,  since  it  would  otherwise  exert  a  pres- 
sure on  the  popliteal  veins  and  arteries  back  of  the 
knees,  and  thus  impede  the  circulation  in  the  lower 
leg  and  foot.  The  pressure  would  also  affect  the  in- 
ternal and  external  popliteal  nerves  and  make  the  leg 
"go  to  sleep". 

Foot  rests  on  the  seats  are  on  the  whole  not  to  be 
advised.  They  limit  the  free  movement  of  the  pupil's 
feet  and  compel  him  to  hold  the  lower  legs  almost 
always  in  the  same  position,  which  in  the  end  proves 
tiresome.  The  mud  on  the  shoe  soles  is  also  easily 
rubbed  off  on  them;  and  finding  a  resting  place  un- 
derneath can  be  swept  out  only  with  difficulty  on 
account  of  the  small  space.  If  persons  will  still  insist 


134  SCHOOL   DESKS 

on  using  them,  they  should  have  them  made  13-16 
cm.  wide,  so  that  the  whole  foot  can  rest  on  them. 
The  height  from  the  floor  must  not  exceed  4—5  cm. 
Foot  rests,  such  as  accord  with  the  regulations  of 
Wiirtemberg,  of  more  than  10  cm.  height,  or  such  as 
are  made  by  Kunze  of  10-25  cm.,  are  not  practicable, 
since  the  seat  is  unnecessarily  high,  and  so  inconven- 
ient to  mount.  If  the  seat  is  inclined  strongly  to  the 
rear,  the  foot  rest  should  have  a  similar  inclination. 
The  latter  is,  indeed,  in  this  case  indispensable,  be- 
cause the  knee  joint  would  otherwise  make  an  acute 
angle,  thus  preventing  the  free  circulation  of  the  blood. 

The  back  rests  of  school  seats  are  of  especial  im- 
portance; and  they  have  accordingly  lately  been  the 
focus  of  interest.  They  must  above  all  meet  the  re- 
quirement of  conforming  to  the  normal  curvature  of 
the  spinal  column.  The  latter  consists,  as  is  well 
known,  of  7  cervical,  12  dorsal,  5  lumbar,  5  sacral,  and 
4  coccygeal  vertebra,  of  which  the  last  lumbar,  the 
sacral,  and  the  coccygeal  are  located  in  the  pelvis. 

Outside  of  the  cervical  region,  which  is  not  considered 
here,  the  spinal  column  presents  the  following  physio- 
logical curvatures:  As  seen  from  the  front  the  dorsal 
section  is  strongly  concave,  the  lumbar  considerably 
convex,  and  the  sacral  and  coccygeal  again  concave. 
The  back-rest  must  accordingly  be  hollowed  out  in  the 


THE    BACK  135 

sacral  and  coccygeal  region,  arched  forward  in  the 
lumbar,  and  backward  again  in  the  lower  dorsal,  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  Vienna  school  desk  by  Schlimp 
(figure  18,  page  148). 

The  above  requirement  presupposes  that  the  back- 
rest reaches  up  to  the  lower  part  of  the  shoulder-blades 
and  is  in  other  words  a  sacrum-loin  and  shoulder-blade 
support.  A  greater  length,  which  would  not  leave  the 
shoulder-blades  exposed,  is  undesirable  for  the  reason 
that  it  would  interfere  with  the  free  use  of  the  shoulders 
and  arms. 

Xor  should  a  shorter  back-rest  be  permitted.  Staffel 
has  pointed  out  that  the  low  sacral  back-rests  advocated 
by  Fahrner,  Hermann,  Kunze,  Buchner,  et.  al.,  some 
of  which  had  a  height  of  only  6  to  7  cm.,  were  not 
fully  able  to  prevent  a  bent-over  position  in  sitting. 
The  lever  with  which  they  worked  on  the  pelvis,  namely 
the  distance  from  the  centre  of  rotation  of  the  seat 
bones  to  the  point  of  application  of  the  back-rest,  was 
in  fact  too  short  to  enable  them  to  have  any  consider- 
able effect. 

Staffel1  accordingly  demands  that  high  sacral  back- 
rests, or  to  use  a  better  expression,  loin-back-rests,  be 

1  Staffel,  Die  Mechanik  des  Sitzens.  Centralblatt 
fur  allgemeine  Gesundheitspfiege,  1884,  Parts  11-12. 


136  SCHOOL    DESKS 

used  instead  of  the  common  kind,  so  that  the  lumbar 
vertebrae,  as  the  name  indicates,  may  also  be  supported. 
The  levers  referred  to  above  are  now  lengthened  but 
not  adequately  so,  till  the  back-rest  supports  not  only 
the  sacral  and  lumbar  but  also  the  dorsal  regions  and 
so  the  whole  upper  part  of  the  body.  The  VTienna 
expert  school  desk  commission  accordingly  requires 
that  back-rests  shall  be  of  the  following  heights :  for 
children  six  to  eight  34.25;  eight  to  nine  36.25;  nine 
to  ten  39.0;  ten  to  eleven  39.25;  eleven  to  twelve 
40.0;  twelve  to  thirteen  42.5;  and  fourteen  43.5  cm. 

It  is  best  for  each  seat  to  have  its  own  back-rest.  It 
may,  however,  be  necessary  for  the  sake  of  saving 
space  to  have  the  back-rest  connected  with  the  desk  be- 
hind. In  this  case  the  rear  row  of  seats  at  least  will 
have  to  have  their  own  back-rests,  while  those  on  the 
fronts  of  the  first  row  of  desks  may  be  omitted. 

When  we  turn  from  the  seat  to  consider  the  desk, 
the  so-called  "difference"  deserves  attention  first  of 
all.  By  this  is  meant  the  vertical  distance  between  the 
rear  edge  of  the  pupil's  desk  and  the  plane  of  the 
seat.  It  can  be  ascertained  by  measuring  the  distance 
from  the  seat  bones  to  the  elbow  when  the  arm  hangs 
down  freely.  The  arm  is,  however,  raised  a  little  in 
writing,  so  that  these  figures  must  be  increased  by  a 
few  centimeters  according  to  the  age  of  the  pupils. 
The  following  table  gives  the  details: 


THE    "  DIFFERENCE 


137 


|0 

DIFFERENCES 

1 

U 

ft 

III 

•g§J| 

ill 

||| 

1 

1 

CO 

TEARS 

6-  8 

CM. 
16.4 

CM. 

17.5 

CM. 

20.0 

CM. 

24.0 

CM. 

23.0-25.0 

CM. 

19.0 

CM. 

21.0 

CM. 

22.0-23.5 

8-10 

17.5 

20.0 

22.0 

26.0-28.0 

26.0-28.0 

20.8 

23.0 

23.5-25.5 

10-12 

17.9 

22.5 

23.5 

27.75 

28.0-29.0 

24.7 

25.0 

25.5-27.5 

12-14 

20.0 

25.0 

25.5 

30.25-31.0 

30.0-32.0 

26.8 

27.0 

27.5-29.0 

14-16 

29.0 

29.0-31.0 

16-18 

32.0 

31.0-33.0 

With  the  proper  difference,  we  have  the  normal 
reading  distance  between  the 
eye  of  the  pupil  and  the  top  of 
the  desk,  namely  35  cm.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  desk  is  too  high 
with  reference  to  the  seat,  the 
books  come  too  near  to  the  eye, 
and  myopia  may  be  induced.  Be- 
sides, the  pupil  can  not  in  this 

ejbowg    Qn    ^ 


FIG.  12.    Lateral  curvature  of  cage  put 
the  spine  due  to  too  high 

a  desk,  Esmarch.  without  spreading  out  the  upper 
arms  and  raising  his  shoulders.  Since  this  is  uncom- 
fortable, he  lets  his  left  arm  slip  from  the  desk,  keep- 
Ing  only  the  right  one  on  it  in  writing.  In  this  way 
those  lateral  spinal  curvatures  arise  of  which  Esmarch 
lias  given  us  so  instructive  an  illustration,  figure  12. 


138  SCHOOL    DESKS 

Too  low  a  desk  is  as  bad  as  one  too  high.  In  this 
case  the  pupil  has  to  bend  his  head  down  to  get  the 
proper  reading  distance.  But  such  a  position  of  the 
head  is  impossible  for  any  length  of  time,  since  the 
supporting  neck  muscles  gradually  get  fatigued.  So- 
the  head  sinks  lower  and  lower,  and  the  spinal  column 
curves  out  behind.  The  eyes  and  the  spinal  column 
are  injured  first  of  all,  because  short-sightedness  and 
curvature  of  the  spine  develop  easily.  Indigestion 
and  functional  disturbances  of  the  heart  may  also 
supervene.  The  anterior  wall  of  the  abdomen  is 
thrown  into  a  transverse  fold  by  bending  forward,  and 
the  stomach  is  correspondingly  pushed  in  and  its  oper- 
ations mechanically  obstructed.  Moreover,  the  arch- 
ing forward  of  the  thorax  brings  the  ribs  nearer  to- 
gether, the  spaces  between  them  become  less,  and  the 
whole  thoracic  cavity  is  consequently  smaller.  Finally 
a  compression  of  the  large  blood-vessels  of  the  neck  is 
produced  by  bending  it  too  far.  All  these  things 
cooperate  to  cramp  the  heart  and  lungs,  as  is  made 
evident  by  palpitation  of  the  heart,  obstructed  breath- 
ing, etc. 

The  inclination  of  the  desk  varies  with  that  of  the 
seat.  We  are,  it  is  true,  accustomed  to  writing  at  our 
desks  on  horizontal  surfaces,  but  one  that  slopes  has  this 
advantage  that  the  upper  and  lower  lines  of  the  paper 
on  which  we  write  are  about  equally  distant  from  the 


INCLINATION   OF   TOP  139 

eyes,  which  makes  changes  of  accommodation  unneces- 
sary in  looking  from  one  to  the  other. 

With  a  seat  of  moderate  slope,  it  is  customary  to 
give  the  desk  an  inclination  of  one  in  six,  as  is  done 
for  instance  in  Elsaesser's  desk.  But  with  greater 
seat-slope,  there  must  also  be  greater  inclination  of 
the  desk.  The  Vienna  expert  school-desk  commission 
requires  an  inclination  of  15° ;  the  Prague  medical 
board  one  of  at  least  17°.  The  latest  Lickroth  desk 
has  a  seat  inclination  of  -J-,  and  a  desk  inclination  of  £ 
with  reference  to  the  seat,  making  a  total  of  -^,  or 
more  than  J.  A  desk  by  Stauffer  of  Vienna,  and  a  model 
by  Schenk  of  Berne,  possesss  a  still  steeper  inclination, 
namely,  30°.  On  such  a  desk  the  pupil  will  write 
while  leaning  against  the  back-rest,  without  special 
request.  However,  with  a  steep  slope  everything  on 
the  desk  slides  off.  This  evil  can  be  remedied,  to 
be  sure,  by  providing  a  guard  at  the  lower  edge ;  but 
this  is  objectionable  because  of  the  pressure  it  exerts 
on  the  lower  arm. 

Since  pencils,  penholders,  etc.,  roll  off  with  only  a 
moderate  slant,  some  special  arrangement  must  be 
made  to  keep  them  back.  This  can  be  done  by  either 
cutting  a  deep  grove  along  the  upper  edge  of  the  desk, 
or  by  adding  a  horizontal  section  to  it.  In  the  latter 
case,  it  is  estimated  that  the  inclined  part  will  take  up 
33  and  the  horizontal  part  7  to  8  cm.  of  the  breadth. 


140 


SCHOOL    DESKS 


That  the  estimations  regarding  this  matter  differ  some- 
what will  be  seen  from  the  following  table,  which 
gives  the  figures  for  the  whole  width  of  the  desk : 


Jv.  ^> 
^  <?s 


* 


%  333222 

0 


II  II  II  II  II  II 

0000  OOGCOO  00 

++++++ 

0  10  0  0  0  0 


oooooo 


o  o  o  o 
as  r-i  co°  id 

g2222 

S§55 


g    000<?5'*  CD  00 
W    CD  QO  O  (M  -4<  CD 


It  is  of  great  advantage  in  cleaning  a  room  to  be 
able  to  raise  the  top  of  the  desk  perpendicularly  or 
nearly  so,  though  this  would  increase  the  cost  of  a 


THE    "  DISTANCE 


141 


desk  25  to  40  cts.  The  arrangement  is  used  exten- 
sively in  English  colleges.  Figure  13  will  illustrate 
the  matter. 


FlG.  13.  SCHOOL  DESK  BY  ELSAESSER  OF  SCHOXAU  AT  HEIDELBERG, 
THE  TOP  RAISED  AND  THE  SEAT  PUSHED  BACK 

For  keeping  the  body  in  the  proper  position,  the 
horizontal  distance  between  the  rear  edge  of  the  desk 
and  the  front  edge  of  the  seat,  technically  called  the 
"  distance",  is  no  less  important  than  the  difference 
discussed  above.  It  must  enable  the  pupil  both  to  stand 
at  his  desk  and  to  have  the  desk  immediately  in  front 
of  him  when  he  sits  down  to  write.  In  reading  and 
writing,  a  perpendicular  from  the  rear  edge  of  the  desk 
to  the  seat  should  cut  the  latter  in  a  point  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  connecting  line  between  the  seat  bones, 
though  the  desk  must  not  be  allowed  to  press  in  upon 
the  chest  of  the  pupil.  To  have  a  subsellium  equally 


142  SCHOOL    DESKS 

well  adapted  for  standing  and  sitting,  it  must  be  pos- 
sible to  adjust  the  seat  and  desk  for  a  "  plus 
or  better  still,  a  "  minus  '    distance. 


FIG.  14.     PLUS  DISTANCE 


FIG.  15.     ZERO  DISTANCE  FIG.  16.     MINUS  DISTANCE 

Figure  14  gives  an  illustration  of  plus  distance.  If 
a  perpendicular  (d  c)  be  dropped  from  the  rear  edge 
(d)  of  the  inclined  desk  top  (d  e)  upon  the  prolonga- 
tion of  the  seat  (a  6),  then  (b  c)  will  be  the  plus  dis- 
tance. Zero  distance  is  illustrated  by  figure  15.  The 
perpendicular  (d  b)  from  the  top  of  the  desk  merely 
touches  the  front  edge  (b)  of  the  seat  (a  b).  If  we 
have  a  minus  distance,  as  in  figure  16,  the  perpendicu- 
lar (d  c)  cuts  the  plane  of  the  seat  (a  b)  in  (c),  and  the 
minus  distance  equals  (b  c). 

The  Prague  medical  board  requires  a  plus  distance 
of  8  cm.  for  the  ages  six  to  eight,  9  cm.  for  eight  to 
eleven,  and  10  cm.  for  eleven  to  fourteen;  whereas 


THE   "DISTANCE"  143 

the  Vienna  expert  school  desk  commission  would  have 
7  cm.  for  six  to  eight,  10-10.75  cm.  for  eight  to  eleven, 
11  cm.  for  eleven  to  twelve,  12  cm.  for  twelve  to  thir- 
teen, and  13.5  for  children  of  thirteen  to  fourteen. 

The  estimates  differ  still  more  for  the  minus  distance. 
Lickroth  and  Elsaesser  make  it  3  cm.  and  Erismann  5 
<3m.  for  the  ages  between  six  and  eighteen.  The 
Vienna  expert  school-desk  commission  proposes  a 
minus  distance  not  much  greater,  namely,  5  cm.  for 
the  ages  six  to  eight,  5.5  cm.  for  eight  to  ten,  6  cm. 
for  ten  to  twelve,  7  cm.  for  twelve  to  thirteen,  and 
4.5  cm.  for  children  of  fourteen. 
The  Prague  medical  board  pre- 
cribes,  on  the  other  hand,  a  minus 
distance  of  10  cm.  for  children  from 
six  to  fourteen.  The  chief  thing  is 
always  to  have  a  minus  distance 
when  the  pupil  is  reading  or  writ- 

FIG.  17.     PUPIL   WITH  .  TH  . ,,  ,       ,.,, 

A  PLUS  DISTANCE      mg«        F°r  Wlth  a  Z6r0  aild  Stl11    mOI>e 

SEAT  with  a  plus  distance  the  pupil  bends 

forward  to  get  near  enough  to  his  books,  as  is  shown 
in  figure  17. 

In  this  way  all  those  injuries  to  health  may  arise 
which  were  described  above  in  discussing  the  effects 
of  too  small  a  difference. 

A  book-shelf  of  suitable  width  should  be  placed 
under  the  desk.  It  will  not  hold  the  books  if  it  is 


144  SCHOOL    DESKS 

too  narrow,  and  it  will  interfere  with  the  knees  of  the 
pupil  if  it  is  too  broad.  Erismann  would  have  its 
depth  25  cm.  for  the  ages  six  to  nine,  30  cm.  for  ten 
to  thirteen,  and  35  for  fourteen  to  eighteen.  A  slight 
slope  downward  of  the  shelf  toward  the  front  will 
keep  the  books  from  tumbling  into  the  pupil's  lap. 

The  length  of  the  single  desk  is  estimated  at  from 
53  to  56  cm.  for  the  lower  classes,  60  cm.  for  the  in- 
termediate, and  from  63  to  65  cm.  for  the  upper.  The 
regulations  of  Saxony  already  mentioned  require  a 
length  of  56  cm.  for  all  school  desks,  thus  making  it 
possible  to  arrange  desks  for  pupils  of  different  sizes 
in  a  row  one  behind  the  other,  which  cannot  be  done 
so  successfully  if  they  vary  in  length.  Lickroth  also 
advises  an  average  length  of  56  cm.,  while  he  fixes  it 
at  50  cm.  for  the  ages  six  to  eight,  53  cm.  for  eight  to 
ten,  56  cm.  for  ten  to  twelve,  60  cm.  for  twelve  to 
fourteen,  63  cm.  for  fourteen  to  sixteen,  and  65  cm. 
for  sixteen  to  eighteen.  Elsaesser  similarly  increases 
the  length  of  the  desk  from  50  cm.  for  pupils  of  six 
to  60  cm.  for  those  of  eighteen. 

How  many  pupils  a  single  bench  should  seat  is  still 
another  question.  A  circular  by  the  Prussian  minis- 
ter of  education  prescribes  the  following:  "  In  all  pri- 
mary preparatory  schools  (Vorschulen)  and  in  the  two 
lower  classes  of  the  secondary  schools,  usually  4  to  6, 
and  at  the  most  8  pupils  may  be  brought  together  at 


FOR   HOW   MANY   PUPILS  145 

one  desk."  But  when  he  adds:  "All  the  seats  for 
one  desk  are  in  these  cases  to  be  united  into  a  single 
bench,  which  should  be  provided  with  a  simple,  cer- 
tain, and  durable  device  for  changing  the  distance  be- 
tween the  seat  and  the  desk,"  we  must  object,  since 
with  a  continuous  seat  the  pupils  can  stand  up  only 
together  and  not  singly  as  school-work  demands. 

The  document  just  cited  then  continues  more  cor- 
rectly: "The  rest  of  the  classes  in  the  secondary 
schools  are  to  be  provided  with  desks  for  from  two  to 
six  pupils,  each  one  of  which  is  to  have  a  separate 
movable  seat  when  the  desks  are  arranged  for  more 
than  two  pupils."  We  must  furthermore  keep  in 
mind  that  double  desks  can  at  any  time  be  converted 
into  desks  for  four,  six,  etc.,  by  merely  placing  them 
end  to  end. 

With  respect  to  the  attachment  of  the  seats,  they 
may  be  screwed  down  to  the  floor,  either  singly  or  to 
a  common  sill  running  along  the  floor  under  the  seat 
supports.  The  latter  method  is  not  advisable,  because 
pupils  are  liable  to  stumble  over  the  sills,  and  the 
cleaning  of  the  class-rooms  is  interfered  with. 

It  is  best  to  arrange  the  desks  according  to  height, 
the  lower  in  front  and  the  higher  behind,  since  only 
in  this  way  can  the  teacher  have  a  convenient  outlook 
over  the  class.  The  end  seats  should  not  be  too  near 
the  wall,  since  the  pupils  in  them  would  be  exposed  to 


146  SCHOOL   DESKS 

colds  and  rheumatism  by  the  excessive  loss  of  heat  due 
to  the  cold  walls. 

It  is  not  practicable  to  describe  in  detail  or  even  to 
mention  all  different  kinds  of  school  desks,  the  number 
of  which  is  already  over  one  hundred  and  fifty.  We 
limit  ourselves  rather  to  a  systematic  classification  of 
them,  giving  a  closer  description  only  of  those  which 
though  old  are  yet  in  use,  or  which  deserve  to  be  rec- 
ommended for  use  in  higher  institutions  from  the 
stand  point  of  modern  hygiene. 

The  first  group  consists  of  desks  with  a  permanent 
zero  or  minus  distance — such  as  those  of  Fahrner1, 
Buchner,  Varrentrapp,  Rettig2  and  others.  They  are 
double-seated  so  that  a  pupil  in  rising  can  step  out  to 
the  right  or  left.  They  accordingly  require  a  great 
deal  of  room,  since  there  must  be  a  free  space  between 
two  adjacent  desks.  They  generally  have  the  zero 
distance,  since  the  pupils  find  it  too  difficult  to  get  in- 
to a  seat  with  minus  distance.  The  objection  has, 
however,  been  correctly  urged  against  the  zero  dis- 
tance that  it  is  convenient  neither  for  sitting  nor 
standing. 

All  double  seats  with  a  fixed  distance,  whether  it  be 
zero  or  minus,  have,  moreover,  still  another  disadvant- 

1  Fahrner,  Das  Kind  und  der  Schultisch.     1865. 
2W.  Rettig,  Neue  Schulbank.     Leipzig,  1895,  Oscar 
Schneider. 


WITH   FIXED    DISTANCE  147 

age.  With  spirited  teachers  and  pupils,  the  latter  sit 
in  these  seats  as  if  in  position  to  jump,  in  order  to  be 
able  to  rise  quickly  with  an  answer ;  and  they  are  thus 
either  very  much  bent  over,  or  they  have  one  leg  out- 
side of  the  seat,  which  gives  rise  to  a  distortion  of  the 
spinal  column.  The  scientific  commission  for  the 
medical  affairs  of  Prussia  therefore  justly  expresses 
itself  as  against  double  desks  with  fixed  distances,  since 
the  demand  for  a  variable  distance  is  one  of  principal 
importance  and  only  to  be  compared  in  the  whole  field 
of  school  hygiene  with  that  for  an  adequate  air  space 
for  each  pupil.  Where  the  double  desks  of  Fahrner, 
Buchner,  or  Varrentrapp  are,  nevertheless,  used  in  a 
class-room,  the  pupils  must  be  made  to  change  places 
every  week  so  that  the  bent  over  position  may  not 
become  habitual  but  be  counteracted  by  its  opposite. 

While  the  desks  so  far  considered  have  a  fixed  dis- 
tance, those  of  the  second  group  have  a  distance  that 
can  be  changed  either  by  moving  the  desk  top  or  the 
seat  board. 

The  desks  of  Parow,  Cohn,  and  Hermann1,  among 
others,  have  movable  desk  tops.  In  the  Parow  desk 
(figure  18)  the  whole  top  is  divided  lengthwise  into  two 
parts,  connected  by  hinges  so  that  when  the  pupil 
rises,  one  can  be  folded  over  on  the  other  (c  d,  figure 

1  August  Hermann,  Uber  die  zweckmassige  Einricht- 
ung  der  Schultische.  Braunschweig,  1868. 


148 


SCHOOL    DESKS 


18).     When  the  movable  part  (c  a)  is  put  down  we 
have  the  minus  distances  (e  b). 


FIG.  18.     PABOW'S  SCHOOL  DESK 

The  Parow  desk  and  also  the  similar  ones  by  Cohn 
and  Hermann  favor  a  correct  position  of  the  body  not 
only  in  standing  but  also  in  sitting  and  writing;  never- 
theless, they  have  the  great  inconvenience  of  making  it 
necessary  to  remove  all  books  and  tablets  even  if  only 
a  single  pupil  has  to  rise,  since  these  articles  would 
otherwise  be  thrown  into  a  heap.  The  turning  of  the 
desk  leaf  is,  besides,  likely  to  make  a  noise,  especially 
when  the  hinges  get  out  of  order,  as  is  often  the  case. 
Finally,  the  projecting  brackets  (f  g)  which  support  the 
movable  leaf  of  the  desk  are  likely  to  injure  the  pupils, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  pinching  of  fingers  in  turning 
the  leaf  over. 

An  effort  has  accordingly  been  made  to  improve  the 
Parow  desk  by  dividing  the  top  into  as  many  sections 


MOVABLE   TOPS  149 

as  there  are  seats  and  making  each  one  movable  by 
itself.  This  makes  it  at  best  possible  for  the  individual 
pupil  to  rise  without  disturbing  his  neighbors.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  the  many  leaves  still  make  a  great 
noise,  as  has  been  emphatically  pointed  out  by  Bend- 
ziula1,  and  the  durability  of  the  desk  has  not  been 
increased  by  adding  to  the  number  of  hinges. 

In  contrast  with  Parow,  Hermann,  and  Cohn, 
Kunze2  endeavors  to  make  the  change  from  plus  to 
minus  distance,  not  by  folding  the  leaf  over,  but  by 
drawing  the  top  of  the  desk  back.  A  full  view  of  the 
desk  is  given  in  figure  19. 


FIG.  19.     KUNZE'S  SCHOOL  DESK 


1  Albert  Bendzinla,  Zur  Schulbankfrage.  Berlin, 
1893,  L.  Oehmigke.  Cf.  Alexander  Bennstein,  Die 
Heutige  Schulbankfrage.  Eine  iibersichtliche  Zusam- 
menstellung  der  bisher  bekannten  Schulbank  systeme 
nebst  Gedanken  iiber  die  Beurteilung  des  Wertes 
derselben.  2d  ed.,  Berlin,  1897,  Buchhaandlung  der 
deutschen  Lehrerzeitung. 

2C.  H.  Schildbach,  Die  Schulbankfrage  und  die 
Kunze'sche  Schulbank.  2d.  ed.  Leipzig,  1872. 


150  SCHOOL    DESKS 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  top  of  each  desk  can  be 
moved  in  a  frame  lying  underneath.  When  the  pupil 
wants  to  write,  he  pulls  the  desk  top  back  to  a  minus 
distance  of  3  cm.  "When  he  rises,  the  desk  top  is 
pushed  forward  by  the  upper  legs  to  a  plus  distance  of 
8-12  cm.,  without  especial  attention  on  his  part.  Here 
it  is  held  fast  by  a  spring  or  bolt,  which  makes  it  pos- 
sible for  the  pupil  to  stand  in  his  place  without  any 
difficulty. 

In  contrast  with  this  Convenient  plus  and  minus  dis- 
tance we  have  the  disadvantage  that  the  drawing  out 
of  the  desk  top  causes  a  disagreeable  squeak.  In  fact, 
it  is  only  when  the  workmanship  on  them  has  been 
especially  good,  that  they  move  easily  in  the  frames, 
and  remain  solidly  attached  to  them  when  pulled  out. 
As  a  rule  they  soon  begin  to  rattle  in  the  grooves,  and 
the  writing  that  has  to  be  done  on  the  unsteady  desk 
is  just  as  inconvenient  as  it  is  harmful  for  the  eyes. 
In  new  school-rooms  which  have  not  yet  become  thor- 
oughly dry,  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  desk  tops 
swell  and  consequently  remain  immovable  with  a  strong 
plus  or  minus  distance.  Nevertheless,  Kunze's  desk 
when  well  made  must  be  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  of 
the  older  sort. 

The  Vienna  school  desk,  which  also  belongs  to  the 
second  group,  is  noted  for  the  correctness  of  its  dimen- 
sions. The  city  council  of  Vienna  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  experts  consisting  of  physicians,  architects, 


THE   VIENNA   SCHOOL   DESK  151 

and  teachers  to  bring  in  propositions  for  a  school  desk 
reform.  This  committee  set  up  the  following  require- 
ments for  a  prize  desk : 

1.  It  must  allow  pupils  to  stand  up  during  recita- 
tions. 

2.  It  must  have  a  continuous  rest  from  sacrum  to 
shoulder,  conforming  to  the  curvatue  of   the    spinal 
column. 

3.  When  the  pupils  are  writing,  the  seats  must  have 
a  minus  distance. 

4.  It  should  make  writing  and  free-hand  drawing 
possible  for  a   reclining   position,  that   is,  while    the 
pupil  leans  against  the  back-rest. 

5.  The  desk  slope  is  to  be  as  great  as  possible,  at 
least  15°,  but  not  such  as  to  make  the  books  slide  off. 

6.  When  the  pupil  is  sitting,  the  feet  should  rest 
flat  on  the  floor. 

7.  The   change  in  distance  should  if    possible   be 
made  by  moving  the  desk. 

A  table  of  all  the  measurements  as  well  as  a  diagram 
of  the  desk  to  be  constructed  was  added  to  this  list  of 
requirements.  The  only  thing  left  to  be  done  was  to 
seeure  a  device  for  moving  the  desk  top ;  and  this  was 
done  by  submitting  the  matter  to  competition. 

The  prize  was  awarded  to  Schlimp's  desk,  in  which 
the  top  is  moved  backward  and  forward  on  parallelo- 
gram supports,  as  is  shown  by  the  cross  section  in 
figure  20. 


152 


SCHOOL    DESKS 


FIG.  20.     SCHLIMP'S  SCHOOL  DESK 

The  mechanism  is,  however,  very  complicated  and 
the  desk  is  consequently  expensive  both  to  manufac- 
ture, and  to  keep  in  repair.  Moreover,  children  fre- 
quently have  their  clothing  or  fingers  caught,  as  could 
be  demonstrated  in  Vienna  where  more  than  23,000 
such  desks  are  in  use. 

The  latest  school  desk,  by  Schenk1  of  Bern,  illus- 
trated in  figures  21  and  22,  must  be  characterized  as 
in  the  highest  degree  original.  The  desk-top,  seat, 
and  foot  rest  are  movable,  the  first  two  for  each  pupil 
independently  of  his  neighbor,  while  the  same  foot 
rest  serves  for  both  pupils  at  the  same  desk.  The 
seat  can  be  turned  back  so  as  in  the  first  place  to 
facilitate  standing  and  walking  between  the  desk  and 
the  seat,  and  to  make  it  possible  to  clean  the  room 
without  moving  the  seats  and  so  save  space. 

1  Felix  Schenk,  Zur  Schulbankfrage.  Zeitschrift 
fiir  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1894,  N.  10  p.  529  ff. 


MOVABLE    TOPS 


153 


FIG.  21.     SCHENK'S  SCHOOL  DESK  ARRANGED  FOR  STANDING 


FIG.  22.     SCHENK'S  SCHOOL  DESK  ARRANGED  FOR  SITTING 


154  SCHOOL    DESKS 

The  foot  board  may  be  turned  on  a  longitudinal  axis 
180°,  and  can  thus  be  placed  at  two  different  levels, 
the  higher  serving  for  the  small,  the  lower  for  the 
average  sized  pupils,  while  the  larger  ones  place  their 
feet  on  the  floor. 

The  most  interesting  novelty  in  the  Schenk  desk  is 
that  it  can  be  adjusted  for  a  pupil  of  any  size  at 
once  and  without  trouble.  By  means  of  the  guiding 
rod  in  the  back  and  the  curved  support  in  front,  the 
desk  is  made  to  sink  down  as  it  is  pulled  toward  the 
pupil,  without  losing  its  inclination  of  15°.  The  ad- 
justment to  the  individual  pupil  takes  place  in  this 
way.  The  pupil  raises  the  desk-top  a  little  at  the 
front  and  draws  it  towards  himself  till  his  elbows 
touch  the  back-rest,  when  he  lets  it  down  on  the  box 
underneath,  where  it  becomes  fixed  automatically.  To 
make  the  back-rest  and  seat  serve  for  all  sizes,  the 
former  is  made  so  high  as  to  cover  the  shoulders  and 
the  latter  so  broad  as  to  reach  to  the  back  of  the  knee 
of  the  smallest  pupils.  In  the  same  seat  adults  would 
have  two-thirds  of  the  back  and  upper  legs  supported, 
which  is  well  enough  at  least  for  them. 

The  Schenk  desk  has  unfortunately  not  yet  been 
sufficiently  tested  to  make  it  possible  for  us  to  speak 
with  certainty  of  its  practicability.  We  may,  never- 
theless, make  a  favorable  prediction  for  its  future. 

The  school  desks  now  to  be  described  have  instead 
of  movable  desk-tops  movable  seats. 


MOVABLE    SEATS  155 

In  the  case  of  long  desks  with  continuous  benches1 
ior  several  pupils  this  arrangement  has  the  disadvant- 
age of  not  allowing  a  pupil  to  stand  up  in  them  with- 
out having  the  other  pupils  at  the  same  desk  rise  at 
the  same  time.  The  preference  must  therefore  be 
given  to  movable  single  seats.  In  this  class  we  have 
the  movable  seats  of  Vogdt  and  Prausek2,  the  rotation 
seat  of  Van  den  Esch,  the  lid  seat  of  Vogel,  and  the 
pendular  seats  of  Kaiser,  Lickroth,  Elsaesser,  and 
Kottmann.  A  description  will  be  given  of  only  the 
last  three,  since  the  others  are  not  suitable  for  higher 
grade  schools. 

In  the  case  of  the  normal  school  desks  by  Lickroth 
of  Dresden  (figure  23),  the  single  seats  consist  either 
of  a  continuous  board  or  of  several  narrow  strips 
screwed  to  two  triangular  frames. 


FIG.  23.     NORMAL  SCHOOL  DESK  OF  LICKROTH,  DRESDEN 

1Hippauf,  Eine  neue  Schulbank.  Ostrowo,  Selbst- 
verlag.  Cf.  Eulenbergs  Vierteljahrsschrift,  Vol.  28, 
p.  390  ff. 

2  Vincenz  Prausek,  Uber  Schulbiinke  oder  Schultische 
mit  Sessel.  2  ed.  Wien,  1888. 


156  SCHOOL   DESKS 

When  the  pupil  stands  up,  the  whole  seat  swings  back 
on  low  centres  of  rotation  from  the  pressure  of  the 
back  of  the  legs.  It  makes  no  noise  in  striking,  since 
it  falls  on  a  padding  of  felt.  When  on  the  other  hand 
the  pupil  seats  himself,  the  weight  of  his  body  carries- 
the  seat  into  position.  Here,  too,  there  is  no  noise — 
or  pinching  of  fingers,  since  the  latter  cannot  come  in- 
to contact  with  the  striking  parts  as  they  are  out  of 
reach  below.  Nor  can  the  pupils'  clothing  be  caughty 
since  the  rear  edge  of  the  seat  is  several  centimeters 
below  the  lower  edge  of  the  back-rest. 

It  is  best  to  have  the  lateral  supports  of  the  desk 
and  seat  made  of  iron,  not  wood.  Iron  frames  facilitate 
the  maintenance  of  discipline  and  the  oversight  of 
the  cleaning  by  not  obstructing  the  view;  they  also- 
make  the  replacing  of  injured  wooden  parts  easy,  and 
have  shown  themselves  so  durable  that  the  factory 
will  guarantee  them  for  fifteen  years.  Cast  iron  is 
better  than  wrought  iron,  since  it  does  not  bend  or 
yield  to  pressure,  while  wrought  iron  vibrates  some- 
what on  account  of  its  elasticity. 

The  school  desks  by  Elsaesser  of  Schonau  at  Heidel- 
berg and  those  by  Kottmann  of  Ohringen  in  Wiirtem- 
berg  are  built  on  exactly  the  same  principle  as  those 
by  Lickroth.  We  can  therefore  omit  the  description 
of  them,  the  more  so,  since  figure  13,  page  141,  and 
figure  24  below  give  a  sufficiently  clear  explanation  of 
the  Elsaesser  and  Kottmann  desks,  respectively. 


MOVABLE    SEATS 


157 


FIG.  24.     SCHOOL  DESK  BY  KOTTMANN  OF  OHRINGEN  IN  WURTEMBERG 

The  school  desk  "  Columbus"  by  Eamminger  and 
Stetter  of  Tauberbischofsheim  (Baden),  deserves  a 
more  minute  study,  since  it  does  not  depend  upon  any 
other  existing  system  but  upon  a  peculiar  innovation. 


FIG.  25.     THE  SCHOOL  DESK  "COLUMBUS".     EAMMINGER  AND 
STATTER,  TAUBERBISCHOFSHEIM 


158  SCHOOL    DESKS 

The  special  feature  consists  in  having  the  individual 
seats  divided  longitudinally  into  two  sections.  The 
rear  part  is  hinged  to  the  supporting  frame  of  the  seat, 
and  articulates  with  the  front  part  by  means  of  a 
strong  hemp  belt  screwed  on  with  iron  bands.  The 
two  parts  take  a  gable-like  position  when  the  pupil 
rises  and  become  level  again  when  he  sits  down,  with- 
out being  touched  by  the  hand  in  either  case.  In  the 
first  case,  we  have  a  positive  distance  of  ten  to  twelve 
cm.,  in  the  latter,  a  negative  distance  of  two  or  three. 
The  low  price  and  the  fact  that  the  peculiar  seat  can- 
be  used  with  any  kind  of  desk  is  especially  noteworthy. 
The  manufactures  also  supply  the  patented  seat  by 
itself  if  the  other  parts  are  to  be  constructed  by  local 
cabinet  makers.  It  is  true  loud  complaints  against  the 
system  have  been  heard  from  the  gymnasium  at  Heidel- 
berg; but  Wallraff1  and  Bendziula  (see  page  149)  speak 
decidedly  in  its  favor,  and  we  have  ourselves  heard  no 
adverse  criticism  on  the  sample  "Columbus"  desk 
placed  in  one  of  the  schools  in  Hamburg,  but  rather,, 
that  it  was  practical  and  servicable. 

It  has  in  late  years  been  repeatedly  suggested  that 
even  with  the  proper  kind  of  desk  much  sitting  is 

JGustav  Wallraff,  Die  Schulbank  "  Columbus"  von 
Ramminger  &  Stetter  in  Tauberbischofsheim  (Baden) ; 
Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1894,  Xo.  1,, 
p.  22  ff. 


ADJUSTMENTS   FOE   STANDING  159 

liable  to  injure  the  abdominal  organs  and  the  circula- 
tion. Desks  have  accordingly  been  proposed  which  can 
be  arranged  for  standing  as  well  as  sitting.  These  are 
hardly  necessary  for  the  lower  and  intermediate  classes, 
since  the  pupils  here  rise  when  questioned,  and  tumble 
about  vigorously  on  the  play  ground  during  recesses. 
They  are  rather  to  be  thought  of  for  the  upper  classes ; 
yet  we  must  remember  that  long  continued  standing 
not  only  fatigues  both  mind  and  body  but  may  also 
interfere  with  the  lungs  and  heart,  since  it  is  rather 
natural  to  lean  forward  on  the  desk. 

One  of  the  best  of  these  desks  is  a  pattern  by  Kott- 
man.     Figures  26  and  27  give  an  illustration  of  it. 


FIG.  26.  KOTTMANN'S  DESK  FOR        FIG.  27.    KOTTMANN'S  DESK  AR- 
SITTING   AND    STANDING,  RANGED  FOR  STANDING 

ARRANGED  FOR  SITTING 

The  change  from  the  sitting  to  the  standing  desk  is 
made  by  merely  taking  hold  of  the  top  and  turning  it 


160  SCHOOL   DESKS 

over;  and  the  solidity  of  the  desk  is  not  in  the  least  af- 
fected by  this  arrangement.  The  iron  supports  project- 
ing above  the  desk  when  it  is  arranged  for  sitting  are, 
however,  not  so  desirable,  since  pupils  are  liable  to 
knock  against  them. 

On  the  whole,  the  most  suitable  desks  for  higher 
grade  schools  are  the  more  recent  patterns  by  Lickroth, 
Elsaesser,  Kottmann,  and  Ramminger  and  Stetter, 
although  the  older  desks  of  Kunze  and  Parow  are 
permissible. 

Whatever  the  desks  selected,  there  should  be  three 
different  sizes  in  each  room.  The  height  of  the  pupil 
for  which  it  is  intended  should  be  marked  on  each 
desk.  For  pupils  are  to  be  seated  according  to  height, 
and  not  according  to  their  ability  in  extempore  Latin 
recitations  or  according  to  any  other  insignificant  cir- 
cumstance. The  seating,  which  is  to  be  otherwise 
permanent,  should  be  rearranged  twice  a  year  for  the 
upper  and  lower,  and  three  times  a  year  for  the  inter- 
mediate classes,  on  account  of  the  more  rapid  growth 
of  the  latter. 

It  should  be  done  preferably  by  the  principal,  other- 
wise by  the  head  teacher.  The  necessary  measure- 
ments can  be  made  very  quickly  as  follows:  Two 
sheets  of  paper  are  fastened  immediately  above  one 
another  on  the  class-room  door  so  that  the  lower  will 
correspond  in  height  with  that  of  the  shorter,  the  up- 


BLACKBOAKDS  161 

per  with  that  of  the  taller  pupils.  If  an  individual 
pupil  is  now  made  to  stand  straight  with  his  back 
against  the  door  without  removing  his  shoes  and  a 
book  is  placed  horizontally  over  his  head,  it  only  re- 
mains to  draw  a  line  under  the  lower  edge  of  the  book 
and  write  the  pupil's  name  near  it.  The  distance  of 
this  mark  from  the  lower  edge  of  the  paper  added  to 
the  distance  of  the  latter  from  the  floor  gives  the 
height  of  the  pupil. 

In  the  assignment  of  seats,  which  then  takes  place, 
defects  of  sight  and  hearing  as  well  as  of  speech 
should  of  course  be  taken  into  account,  but  only  in 
so  far  as  they  cannot  be  cured  by  medical  treatment. 
For  instance,  near-sighted  pupils  hardly  ever  find  a 
front  seat  absolutely  necessary,  but  may  as  well  enjoy 
the  comfort  of  a  desk  suited  to  their  height,  since 
with  the  proper  glasses  they  can  read  what  is  written 
on  the  blackboard  at  greater  distances. 

BLACKBOAKDS 

Not  to  omit  one  of  the  important  pieces  of  furniture 
of  a  school-room,  we  must  now  consider  blackboards. 
These  may  be  made  of  wood,  slate,  glass,  or  cloth.  If 
made  of  wood,  this  must  be  hard,  free  from  knots, 
smooth,  and  thoroughly  dry.  In  case  slate  is  used,  we 
must  see  that  it  is  black  enough.  Of  glass  blackboards, 
those  which  are  black  throughout  are  to  be  preferred 


162  BLACKBOABDS 

to  those  made  of  ordinary  ground  glass  and  painted 
black  on  the  outside.  Cloth  blackboards  are  light  and 
easily  manipulated,  and  they  help  to  reduce  the 
amount  of  chalk  dust,  which  is  so  injurious;  but  they 
must  be  stretched  very  tight  to  make  it  possible  to 
write  well  and  conveniently  on  them. 

To  make  the  white  letters  stand  out  in  the  sharpest 
possible  contrast  with  the  background,  the  latter  must 
be  deep  black,  but  with  a  dull  finish,  since  a  shining 
board  is  dazzling.  After  it  has  been  washed  off  with 
a  wet  eraser,  it  should  be  properly  dried,  both  for  the 
reason  last  given  above  and  because  otherwise  chalk 
marks  can  not  be  seen  on  it.  Since  the  paint  wears 
away  gradually,  it  is  well  not  to  wait  too  long  before 
putting  on  another  coat. 

The  slate-color  made  by  H.  Reinhold  of  Hamburg 
can  be  recommended  for  this  purpose,  since  it  is  a  deep 
black  and  dries  so  rapidly  that  all  the  boards  in  a 
school  with  many  rooms  could  be  painted  one  day  and 
be  used  the  next.  Red  lines,  such  as  those  for  musi- 
cal notes,  had  better  not  be  painted  on  the  board  but 
be  inlaid  with  some  sort  of  a  cement  to  prevent  them 
from  being  rubbed  off. 

To  make  it  possible  to  bring  the  blackboard  into  the 
best  light  and  into  the  proper  position  with  respect  to 
the  eyes  of  the  pupil  we  may  use  a  roller  frame  or 
a  movable  easel.  Blackboards  attached  to  the  walls 


ROLLER   FRAMES 


163 


are  not  so  useful.  The  roller  frame  is  usually  so 
arranged  that  the  blackboard  can  be  turned  on  an 
horizontal  axis.  (See  figure  28.) 


FIG.  28.  BLACKBOARD  WITH  ROLLER  FRAME 

This  makes  it  possible  not  only  to  give  it  any  inclina- 


164 


BLACKBOARDS 


tion  we  please,  but  also  to  turn  it  over  so  that  the 
other  side  may  be  used.  Roller  frames  sometimes  have 
blackboards  mounted  in  grooves  with  a  counterpoise,  so 
that  they  can  be  pulled  up  and  down.  Even  with  easels 
(see  figure  29)  they  can  be  placed  higher  and  lower  if 
the  two  front  "supports  have  a  number  of  holes  for 
wooden  pegs. 


FIG.  29.     EASEL  FOR  BLACKBOARD 


EASELS    AXD    MAP-HOLDERS 


165 


*': 


FIG.  30.     THE  SAME  USED  AS  A  MAP-HOLDER 


If  an  adjustable  holder  in  the  shape  of  a  "~|~"  is 
placed  on  top  of  a  roller  frame  or  an  easel  (see 
figure  30),  maps  and  pictures  may  be  hung  on  it,  and 
a  special  map-holder,  such  as  those  made  by  Jungels, 
Elsaesser,  and  Lickroth  can  be  omitted.  Figures  31 
and  32  show  one  of  the  latter  both  opened  and  closed. 


166 


BLACKBOARDS 


FIG.  31.     MAP-HOLDER  BY  LICKROTH,  CLOSED 


CRAYON 


167 


FIG.  32.     MAP-HOLDER  BY  LICKROTH,  OPEN 

A  good  grade  of  purified  chalk  should  be  used  in 


168  BLACKBOARDS 

writing  on  the  blackboard ;  and  it  had  better  be  kept 
in  a  damp  place  when  not  needed.  The  kind  gener- 
ally employed  is  the  so-called  Champagne  chalk,  which 
can  be  bought  anywhere  under  the  name  of  school- 
chalk.  As  regards  colors,  the  eye  prefers  a  pale  yel- 
low to  a  dazzling  white,  just  as  we  prefer  to  write  on 
yellowish  rather  than  pure  white  paper. 

The  red,  yellow,  and  green  crayons  often  used  in 
science  work  to  make  drawings  on  the  board  more 
definite,  should  be  handled  with  especial  care.  These 
colors  are  produced  by  the  aid  of  litharge,  red 
lead,  chrome  yellow,  and  even  arsenic  and  sulphite  of 
mercury ;  and  since  the  colored  chalk  marks  are  often 
rubbed  off  with  a  dry  eraser,  there  is  danger  of  poison- 
ing by  dust  containing  lead  chromium,  arsenic,  and 
mercury.  Poisonous  chalk  and  even  the  common 
kind  had  better  be  used  with  Soennecken's  chalk 
holder.  This  is  a  round  or  square  nickel  plated  tube 
in  which  a  piece  of  chalk  is  caught  fast  by  the  push- 
ing forward  of  a  ring  as  in  a  crayon  holder.  Not  only 
can  the  fingers  and  clothing  be  kept  clean  in  this  way ; 
but  the  chalk  can  be  used  up  to  the  last  scrap. 

Wet  sponges  or  cloths  are  usually  employed  as  eras- 
ers. The  latter  are  cheaper,  easier  to  clean,  and  do  not 
have  the  offensive  odor  almost  always  attached  to  wet 
sponges.  If  the  latter  are  used  nevertheless,  they 
should  be  large,  and  as  fine  and  compact  as  possible. 


ERASERS  169 

Before  using  a  new  sponge,  it  should  be  freed  from 
sand,  pressed  together,  and  cut  in  two ;  and  erasures 
should  be  made  only  with  the  cut  side  of  each  half. 
Since  this  is  more  compact  and  durable  than  the  sur- 
face, it  does  not  disintegrate  so  rapidly  and  saves  from 
40  to  50  per  cent  in  wear,  to  say  nothing  of  the  hygienic 
advantage. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM 

The  purpose  of  the  hygiene  of  the  school-room, 
which  we  have  been  discussing  up  to  this  point,  is  in 
the  last  analysis  to  serve  the  personal  hygiene  of  the 
pupil ;  and  to  this  we  now  turn  our  attention,  begin- 
ning with  the  hygiene  of  the  nervous  system. 

The  most  important  part  of  the  latter  is  the  brain, 
the  acropolis  of  the  human  mind.  It  is  the  principal 
centre  in  the  youthful  organism  for  all  the  activities 
connected  with  education.  The  attempt  has  therefore 
been  made  at  all  times  to  find  some  measure  of  its 
capabilities. 

At  first  the  assumption  was  made  that  the  cubic  con- 
tents of  the  skull,  or  what  is  nearly  the  same,  the 
weight  of  the  brain  would  serve  this  purpose.  At 
any  rate,  the  nations  of  Europe  come  first  with  a  skull 
capacity  of  1,580  com.,  then  the  Chinese  with  1,510 
ccm.,  and  next  the  New  Caledonians,  Tasmanians, 
Negroes,  Australians,  and  last  of  all  the  Nubians  with 
1,330  ccm. 

Too  much  significance  must,  however,  not  be  at- 
tached to  these  figures.  Men  of  eminent  ability  have 
not  always  had  heavy  but  sometimes  unusually  light 
brains.  Cuvier,  Beethoven,  and  Byron,  it  is  true,  had 
massive  heads  with  a  capacity  of  over  1,800  ccm., 

(170) 


THE    BRAIN"  171 

and  Kant  one  of  1,740  ccm.,  but  the  brains  of  Dante 
and  Liebig  weighed  less  than  those  of  many  Austra- 
lian negroes,  and  Gambetta's  barely  reached  1,100 
grams.  Even  in  the  case  of  the  central  nervous  sys- 
tem, the  body  plays  a  part  of  no  less  importance  than 
the  soul. 

Nevertheless,  with  respect  to  the  weight  of  the 
fa  rain,  it  will  ever  be  a  significant  fact  that  in  compari- 
son with  the  weight  of  the  body  and  the  other  organs 
its  weight  is  relatively  much  higher  during  the  entire 
period  of  youth  than  at  other  times.  According  to 
Bischoff  it  weighs  1,147  g.  at  six,  1,201  g.  at  seven, 
1,286  at  twelve,  1,336  g.  at  fourteen,  and  1,414  at  the 
age  of  fifteen.  Hence  the  weight  of  the  brain  does 
not  increase  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  weight  of 
the  body,  but  becomes  relatively  less,  attaining,  how- 
ever, a  constant  relation  to  the  latter  from  the  eigh- 
teenth to  the  twentieth  year. 

Since  the  mental  capacity  of  a  pupil  can  not  be 
estimated  by  his  cranial  measurements,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  psychiatrists,  Arndt,  has  suggested 
that  it  varies  with  the  amount  of  grey  matter  in  the 
cortex  of  the  brain.  Gratiolet  found  that  the  brain 
of  a  typical  Bushwoman  had  few  convolutions,  and 
that  these  were  very  simple  and  undeveloped.  The 
brain  of  a  Voltaire  and  a  Beethoven,  on  the  other  hand, 
could  be  distinguished  from  a  thousand  others  by  its 
innumerable  convolutions,  and  in  the  case  of  Gauss, 
Wagner  found  manifold  divisions  even  in  the  cen- 


172  THE    NERVOUS   SYSTEM 

tral  gyri.  Helmholtz's  brain  was  also  remarkable- 
for  the  large  number  of  convolutions,  separated  from 
each  other  by  deep  penetrating  fissures.  On  the  other 
hand,  Hyrtl  assures  us  that  he  has  found  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  convolutions,  and  a  considerable  deep- 
ening of  the  fissures  even  in  the  last  stages  of  imbe- 
cjlity. 

The  further  theory  of  Arndt,  that  the  character  of 
the  mental  processes  depends  upon  the  differentiation 
of  the  nervous  elements,  is  rather  more  probable.  If 
the  axis  cylinder  in  the  middle  of  the  nerve  is  not 
sufficiently  developed,  or  separated  from  its  environ- 
ment, it  will  lose  its  function  the  sooner,  and  further- 
more transmit  stimuli  to  its  neighbors.  The  rapid 
exhaustion,  and  tendency  toward  all  sorts  of  sympa- 
thetic sensations  and  movements,  such  as  are  observed 
in  children  and  individuals  with  arrested  develop- 
ment, is  a  natural  consequence.  The  result  would  be 
the  same  if  the  medullary  sheaths  of  the  nerves  were 
not  developed,  as  they  are  especially  found  not  to  be, 
in  the  post  mortem  examination  of  those  who  in  life 
suffered  from  different  kinds  of  nervous  diseases. 
These  views  of  Arndt  are,  however,  merely  hypotheses ; 
and  the  words  of  Fantoni  spoken  two  hundred  years 
ago  about  the  brain  will  still  be  applicable  for  many  a 
year:  "  Obscura  textura,  obscuriores  morbi,  functioiies 
obscurissmae." 

The  physiological  experiments  upon  the  working 
capacity  of  children's  brains  rest  upon  a  much  firmer 


EFFECT    OF    STUDY  173 

basis.  The  first  of  these  were  made  by  Sikorsky1. 
His  results  were  obtained  from  school  children,  and 
include  1,500  dictation  tests  with  40,000  letters.  The 
principal  difference  observed  between  the  work  done 
in  the  morning  and  that  done  after  four  to  five  hours 
of  study  and  recitation  was  an  increase  of  33  %  in  the 
average  number  of  mistakes. 

The  method  of  Sikorsky  was  followed  by  Burgerstein2. 
He  had  school  children  twelve  to  thirteen  years  of  age 
perform  examples  in  addition  and  multiplication  one 
after  the  other,  in  four  periods  of  ten  minutes  each, 
separated  by  five  minute  intermissions,  the  examples 
used  in  each  period  being  entirely  equivalent  in 
quantity  and  quality.  It  was  found,  in  the  first  place, 
that  the  number  of  single  additions  and  multiplica- 

1  Sikorsky,  Sur  les  effets  de  la  Lassitude  provoquee 
par  les  travaux  intellectuels  chez  les  enfants  de  1'  age 
scolaire.  Annales  d'  hygiene  publique,  1879,  Vol.  ii, 
p.  458. 

2 Leo  Burgerstein,  Die  Arbeitskurve  einer  Schulst- 
unde.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1891, 
No.  9,  p.  543  ff.  and  No.  10,  p.  607  if.  Marion  E. 
Holmes,  The  Fatigue  of  a  School  Hour.  The  Peda- 
gogical Seminary,  edited  by  G.  Stanley  Hall,  1895, 
Oct.,  Vol.  iii,  No.  2,  p.  213-234.  H.  Ebbinghaus, 
tiber  eine  neue  Methode  Zur  Priifung  geistiger  Fahig- 
keiten  und  ihre  Anwendung  bei  Schulkindern.  Ham- 
burg und  Leipzig,  1897,  Leop.  Voss. 


174  THE    NEKYOUS    SYSTEM 

tions  increased  from  the  first  to  the  second  period  by 
about  4,000,  from  the  second  to  the  third  by  3,000, 
and  from  the  third  to  the  fourth  again  by  4,000.  The 
absolute  increase  in  the  amount  of  work  done  was, 
therefore,  least  from  the  second  to  the  third  period. 
The  number  of  errors  increased  correspondingly  from 
the  first  to  the  second  period  by  441,  from  the  second 
to  the  third  by  719,  and  from  the  third  to  the  fourth 
by  349 ;  that  is,  the  deterioration  in  the  quality  of  the 
work  was  greatest  from  the  second  to  the  third  period. 
Similar  results  are  obtained  by  counting  the  number 
of  corrections  that  occured.  These  increased  from  the 
first  to  the  second  period  by  207,  from  the  second  to 
the  third  by  166,  from  the  third  to  the  fourth  by  225. 
The  increase  in  the  corrections, — that  is,  the  timely 
recognition  of  a  mistake  in  the  work, — was  accordingly 
least  from  the  second  to  the  third  periods. 

All  this  goes  to  show  that  in  the  third  quarter  of  an 
hour  boys  of  this  age  suffer  a  considerable  loss  in  their 
ability  to  apply  themselves  seriously  to  a  task  upon 
which  they  have  already  labored  at  other  times.  It 
seems  as  if  there  were  a  relaxation  of  mental  tension, 
and  a  weakening  of  the  power  of  concentration,  and 
as  if  the  pupil  wanted  to  rest  to  enable  him  to  begin 
again  with  renewed  energy  in  the  fourth  period. 

The  work  of  Laser1  is  connected  with  that  of  Bur- 

1Hugo  Laser,  Uber  geistige  Ermiidung  bein  Schul- 
unterrichte.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege, 
1894,  No.  1,  p.  2  ff. 


EFFECT   OF    STUDY  175 

gerstein.  He  considers  it  self-evident  that  the  minds 
of  children  would  finally  get  fatigued  with  so  much 
counting  inside  of  one  hour.  Aside  from  sight  reci- 
tations in  foreign  languages  and  similar  tests,  there 
is  surely  nothing  so  continuously  monotonous  in  all 
school  work  as  in  Burgerstein's  experiment.  He  ad- 
mits, himself,  that  a  school  period  usually  has  more 
variety  than  was  found  in  his  method.  Laser  accord- 
ingly preferred  to  study  not  the  fatigue  from  a  solid 
hour's  work,  interrupted  only  by  brief  pauses;  but 
rather  that  arising  from  the  customary  five  hours  of 
instruction  in  the  morning.  With  this  in  view,  he 
had  the  pupils  work  examples  similar  to  those  of 
Burgerstein  at  the  beginning  of  each  of  the  five  hours, 
allowing,  as  he  did,  ten  minutes  for  the  exercise.  He 
summarizes  his  results  in  the  following  statements : 

1.  The  number  of  single  additions  and  multiplica- 
tions, and  so  the  ability  to  work,  was  least  in  the  first 
hour. 

2.  The  amount  of  work  increases  up  to  the  third  or 
fourth  hour,   but    diminishes  in  the  fourth  or  fifth 
respectively. 

3.  The  number  of  errors  increases  up  to  the  fourth 
but  is  less  in  the  fifth  hour. 

4.  The  number  of  corrections  increases  up  to  the 
fifth  hour. 


176 


THE    NERYOUS   SYSTEM 


5.  The  number  making  no  mistakes  decreases  from 
the  first  to  the  fifth  hour. 

Hopfner1  has  obtained  results  analogous  to  those  of 
Burgerstein  and  Laser.  His  observations  were  taken 
on  a  class  of  46  boys  of  the  average  age  of  nine.  In 
order  to  test  their  fitness  for  promotion  they  were 
required  to  write  about  two  hours  from  a  dictation,  the 
material  for  which  was  nineteen  sentences  prepared 
by  the  principal  of  the  school.  The  following  table 
shows  what  errors  were  made  as  the  work  progressed. 


Number  of 
sentence 

Number  of  letters  written 
by  all  the  pupils 

Total  number 
of  errors 

Per  cent  of 
errors 

1 

21X46—  966 

9     . 

0  936 

2 

26X46—1196  

11  

0  924 

3 

19X46—  874 

7 

0  805 

4 

38x46—1748 

13 

0  641 

5 
6 

32X46=1472  
35X46—1610 

10  
36 

0.680 
2  232 

7 

30x46—1380 

28 

2  044 

8 

35x46—1610    

39  

2418 

9 
10 
11 

26X46=1196  
23X46=1058  
24x46-1104    

32  
29  
41  

2.688 
2.755 
3  731 

12 

35X46—1610 

31 

1  922 

13 
14 

30X46=1380  
26x36—1196  

66  
32  

4.818 
2  688 

15 
16 
17 

40x46=1840  
29X46=1334  
26X46  =-1196  

63  
55  
56  

3.402 
4.125 
4  704 

18 
19 

47X46=2162  
40X46=1840  

54  
119  

2.592 
6426 

It  will  be  seen  that   in   the   beginning   the   errors 

aLudwig  Hopfner,  fiber  die  geistige  Ermiidung  von 
Schulkindern.  Inauguraldissertation.  Hamburg  und 
Leipzig,  1893,  Leop.  Voss. 


EFFECT   OF    STUDY  177 

amount  to  about  one  per  cent,  and  diminished  steadily 
to  six-tenths  of  one  per  cent  in  the  fourth  sentence. 
The  increase  of  errors  which  then  takes  place  is  par- 
ticularly marked  from  the  fifth  to  the  sixth  sentence. 
This  increase  continues  up  to  the  last  sentence,  though 
the  numbers  do  not  make  so  regular  a  series  as  at  first. 

We  find  here,  in  the  first  place,  a  confirmation  of 
Burgerstein's  statement  that  there  is  a  marked  in- 
crease in  the  fatigue  at  the  end  of  the  first  half  hour, 
since  there  is  a  sudden  jump  in  the  per  cent  of  error 
for  the  sixth  sentence,  which  was  written  after  about 
half  an  hour's  work.  If  we  omit  the  first  four  sen- 
tences, the  per  cent  of  error  increases,  moreover, 
with  the  duration  of  the  work,  being  0.9$  at  first, 
and  6.4$  at  the  end. 

Xot  less  interesting  are  the  pedagogical  psychomet- 
ric studies  which  Keller  made  on  a  boy  fourteen  years 
of  age.  He  starts  with  the  hypothesis  that  fatigue  is 
the  result  of  a  chemical  process  which  influences  the 
composition  of  the  blood.  Thus  it  will  not  merely 
affect  the  organs  by  whose  activity  it  was  produced 
but  also,  being  of  a  general  character,  the  parts  that 
have  been  at  rest.  Mental  fatigue  may  accordingly 
be  indicated  by  the  muscular  fatigue  curve.  To  secure 
the  latter,  Keller  made  use  of  the  Mosso  Ergograph1. 

1A,  Mosso,  Die  Ermiidung.  Aus  dem  Italiemschen 
ubersetzt  von  F.  Glinzer.  Leipzig,  1892,  S.  Hirzel. 


178 


THE    NERVOUS    SYSTEM 


This  consists  of  two  parts :  a  device  for  holding  the 
forearm,  hand,  and  fingers,  with  the  exception  of  the 
middle  finger,  and  a  recording  mechanism  illustrated 
in  figure  33,  which  marks  the  extent  of  the  contrac- 
tions of  this  finger  upon  a  slowly  revolving  drum  cov- 
ered with  smoked  paper. 


FIG.  33.  RECORDING  APPARATUS  FOR  THE  MOSSO  ERGOGAPH 

The  pillars,  M  and  L,  of  the  recording  apparatus 
are  mounted  on  a  long  iron  plate  E.  They  are  forked 
at  the  top  and  hold  in  place  two  steel  rods  which  serve 
as  the  track  for  the  carriage.  This  slides  on  the  rods 
right  and  left,  bearing  the  metal  style  R  with  a  goose 
quill  point,  which  writes  on  the  smoked  paper  of  the 
drum.  The  carriage  N  has  two  hooks,  to  one  of 
which  is  attached  the  card  P,  ending  in  a  leather  ring 


EFFECT    OF    STUDY 


179 


C ;  to  the  other,  the  cord  0,  which  goes  over  the  wheel 
V,  and  ends  in  the  3  kg.  weight  S.  The  leather  ring 
C  is  placed  on  the  third  joint  of  the  pupil's  middle 
finger  and  he  is  requested  to  bend  his  finger  to  the 
utmost  and  relax  it,  alternately,  as  many  times  as  he 
can  in  time  with  the  beats  of  a  metronome.  The 
weight  S  is  moved  up  and  down,  and  the  carriage  1^ 
with  the  style  K,  right  and  left,  describing  as  it  does 
so  a  figure  something  like  34  below,  whose  upper  out 
line  is  called  the  curve  of  fatigue. 


FIG.  34.     ERGOGRAPHIC  FATIGUE  CURVE 

If  the  heights  of  the  separate  contractions  are  meas- 
ured and  added  together  into  meters,  the  total  amount 
of  work  done  in  kg.  meters  can  be  obtained  by  multi- 
plying this  sum  by  the  weight  S,  in  kilograms.  In 
this  manner  Keller  found  that  mental  work  was  at 


180  THE    NERVOUS    SYSTEM 

first  stimulating,  not  fatiguing,  since  after  fifty 
minutes  of  study  the  amount  of  work  done  by  the 
muscles  of  the  pupil  experimented  upon  was  double 
what  it  was  at  first.  The  ability  to  work  then  begins 
to  diminish,  and  a  condition  of  fatigue  shows  itself 
yery  clearly  in  spite  of  a  rest  of  more  than  an  hour. 

It  was  also  ascertained  that  continuous  mental  labor, 
though  of  only  short  duration,  produced  a  greater 
degree  of  fatigue,  and  that  more  quickly,  than  when 
the  same  amount  of  work  was  interrupted  by  short 
periods  of  rest.  As  was  to  be  expected,  it  was  also 
shown  that  the  harder  the  mental  work  the  more 
quickly  does  fatigue  set  in.  In  reading  German  the 
pupil  required  0.3515  seconds  for  recognizing  and 
naming  a  word,  and  0.184  seconds  for  a  syllable.  The 
time  for  the  similar  processes  with  Latin  was  54^ 
higher  for  the  word,  and  30  %  for  the  syllables.  The 
curve  of  fatigue  in  reading  Latin  consequently  reached 
its  greatest  height  much  sooner  and  fell  oft  more 
abruptly.  Singing  and  gymnastics  appear,  moreover, 
to  be  rather  taxing  and  capable  of  reducing  the  work- 
ing power  of  the  brain  considerably. 

Kemsies1  has,  also,  made  investigations  with  the 
Mosso  Ergograph  for  the  same  purpose  as  Keller.  He 

1  Ferdinand  Kemsies,  Zur  Frage  der  Uberbiirdung 
unserer  Schuljugend.  Deutsche  medizinische  Woch- 
enschrift,  1896  und  Xeue  Bahnen,  1897. 


EFFECT    OF    STUDY  181 

used  the  instrument  almost  daily  for  four  months  in 
testing  at  all  times  of  day  the  condition  of  a  number 
of  the  pupils  of  the  different  classes  of  the  fifth  real 
school  and  one  other  school  in  Berlin.  The  records 
obtained  give  evidence  as  to  the  physical  effects  of 
the  preceding  lessons.  Tests  were  also  made  on  holi- 
days, to  establish  the  difference  in  the  results  on  these 
and  the  regular  school  days.  Attentive  and  industri- 
ous boys  were  selected  for  the  experiment,  since  the 
total  effect  of  the  school  work  could  be  expected  to 
show  itself  in  them. 

From  this  investigation,  it  became  evident,  in  the 
first  place,  that  a  diminution  in  muscular  energy — or, 
what  means  the  same  thing,  fatigue  of  mind  and  body, 
— set  in  after  only  a  brief  period  of  mental  labor.  It 
disappears  in  one  or  two  hours  if  a  change  is  made  in 
the  work,  especially  if  the  change  is  from  a  hard  to  an 
easy  subject.  Severe  fatigue  comes  on  with  great  reg- 
ularity in  the  periods  of  mathematics  and  gymnastics, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  recuperation  seems  to  take 
place  during  the  periods  for  history,  geography,  and 
nature  study.  Modern  languages  occupy,  with  respect 
to  fatiguing  power,  a  middle  place.  Singing  and 
drawing,  moreover,  make  rather  great  demands  on 
those  who  do  well  in  these  branches. 

We  must  now  discriminate  between  temporary  de- 
pression and  depressions  of  long  duration,  which  dis- 


182  THE   NERVOUS   SYSTEM 

appear  only  in  the  time  free  from  school  work,  or 
which  last  for  days  and  weeks.  The  latter  take  place 
whenever  the  organism  has  lost  its  power  of  resistance, 
either  from  lack  of  sleep,  food,  or  sufficient  exercise  in 
the  open  air,  or  from  overwork  or  sickness.  The  re- 
sponsibility rests  here  mainly  with  the  home ;  but  the 
school  is  also  implicated  in  so  far  as  it  gives  occasion 
for  excessive  effort.  Without  its  cooperation  depres- 
sions of  such  long  standing  would  perhaps  not  occur, 
and  would,  at  any  rate,  be  more  readily  cured.  Ac- 
cording to  experiments  made  by  Kemsies  on  himself, 
the  remedies  for  such  depression  are  above  all  sufficient 
food,  plenty  of  sleep,  baths,  and  out-door  rambles. 

The  experiments  of  Januschke  were  made  with  still 
more  regard  for  the  practical  needs  of  school  life. 
His  conclusions,  in  the  first  place,  confirm  those  of 
Burgerstein.  In  tabulating  the  results  of  an  inci- 
dental mathematical  exercise  in  Class  II,  a  distinct 
retrogression  in  ability  was  observed  after  the  first 
three-fourths  of  an  hour.  The  twenty-nine  pupils 
obtained  in  the  four  successive  quarters  of  an  hour 
493,  576,  566,  511  results,  respectively.  We  see  that 
the  work  in  the  first  quarter  of  an  hour  was  the  least, 
evidently  on  account  of  deficient  application  and  con- 
centration; that  it  increased  considerably  in  the  second, 
began  to  decrease  in  the  third,  and  was  distinctly  less 
in  the  fourth. 


EFFECT    OF    STUDY  183 

It  was,  furthermore,  possible  to  show  here  again  what 
different  demands  are  made  upon  mental  energy  by 
different  subjects.  The  average  time  which  a  pupil 
of  medium  ability  required  to  learn  forty  lines  in  the 
following  text-books  was  for  the  principles  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  Class  I,  50  minutes,  Class  II  40 
minutes,  Class  V  and  VI  36  minutes;  for  geography  40 
minutes,  for  secular  and  Biblical  history  20  minutes, 
for  zoology,  Class  I  and  V,  only  ten  minutes.  The 
time  for  learning  a  poem  was  found  to  be  three  to  four 
times  as  long  as  that  for  learning  a  section  in  history 
with  just  as  many  words.  To  memorize  a  French  voca- 
ble required  on  an  average  0.8  minutes.  This  figure 
holds  good  up  to  24  terms.  Trained  and  gifted  pupils 
took  only  half  this  time,  while  the  less  gifted  and 
trained  took  longer. 

The  influence  of  practice  or  habituation  was  also  very 
noticeable  in  other  respects.  Twenty-four  pupils,  for 
instance,  committed  half  or  less  than  half  of  a  poem, 
while  in  the  same  time  thirteen  committed  more  than 
half  or  all.  This  is  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  those 
who  learned  slowly  required  more  time  to  concentrate 
their  minds  than  those  who  learned  rapidly.  The  time 
for  memorizing  the  successive  stanzas  of  a  poem 
became  gradually  shorter  for  the  former,  while  it  re- 
mained about  the  same  from  the  first  for  the  latter. 

Associated  words  were   naturally  more  readily  re- 


184  THE    STEKVOUS    SYSTEM 

tained  than  those  that  were  disconnected.  Of  twelve 
connected  and  twelve  disconnected  words,  the  pupils 
remembered  97  and  59  per  cent  respectively.  In  the 
case  of  sentences  from  the  text-books  which  were 
read  by  the  pupils  in  order  to  be  reproduced,  it  was 
found  that  those  which  were  short  and  logically  con- 
nected were  apprehended  the  best ;  and  that  associated 
ideas,  like  subject  and  predicate,  predicate  and  object, 
attribute  and  substantive,  were  always  noted  and  re- 
produced in  'their  relation.  How  very  important  the 
inner  organization  of  the  material  is  for  both  appre- 
hension and  remembering,  and  how  seriously  progress 
in  knowledge  is  retarded  by  any  gap  in  the  same,  has 
of  course  already  been  recognized. 

To  determine  the  best  method  of  memorizing,  series 
of  twelve  unconnected  words  were  presented  to  the 
pupils  so  that  the  first  series  was  perceived  only  by  ear, 
the  second  was  read  silently  by  sight  from  the  board, 
the  third  was  read  aloud,  and  the  fourth  was  written 
from  hearing.  In  the  first  case,  they  retained  58  $,  in 
the  second  61  $,  in  the  third  64  $,  and  in  the  fourth 
76  <f>.  According  to  this,  committing  to  memory  is 
most  difficult  by  hearing  alone,  easier  by  sight,  still 
easier  by  sight  and  hearing,  and  easiest  of  all  by  writ- 
ing what  is  heard. 

Two  test  series  were  used  to  ascertain  whether  or 
not  gymnastics  would  be  a  means  of  recreation  from 
fatigue.  These  consisted  of  fifteen  numbers  between 


EFFECT    OF    STUDY  185 

one  and  thirty,  and  were  read  to  be  memorized  in  class 
II  and  ITT,  one  before  and  one  after  the  exercise.  In 
Class  III  3  $,  in  Class  II  7  %  more  was  retained  after 
the  exercise.  These  results  contradicted  those  of 
Keller  and  Kemsies,  but  are  supported  by  the  state- 
ment of  Schiller  that  the  pupils  of  the  gymnasium  at 
Giessen  show  they  are  mentally  refreshed  by  the  gym- 
nastics at  recess. 

Griesbach1  has  employed  a  new  method  of  measur- 
ing mental  fatigue  in  school  children.  According  to 
his  observations,  brain  fatigue  diminishes  the  sensibility 
of  the  skin.  To  determine  the  amount  of  this  diminu- 
tion he  employed  the  method  of  E.  H.  Weber,  who 
placed  blunted  compass  points  on  the  skin  and  ascer- 
tained how  near  these  could  be  moved  toward  one  an- 
other and  yet  be  felt  as  two  distinct  points.  The 
smaller  the  distance  between  the  points  still  felt  as 
two,  the  greater  the  discriminative  ability.  Gries- 
bach's  aesthesiometer2,  of  which  a  sketch  is  given  in 
figure  35,  serves  the  same  purpose  as  Weber's  com- 
passes. 

1H.  Griesbach,  Energetik  und  Hygiene  des  Xerven 
systems  in  der  Schule.  Miinchen  und  Leipsig,  1895, 
R.  Oldenbourg. — Theodore  Vannod,  La  fatigue  intel- 
lectuelle  et  son  influence  snr  la  sensibilile  cutanee. 
These  inaugurale — Geneve,  1896,  Rey  et  Malavallon. 

2H.  Griesbach,  Ein  neues  Aesthesiometer.  Bonn, 
1897,  Em.  Strauss. 


186 


THE    NERVOUS    SYSTEM 


1 

*i                             % 
V 

F 

© 
<s> 

0 

9 

<Z>      © 

ill 

nlii 

,ilr 

nln 

nln 

„!„ 

hi.. 

nil, 

.1 

i  il  11 

FIG.  35.     GKIESBACH'S  AESTHESIOMETER 

Two  metal  tubes  A  and  B  are  attached  to  a  metal 
scale  C  in  such  a  way  that  A  remains  stationary,  and 
B  is  movable.  The  tubes  are  screwed  fast  to  the 
plates  D  and  E,  which  are  supplied  with  the  rings  F 
and  G  respectively.  The  plate  E  has  an  opening  for 
the  scale  C.  The  thumb  and  fore-finger  of  the  right 
hand  are  placed  in  F  and  G,  and  the  middle  finger  rests 
on  the  projection  H.  In  each  tube  is  a  pointed  metal 
shaft  I  and  K,  pushed  outward  by  a  spring.  If  one 
desires  to  use  blunt  instead  of  sharp  points  it  is  only 
necessary  to  push  the  cap  L  over  the  shafts.  Small 
indicators  in  the  slit  at  N,  and  at  a  corresponding 
point  in  the  other  tube,  opposite  A,  as  shown  by  dots, 
show  the  pressure  on  the  points  in  gramms. 

Griesbach  tested  with  both  sharp  and  blunt  points 


EFFECT    OF    STUDY  187 

the  following  localities:  the  forehead,  the  zygomatic 
arch,  the  tip  of  the  nose,  the  red  edge  of  the  lower 
lip,  and  the  ball  of  the  thumb  of  the  right  hand.  Those 
subjected  to  the  experiments  were  the  pupils  of  the 
superior  real-school,  the  upper  classes  of  the  gymnasium 
at  Miilhausen,  i.  E. ;  and  also  other  persons,  such  as 
teachers  and  a  superior  school  councillor.  Eecords 
of  the  normal  sensibility  of  the  skin  were  obtained  on 
Sundays  and  holidays,  and  those  of  the  influence  of 
work,  after  each  recitation  period.  In  the  case  of 
the  pupils  of  the  superior  real-school,  some  records 
were  incidentally  secured  after  the  oral  and  written 
examination  for  the  one  year's  military  service. 

One  inference  from  this  study  is  that  the  beginning 
of  instruction  in  summer  at  7  o'clock  is  not  to  be  rec- 
ommended. Pupils  of  the  middle  and  higher  classes 
especially  showed  at  this  hour  depressed  sensitiveness. 

This  corresponds  with  L.  Wagner's1  observation 
that  the  large  figures  which  he  obtained  with  the 
aesthesiometer  at  the  beginning  were  succeeded  by 
smaller  ones  in  the  course  of  the  forenoon.  The  cause 
of  this  phenomenon  is  in  all  probability  insufficient 
sleep,  and  the  pupils  from  a  distance  who  were  com- 

xLudwig  Wagner,  Unterricht  und  Ermiidung.  Er- 
mudungs  messungen  an  Schiilern  des  neuen  Gymnasi- 
ums in  Darmstadt.  Berlin,  1898,  Reuther  und 
Eeichard. 


188  THE    NERVOUS   SYSTEM 

pelled  to  rise  early  showed  the  greatest  degree  of 
fatigue. 

Different  subjects  have  different  powers  of  inducing 
fatigue,  the  ancient  languages,  history,  and  mathe- 
matics having  the  greater  and  more  marked  effects, 
especially  if  memory  work  is  insisted  upon.  Wagner 
states  that  the  study  of  mathematics  caused  a  depres- 
sion a  third  greater  than  that  produced  by  the  study  of 
religion  and  drawing. 

According  to  Griesbach  the  intermissions  between 
lessons  are  often  too  short,  since  they  do  not  suffice 
for  the  restoration  of  the  sensitiveness  of  the  skin  to- 
its  normal  degree.  The  least  sensitiveness  was  often 
found  during  the  afternoon  recitations,  the  two  hour 
recess  from  twelve  to  two  not  affording  enough  recrea- 
tion. Wagner,  also,  makes  the  assertion  that  after- 
noon work  is  particularly  injurious  to  the  brain. 


CHAPTEE  VIII 

DAILY     PKOGKAMME 

The  above  psychological  experiments  give  us,  in  the 
first  place,  a  number  of  principles  for  the  arrangement 
of  the  daily  programme.  Sikorsky  and  Laser  found 
that  the  quality  of  the  work  deteriorated  up  to  the 
fifth  and  fourth  hours  respectively;  hence  difficult 
subjects  which  particularly  tax  the  powers  of  abstrac- 
tion should  be  placed  at  the  beginning.  Ancient  and 
modern  languages  and  mathematics  belong  in  this 
group. 

Whether  it  is  wise  to  put  these  subjects  in  the  very 
first  period,  must,  to  be  sure,  be  considered  somewhat 
doubtful  on  account  of  the  statements  of  Burgerstein 
and  Laser,  in  whose  experiments  the  amount  of  work 
done  was  least  in  the  first  hour,  that  is,  in  the  first 
quarter  of  an  hour.  If  all  the  abstract  studies  can- 
not be  given  a  place  in  the  first  hours  of  the  day,  the 
next  best  time  will  be  that  directly  after  the  long  recess. 

Examinations  of  every  kind,  such  as  those  for  pro- 
motions, are  to  be  treated  like  the  class  of  subjects 
just  described.  They  also  should  therefore  be  given 
in  the  first  hours  of  the  day,  and  should  not  be  massed 
together  on  the  same  day. 

(189) 


190  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

While  foreign  languages  and  mathematics  bring  the 
reasoning  faculties  especially  into  play,  religion,  his- 
tory, and  the  mother  tongue  apply  more  to  the  feel- 
ings and  the  will.  Other  subjects,  again,  like  geogra- 
phy, when  this  does  not  consist  of  a  dry  recital  of 
names,  appeal  to  pupils  by  reason  of  the  interesting 
and  easily  comprehensible  material  they  present.  All 
these  subjects  should  be  given  the  second  place  on  the 
programme. 

The  scientific  courses  which  have  numerous  experi- 
ments and  demonstrations  and  bring  observation  and 
perception  prominently  into  play  should  be  next. 
Manual  training,  and  other  arts  like  writing,  drawing, 
singing,  gymnastics,  etc.,  are  to  be  reserved  for  the 
last  place.  To  be  sure,  teachers  of  gymnastics  demand 
that  exercises  with  apparatus  should  come  earlier ;  but, 
when  this  happens,  pupils  are  often  unable  to  write  the 
hour  succeeding  on  account  of  the  previous  strain  on 
the  muscles  of  the  arm. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  these  hygienic  princi- 
ples cannot  always  be  put  into  practice.  In  the  first 
place,  the  principal  may  be  hindred  in  arranging  the 
programme  by  the  small  number  of  teachers  at  his 
disposal.  He  must  endeavor  to  make  their  hours  of 
labor  as  nearly  consecutive  as  possible,  since  intermedi- 
ate vacant  periods  cannot  be  put  to  much  use.  And, 
finally,  there  are  some  subjects  like  singing,  drawing,, 


ARRANGEMENT   OF    SUBJECTS  191 

and  gymnastics,  for  which  there  is  but  a  single  room; 
and  this  cannot  be  used  at  the  same  time  by  several 
classes. 

If  the  daily  programme  is  to  be  so  arranged  as  to 
make  the  different  mental  activities  of  the  pupils  re- 
lieve one  another,  this  must  also  be  realized  within* 
each  single  hour.  Keller  has  shown  that  continuous 
work  in  one  direction  is  more  depressing  than  the 
same  amount  of  work  when  interrupted  by  brief  peri- 
ods of  rest.  Change  from  one  kind  of  mental  activity 
to  another  affords  the  same  relief  as  the  latter.  Think- 
ing for  a  long  time,  especially  on  the  same  topic,  is 
very  fatiguing. 

But  if  the  teacher  also  appeals  to  the  feelings  and 
seeks  to  mould  the  will  of  his  pupil  she  can  thereby 
avoid  producing  one-sided  cerebral  over-pressure. 

"  A  monotonous  drill,"  as  Schiller  truly  observes, 
"  if  continued  for  a  long  time,  is  especially  dangerous, 
since  ideas  or  groups  of  ideas  soon  disappear  from  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  pupils  if  they  are  not  stimulated 
by  the  novelty  or  the  importance  of  the  contents. 
Certain  injury  can  only  be  avoided  by  having  the  fun- 
damental activities,  perception  thought,  and  practice 
exercised  in  suitable  alternation." 

He  goes  on  to  explain  that  the  proper  employment 
of  lectures,  demonstrations,  and  conversations,  is  the 
best  way  to  avoid  that  monotony  which  is  sure  to  lead 


192  DAILY    PBOGKAMME 

to  fatigue.  The  demonstrational  or  illustrative  method 
deserves  special  emphasis,  since  its  use  in  the  human- 
istic studies  is  not  yet  what  it  might  be.  To  be  sure, 
the  class-rooms  and  corridors  were  never  decorated  so 
much  as  now  with  statues,  pictures,  and  photographs 
.of  classical  antiquity.  A  Eoman  soldier  in  full  armor 
or  a  model  of  Csesar?s  bridge  across  the  Rhine  can  also 
now  and  then  be  found.  Nevertheless,  we  can  say 
that  the  excellent  pictures  we  have  of  the  life  of  an- 
tiquity should  be  used  much  more  than  they  are ;  and 
that  archeological,  historical,  and  geographical  collec- 
tions for  higher  schools  should  be  begun  even  if  only 
on  a  modest  scale. 

But,  however,  much  the  labor  of  learning  may  be 
lightened,  pupils  will  nevertheless  in  the  end  experi- 
ence a  depression  in  ability  to  work.  This  sets  in, 
according  to  the  experiments  of  Januschke,  Hopfner, 
and  Burgerstein  after  about  three-fourths  of  an  hour. 
The  length  of  a  lesson  should  not  very  much  exceed 
this  amount;  in  fact,  for  the  first  three  years  it  may 
better  be  less. 

What  it  means  to  attend  to  a  subject  for  forty  to 
fifty  minutes,  with  complete  absorption,  we  can  know 
from  our  own  experience  in  listening  to  an  orator 
who  has  held  us  spell-bound  for  three-quarters  of  an 
hour.  Even  a  person  accustomed  to  brain  work  will 
feel  in  such  a  case  somewhat  tired.  Pupils  from  six 


SHORT    PERIODS  193 

to  nine  experience  this  brain  weariness  much  earlier. 

The  proposition  to  instruct  the  younger  children, 
including  those  in  primary  preparatory  schools,  in 
half  hour  rather  than  hour  periods  should  be  carefully 
observed.  Excellent  results  have  been  attained  with 
this  plan  in  Frankfurt  a.  M.  More  was  done  in  six 
half  hour  lessons  than  in  four  full  hour  lessons  in 
number  work,  and  an  equivalent  amount  was  done  in 
religious  instruction.  This  plan  can  be  carried  out 
only  when  the  preparatory  rooms  are  so  far  away  from 
the  rest  that  the  pupils  will  not  disturb  each  other  on 
account  of  the  lack  of  correspondence  in  the  recesses. 

With  regard  to  recesses,  the  Elsass-Lothringer  ordi- 
nance of  1882  required  that  they  should  in  general  be 
ten  minutes  long,  except  between  the  second  and  third 
hours  in  the  morning,  when  fifteen  minutes  should  be 
allowed.  For  Hessen-Darmstadt,  a  decree  of  May  25, 
1883,  lays  down  the  rule  that  the  intermission  between 
lessons  in  all  classes  in  the  secondary  schools  shall  be 
fifteen  minutes.  The  Prussian  medical  commission 
advocates  in  its  recommendation  of  Dec.  19,  1883, 
the  same  plan  for  primary  preparatory  schools  and 
the  lower  classes  of  the  secondary  schools,  while  it 
considers  a  shorter  time  sufficient  for  the  upper 
classes.  By  reason  of  this  advice,  the  Prussian 
ministry  of  education  on  Xov.  10,  1884,  ordered  that 
the  total  time  given  to  intermissions  should  be  not  less 


194  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

than  40  nor  more  than  45  minutes,  whether  the  school 
had  two  sessions  with  four  hours  in  the  morning  and 
two  in  the  afternoon,  or  a  single  session  of  five  hours. 

On  days  when  the  forenoon  work  is  limited  to  three 
hours,  the  free  time  must  be  shortened  correspondingly. 
Finally,  a  ministerial  decree  gave  the  Bavarian  second- 
ary schools,  in  the  spring  of  1891,  a  recess  of  ten  min- 
utes after  each  lesson. 

The  above  figures  for  the  duration  of  recesses  have, 
however,  under  certain  circumstances  been  reduced. 
Thus  the  Prussian  cultus-minister  has  given  permission 
for  the  shortening  of  the  intermission  between  the 
two  afternoon  hours  to  the  time  necessary  for 
changing  classes,  as  a  compensation  for  closing  the 
schools  a  quarter  of  an  hour  earlier  in  places  where 
this  is  necessary  in  winter  on  account  of  the  absence 
or  inadequacy  of  the  means  for  artificial  lighting. 
Although  this  is  regrettable,  the  example  of  Baden  is 
still  more  so,  when  it  seeks  to  obviate  the  difficulties 
of  arranging  the  programme  for  the  short  days  of  the 
winter  months  by  limiting  all  recesses. 

Kraeplin1  not  only  rejects  all  such  expedients,  but 

JEmil  Kraeplin,  Uber  geistige  Arbeit.  Jena,  1894, 
Gust.  Fischer.  —  Gustav  Richter,  Unterricht  und 
geistige  Ermiidung.  Eine  schulmiinnische  AVurdigung 
der  Schrift  E.  Kraeplins  "Uber  geistige  Arbeit." 
Halle  a.  S.,  1895,  Buchhandlung  des  Waisenhauses. 


KECESSES  195 

demands  that  recesses,  to  fulfill  their  purpose,  should 
not  only  be  considerably  longer  than  they  generally 
are,  but  should  follow  one  another  at  shorter  intervals 
and  increase  in  length  throughout  the  school  day.  But 
as  long  as  we  do  not  have  purely  ideal  and  continuously, 
attentive  pupils  to  deal  with,  the  programme  for  rest 
and  work  proposed  by  Hakonson-Hansens  deserves  the 
preference : 

8.00-8.50  recitations. 
8.50-9.00  rest,  10  minutes. 
9.00-9.50  recitations. 
9-50-10.00  rest,  10  minutes. 
1 0. 00-10. 50  recitations. 

10.50-11.10  long  recess  for  lunch,  20  minutes. 
11.10-12.00  recitations. 
12.00-12.10  rest,  10  minutes. 
12.10-1.00  rest,  10  minutes. 
1.00-1.10  rest,  10  minutes. 
1.10-2.00  recitations. 

The  use  made  of  the  recess  is  still  more  important 
than  its  length.  Above  all  it  must  not  be  employed 
for  studying,  since  its  primary  purpose  is  to  give  the 
mind  rest.  Pupils  are,  nevertheless,  often  seen  mem- 
orizing or  preparing  for  the  next  hour  at  recess.  This 
usually  happens  when  they  have  not  been  sufficiently 
industrious  at  home. 

As  it  is  as  hard  to  study  on  an  empty  as  on  a  full 
stomach,  opportunity  for  eating  lunch  should  also  be 


196  DAILY    PKOGKAMME 

given  at  intermissions.  The  time  for  this  should  not 
be  too  short,  since  the  pupils  will  otherwise  eat  too 
little,  or  else  not  masticate  their  food  sufficiently.  In 
the  latter  case,  the  food  particles  are  too  large  for 
.digestion,  and  besides  are  not  properly  mixed  with 
saliva  in  chewing,  and  catarrh  of  the  stomach  may  be 
produced. 

The  arrangement  in  some  gymnasia  and  real-gym- 
nasia for  supplying  the  pupils  in  cold  weather  with 
warm  milk  is  strongly  to  be  recommended.  This 
must  not,  however,  come  from  consumptive  cows, 
since  it  might  then  communicate  tuberculosis.  In  any 
case,  there  must  be  a  supply  of  drinking  water,  hygeni- 
cally  unobjectionable. 

The  disproportion  between  the  activity  of  mind  and 
body  in  school  work  can  best  be  adjusted  by  movement 
in  the  open  air,  which  at  the  same  time  has  a  stimulat- 
ing effect  upon  the  brain.  For  this  purpose  there  must 
be  carefully  arranged  and  well  drained  play  grounds, 
covered  with  rather  coarse  gravel.  They  should  be 
sprinkled  with  water  in  the  summer. 

In  all  kinds  of  bad  weather  and  in  very  high  or  very 
low  temperatures,  well  ventilated  gymnastic  halls  and 
•corridors  are  the  best  substitutes  for  play  grounds,  if 
.a  part  of  the  latter  is  not  roofed  over  with  glass,  as  is 
often  done  in  France. 

Though  we  agree  with  Januschke  and  others  that 


RECESSES  197 

exercise  is  a  means  of  recreation  from  mental  labor, 
we  are,  nevertheless,  not  certain  that  gymnastics 
should  be  allowed  in  the  intermissions.  Since  this 
ought  not  to  be  undertaken  without  supervision,  it 
would  encroach  upon  the  time  of  the  teacher  of  gym- 
nastics and  the  head  gymnast.  For  the  weak  and  nerv- 
ous, it  is,  moreover  too  violent  recreation,  and  is  liable 
to  lead  to  headache  and  great  agitation  in  the  follow- 
ing period.  On  the  other  hand,  exercises  that  children 
delight  in  and  every  kind  of  game  should  be  allowed ; 
yelling  even  ought  not  be  put  down  too  scrupulously, 
since  it  is  admirable  gymnastics  for  the  lungs.  In 
general,  pupils  will  find  the  more  recreation  in  the 
recesses,  the  more  what  they  do  or  do  not  do  has  the 
impress  of  freedom  and  spontaneity. 

In  discussing  recesses,  the  question  of  divided  or 
undivided  school  sessions  must  also  be  considered,  in- 
asmuch as  with  a  divided  session  there  is  more  inter- 
mission in  the  school  work.  The  question  is  not  to  be 
settled  wholly  according  to  the  wishes  of  the  parents, 
as  these  are  likely  to  be  very  different.  When  a  vote 
was  taken  in  Frankfurt  a.  M.  to  ascertain  the  prefer- 
ences of  the  families  interested  in  a  number  of  boys' 
schools,  1,603  were  for,  and  1,268,  against  the  single 
session.  The  matter  must  be  looked  at  also  from  some 
general,  hygienic,  pedagogical,  and  didactic  points  of 
view. 


198  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

From  the  hygienic  side  it  cannot  be  denied  that  in  five 
or  six  hours  of  recitations  in  the  morning  even  with 
adequate  intermissions  a  pupil's  mental  receptivity  will 
diminish;  and  that  he  is  liable  to  be  overworked.  But 
is  this  diminution  of  ability  greater  in  the  last  hours 
of  the  single  session  than  in  the  two  hours  in  the  after- 
noon ?  When  a  meal  is  eaten  between  twelve  and  one 
o'clock  and  recitations  begin  at  two,  digestion  is  not 
complete  till  about  the  close  of  school.  As  a  conse- 
quence, the  pupils  are  sleepy  in  the  first  and  anxious  to 
move  about  in  the  second  of  the  two  afternoon  periods. 
If  a  part  of  one's  energy  has  to  be  used  for  bodily 
functions,  the  stream  of  thought  is  obstructed,  and 
mental  processes  take  a  long  time  in  forming.  On  the 
other  hand,  digestion  increases  the  temperature  of  the 
body  and  leads  to  the  formation  of  more  blood,  there- 
by stimulating  the  organs  of  motion.  The  rest  given 
by  the  two  hours  noon  recess  is,  therefore,  more  than 
neutralized,  and  the  last  hours  of  the  single  session 
are  to  be  preferred  to  the  afternoon  periods,  particu- 
larly as  Griesbach  and  Wagner  have  found  that  pupils 
show  evidence  of  greater  fatigue  in  the  afternoon. 

Another  advantage  of  the  single  session  is  that  a 
school  period  from  nine  to  two  or  three  occupies  the 
only  time  of  day  in  the 'winter  months  from  Xovember 
to  February  when  natural  illumination  is  favorable. 
From  eight  to  nine  in  the  morning,  or  three  to  four  in 
the  afternoon,  artificial  illumination  must  often  be 


WHETHER   ONE    SESSION    OR   TWO  199 

used.  This  is  not  only  less  agreeable  to  the  eye,  but 
is  in  many  schools  decidedly  inadequate. 

The  fact  that  the  pupils  are  saved  a  walk  to  and 
from  school  can  also  be  given  as  an  argument  in  favor 
of  the  single  session.  On  account  of  the  great  monot- 
ony, these  walks  not  only  do  not  give  recreation,  but 
actually  produce  fatigue,  especially  since  they  have  to 
be  made  through  the  wind  and  snow  in  the  winter,  in 
the  hottest  part  of  the  day  in  summer,  and  at  all  times 
through  the  polluted  air  of  the  streets. 

The  most  important  reason  for  the  undivided  morn- 
ing session  is,  however,  the  fact  that  it  gives  the  pupils 
time  for  games,  rambles,  excursions,  bathing,  swim- 
ming, and  boating  in  the  summer;  and  skating  and 
sleighing  in  the  winter. 

In  large  cities,  where  the  distances  to  school  are  con- 
siderable, and  where  the  habits  of  life  and  the  occupa- 
tions of  the  fathers  permit  having  dinner  late  in  the 
day,  the  undivided  session  deserves  an  unqualified 
preference,  and  has  come  generally  into  vogue.  In 
small  towns,  on  the  other  hand,  the  division  into  morn- 
ing and  afternoon  sessions  may  be  allowed,  since  dinner 
is  almost  always  eaten  at  noon,  and  the  school  can  be 
reached  in  a  short  time,  and  a  walk  in  the  open  air  can 
be  more  easily  obtained  than  in  the  large  city.  But 
the  regulation  of  the  Prussian  minister  of  education 
should  be  observed  in  every  case,  namely,  that  both 


200  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

boys  and  girls'  schools  must  have  their  session  at  the 
same  time,  since  brothers  and  sisters  would  otherwise 
eat  dinner  separately. 

Besides  the  recreation  periods  throughout  the  day,  we 
have  those  throughout  the  year, — the  vacations.  The 
length  of  the  latter  varies  not  only  with  the  different 
states  of  Germany  but  with  the  provinces  of  the  same 
state.  For  example,  according  to  Kunze's  calendar 
for  secondary  schools,  they  amount  to  81  days  in  Prus- 
sia, West  Prussia,  Pommerania,  Saxony,  the  govern- 
ment district  Kassel,  Frankfurt  a.  M.,  and  Homberg; 
80  days  in  Brandenburg  (including  Berlin)  and  Schles- 
wig-Holstein ;  78  days  in  Hannover;  76  days  in  West- 
phalia, and  75  in  Silesia;  and  74  in  Posen  and  the 
Rhine-province . 

As  Sundays  are  not  included  in  these  figures,  more 
than  a  quarter  of  the  year  is  free  from  school  work. 
A  teacher  in  a  gymnasium  in  Wiirtemberg  estimates 
that  of  the  365  days  in  the  year,  52  Sundays,  68  vacation 
days,  and  63  other  days  are  taken  out  from  the  work 
of  instruction  in  the  institution.  That  leaves  215 
school  days,  or  approximately  seven-twelfths  of  the 
year.  Since  mental  work  exhausts  the  nervous  system 
more  than  other  kinds  of  labor,  the  pupils  of  the 
higher  institutions  need  long  vacations;  and  a  school 
hygienist  can  observe  such  a  state  of  affairs  only  with 
satisfaction. 


VACATIONS  201 

Moreover,  observations  made  by  Kussian  medical 
experts  upon  9,500  pupils  in  40  different  institutions 
have  shown  that  the  influence  of  long  vacations  upon 
health  is  very  favorable,  since  the  amount  of  sickness 
in  the  succeeding  year  was  less  than  when  the  vacations 
were  shorter. 

There  is  still  greater  dissimilarity  in  the  different 
parts  of  Germany  with  respect  to  the  time  of  year 
when  vacations  come  than  with  respect  to  their  dura- 
tion. In  the  Protestant  section  of  Prussia,  the  long 
vacation  comes  in  the  middle  of  the  summer  semester ; 
while  it  comes  at  the  end  of  this  semester  in  Austria, 
South  and  West  Germany,  and  in  the  Catholic  gym- 
nasia in  Prussia.  The  latter  is  hygienically  the  better, 
because  the  pupils  have  in  this  case  a  feeling  of  per- 
fect freedom  since  the  examinations  are  over;  while, 
in  the  other  case,  the  final  or  promotion  examinations 
are  to  be  faced  a  few  weeks  after  their  return. 

Moreover,  it  is  best  to  have  a  period  of  rest  directly 
after  the  examinations.  A  committee  of  the  British 
medical  association  found  that  immediately  after  an 
examination  the  number  of  nervous  pupils  rose  from 
10  to  13.3^;  and  Ignatieff  ascertained  in  a  boarding 
school  in  Moscow  that  191  out  of  242  pupils  lost  on  an 
average  1516  grams  in  weight  during  the  period  of 
examinations.  A  demand  has  accordingly  come  from 
many  places  that  the  school  year  should  in  correspon- 
dence with  the  civil  year  be  divided  into  two  semesters, 


202  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

"beginning  January  and  July  respectively.  The  main 
vacations  at  the  end  would  then  come  about  Christmas 
and  St.  John's  day  (July  1). 

An  argument  for  this  plan  is  the  fact  that  the  maxi- 
mum summer  temperature  falls  in  the  North  of  Ger- 
many not  in  August  but  in  July ;  and,  in  fact,  at  the 
beginning  of  July.  Furthermore,  the  great  shorten- 
ing of  the  summer  semester,  when  Easter  comes  late, 
could  be  avoided ;  and  the  hard  winter's  work  could 
be  divided  evenly  between  the  two  half  years. 

The  purpose  of  the  vacations  is  to  give  teachers  and 
taught  an  opportunity  for  mental  and  bodily  recupera- 
tion, so  that  they  may  return  to  their  work  refreshed. 
The  Hungarian  minister  of  education,  Count  Csaky, 
accordingly  remonstrated  justly  against  the  many  re- 
views and  exercises  with  which  the  pupils  of  the  sec- 
ondary schools  are  wont  to  be  overburdened  in  vaca- 
tions. He  would  have  only  so  much  assigned  for 
learning  as  will  do  for  the  regular  lessons.  The  royal 
provincial  school  board  of  the  province  of  Branden- 
burg takes  the  same  stand.  It  ruled  that  there  should 
fae  no  special  tasks  for  the  shorter  vacations.  Such 
tasks  can  be  given  only  for  the  summer  vacation,  and 
must  be  limited  as  much  as  possible.  Due  allowance 
must  also  be  made  for  those  who  travel.  On  the  other 
hand,  pupils  of  the  upper  and  intermediate  classes  are 
to  be  encouraged  and  directed  to  suitable  self -employ- 
ment, especially  private  reading. 


VACATION    JOURNEYS  203 

In  these  regulations,  we  find  travel  already  men- 
tioned. Since  this  is  particularly  refreshing  for  both 
mind  and  body,  on  account  of  the  change  of  impres- 
sions and  continued  stay  in  the  open  air,  it  is  gratify- 
ing to  note  that  joint  vacation  trips1  by  pupils  are  all 
the  time  becoming  more  frequent.  Such  trips  have 
been  made,  among  others,  by  the  royal  gymnasium  at 
Danzig,  the  Falk  real-gymnasium  in  Berlin,  the  Mar- 
tino-Catharineum  gymnasium  of  Brunswick,  the  royal 
Christianeum  in  Altona,  and  the  real-gymnasium  at 
Dortmund. 

The  objective  point  has  usually  been  the  mountains 
of  middle  Germany;  but  there  have  also  been  longer 
excursions,  as  for  example  to  the  Carpathian  moun- 
tains and  to  Switzerland.  We  know  of  one  Prima 
that  under  the  leadership  of  its  headmaster  visited 
the  classical  localities  of  Italy  one  year,  and  those  of 
Greece  the  next.  Similarly,  100  pupils  from  the  second 
German  state  gymnasium  at  Briinn  with  the  director 
and  ten  teachers  made  a  vacation  trip  to  the  former 
Eoman  colony  of  Carnuntum  on  the  Danube.  The 
school  authorities  of  Trans  Caucasus  Russia  seem  to 
have  been  particularly  active  in  this  direction,  since  they 

1  Theodore  Bach,  Wanderungen,  Turnfahrten  und 
Schiilerreisen.  2d  Ed.  Leipzig,  1884.  Ed.  Strauch. 
— 0.  W.  Beyer,  Deutsche  Ferien wander ungen.  Schiil- 
erreisen  als  Auschauungsgange  in  deutscher  Landes- 
nnd  Volkskunde.  Leipzig,  1894,  G.  Reichardt. 


204  DAILY    PROGKAMME 

carried  through  a  seven  weeks  excursion  to  the  Elborus 
and  the  Caucasus  range,  in  which  fifty  pupils  of  the 
Tekaterinodar  Gymnasium  took  part.  They  climbed 
the  Vulkan  Pass  up  to  the  snow  limit,  and  crossed  the 
mountain  range. 

To  give  individual  pupils  an  opportunity  to  travel r 
school-rooms  have  been  fitted  up  in  the  Sudetas  moun- 
tains, the  Riesengebirge,  Bohemian  Switzerland,  and 
the  Jeschken,  Iser  and  Erzgebirge,  to  serve  in  vaca- 
tions as  modest  inns  for  gymnasiats  and  real-gymnasiats 
who  find  themselves  there  over  night.  In  1893,  there 
were  85  such  school  inns,  which  could  accommodate 
more  than  400  guests,  and  which  were  used  by  5,551 
young  people  during  the  summer  vacation.  Three 
years  later  the  number  of  inns  rose  to  103,  with  480 
beds  and  45  free  places;  and  they  entertained  6, '246 
people.  The  student  inns  of  t'he  German  and  Aus- 
trian Alpine  league,  though  to  be  sure  they  are  in- 
tended only  for  gymnasial  graduates  or  university 
students,  are  somewhat  similar  institutions.  Their 
number  at  present  is  over  1,000;  and  they  are  dis- 
tributed among  401  different  places,  of  which  157  are 
in  Tyrol,  82  in  Steiermark,  43  in  Karnten,  36  in  Ba- 
varia, 25  in  Yorarlberg,  14  in  Krain,  10  in  Upper 
Austria,  6  in  Lower  Austria,  and  1  in  Kustenland. 

While  the  charges  at  these  inns  are  very  moderate,, 
nevertheless,  free  vacation  colonies  for  the  higher 


VACATION    JOUKNEYS  205 

schools  have  also  heen  established.  This  movement 
was  begun  by  the  Hungarian  Association  of  secondary 
school  teachers,  by  having  a  number  of  gymnasiats  in 
groups  of  fifteen  to  twenty  take  a  trip  into  the  country 
without  cost.  The  Falk  real-gymnasium  of  Berlin 
placed  its  colonists,  mostly  from  the  Secunda  and 
Tertia,  but  also  some  from  the  Prima  and  Quarta,  in 
a  village  at  the  foot  of  the  Kynastgebirge.  For  needy 
.gymnasium  students  in  Vienna  there  is  a  special  vaca- 
tion resort  in  Steg  on  the  Hallstatter  See. 

Since  these  colonists  make  a  good  deal  of  games, 
gymnastics,  excursions,  and,  at  times,  of  swimming 
and  boating,  and  have  besides  abundant,  nourishing 
food,  the  results  have  been  excellent.  In  Steg,  for 
example,  the  colonists  gained  in  weight,  on  an  average, 
2.8  kg.,  in  1888;  3.3  kg.,  in  1889;  and  3.6  kg.,  in 
1890;  3.5  kg.,  in  1891;  and  3.6  kg.,  in  1892.  It  was 
reported,  moreover,  at  the  International  Congress  for 
Vacation  Colonies1  in  Zurich  that  the  chest  girth 
and  dynamometric  pressure  increased  in  the  colonists. 
This  corresponds  with  Goepel's2  statement  that  the 

1Verhandlungen  des  internationalen  Kongresses  fur 
Ferienkolonien  und  verwandte  Bestrebungen  der 
Kinderhygiene  in  Zurich  am  13  and  14  August,  1888. 
Hamburg  und  Leipzig,  1889,  Leop.  Voss. 

2Goepel  tiber  die  daurenden  Erfolge  der  Ferienkolo- 
nien. Braunschweig,  1895,  Fr.  Vieweg  und  Sohn. 


206  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

favorable  influence  of  vacation  colonies  in  strengthen- 
ing the  respiratory  processes  and  healing  catarrh  of  the 
lungs  is  not  to  be  ignored.  Finally,  Wyss  and  Stierlin 
have  been  able  to  show  that  a  cubic  millimeter  of 
blood  contained  on  an  average  1,138,400  more  corpus- 
cles after  the  stay  in  the  country  than  before. 

On  the  other  hand,  not  every  pupil  can  travel,  or 
spend  his  time  in  a  vacation  colony.  According  to  the 
Prussian  Cultus-minister,  only  a  fifth  of  the  pupils  get 
away  from  their  school  localities  for  any  time  at  all  dur- 
ing the  vacations.  Inquiries  at  the  Dorothea  muni- 
cipal gymnasium  in  Berlin  have  revealed  the  fact  that 
about  one-third  of  the  pupils  stay  at  home  altogether, 
another  third  go  away  for  only  a  few  days,  and  the 
last  third  spend  the  whole  time  of  the  vacation  in 
travel.  The  school  should  therefore  give  those  that 
stay  at  home  every  opportunity  for  recuperation  by 
gymnastic  games,  bathing,  swimming,  and  rambles  in 
the  woods  and  fields.  The  Falk  real-gymnasium  in 
Berlin  has  given  a  praiseworthy  example  in  this 
direction. 

Even  the  ancient  Greek  philosopher  Anaxagoras 
would  have  vacations  spent  in  games.  When  the  prin- 
cipal men  of  Lampsacus,  where  he  was  in  exile,  asked 
him  what  they  could  do  to  please  him,  he  replied  that 
they  would  do  so  if  they  would  give  the  children  every 
year  the  month  in  which  he  died,  free  for  games.  His 


DISMISSAL    IK    HOT    WEATHER  207 

wish  was  granted.  As  late  as  the  third  century  after 
Christ,  i.  e.,  700  years  later,  the  boys  of  Lampsacus 
had  their  vacation  games  in  the  month  in  which 
Anaxagoras  died. 

The  summer  vacations  come,  as  a  rule,  in  the  hottest 
part  of  the  year.  But,  as  there  are  very  warm  days 
at  other  times,  special  vacations  must  be  given  at  such 
emergencies. 

High  temperatures  are  so  exceedingly  exhausting  for 
mind  and  body  that  lessons  do  little  good ;  and  even 
being  in  the  class-rooms  and  on  the  way  to  school  may 
injure  the  health  of  the  pupils. 

Most  school  authorities  have  accordingly  decided 
that  some  of  the  lessons  may  be  omitted  when  the 
temperature  shall  have  reached  a  certain  point.  The 
ministry  of  Wiirtemberg  makes  it  20°  R  =  77°  F, 
since  it  ruled  in  1870  that  the  afternoon  session  might 
be  omitted  if  the  thermometer  rose  in  the  shade  to  20° 
R  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock.  In  1892,  the  Prussian 
minister  of  education  issued  a  decree  that,  when  the 
temperature  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  rose  to  25° 
C— 77°F  in  shade,  instruction  should  not  be  continued 
for  more  than  four  consecutive  hours,  nor  children  be 
compelled  to  come  to  school  twice  in  a  day.  The  rec- 
ommendation of  the  superior  K.  K.  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion of  Vienna  corresponds  exactly  with  this.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  government  board  of  the  Canton  Zug 


208  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

requires  a  temperature  of  27°  C=80f  F,  and  the 
Superior  school  board  of  Hamburg  a  temperature  of 
22°  R=81^°  F  before  work  can  be  suspended  in  the 
higher  schools. 

To  make  it  possible  to  determine  the  temperature 
exactly  an  accurate  thermometer,  provided  with  a  cas- 
ing of  wood  or  tin  to  shut  off  radiant  heat,  should  be 
hung  up  in  an  easily  accessible  place  on  the  school 
premises;  and  the  curator  of  the  physical  laboratory 
should  be  entrusted  with  the  taking  of  occasional 
readings.  It  is  desirable  to  test  it  now  and  then,  to 
see  that  the  pupils  play  no  pranks  with  it  by  breath- 
ing on  it,  or  otherwise.  Moreover,  a  mere  outdoor 
record  will  not  suffice;  and  the  Prussian  minister  of 
education  has  expressly  reminded  the  conductors  of 
higher  schools  that  this  does  not  relieve  them  from 
the  duty  of  ascertaining  whether  it  would  not  be  ad- 
visable, even  if  the  thermometer  at  ten  o'clock  does 
not  register  25°  C,  to  omit  a  part  of  the  school  work 
on  account  of  some  unusual  conditions  of  temperature 
such  as  excessive  heat  on  the  previous  day,  or  con- 
tinued sultriness  in  the  class-rooms,  or  the  distances  of 
the  pupils  from  school.  Thus,  local  conditions  must 
also  be  taken  into  account,  especially  the  situation  of 
the  building,  the  size  and  ventilation  of  the  school- 
rooms, the  number  of  pupils  instructed  simultaneously 
in  it,  etc. 


DISMISSAL   IN    HOT   WEATHER  209 

Some  have  suggested,  that,  when  school  has  to  be 
dismissed  on  account  of  heat,  the  pupils  should  be 
taken  out  for  walks,  or  be  allowed  to  have  games  on 
the  campus,  if  this  is  large  enough  to  permit  it.  This 
should,  however,  only  be  done  when  they  can  walk  or 
play  in  the  shade,  and  when  the  games  are  not  too 
severe. 

In  spite  of  vacations,  the  pupils  may,  nevertheless, 
be  overburdened1.  The  home  is  often  to  blame  for 
this.  In  the  first  place,  many  children  are  sent  to 
school  too  young.  As  is  well  known,  the  sixth  year  is 
generally  looked  upon  as  the  most  suitable  age  for 
school  work  to  begin.  Up  to  the  end  of  this  year, 
the  brain  is  still  growing  vigorously.  Its  increase  in 
weight  in  the  first  seven  years  is  830  g.,  while  in  the 
next  seven  years  is  only  61  g. 

On  the  other  hand,  even  pupils  who  have  completed 
the  sixth  year  do  not  always  have  the  necessary  strength 
of  body  and  mind  for  the  demands  of  the  school. 
The  Berlin  Medical  Association  has  accordingly  sug- 
gested that  pupils  should  be  examined,  and  that  those 

*L.  Kotelmann,  1st  die  heutige  Jugend  der  hoheren 
Lehranstalten  mit  Schularbeit  iiberbiirdet  ?  Ham- 
burg, 1881,  C.  Boysen. — Clemens  Xohl,  Wie  Kann  die 
Uberbiirdung  unserer  Jugend  auf  hoheren  Lehranstal- 
ten mit  Erfol  gentgegengewirkt  werden  ?  Neuwied 
und  Leipzig,  1892,  L.  Heuser. 


210  DAILY  'PROGRAMME 

be  excluded  from  attending  school  who  are  distinctly 
behind  the  average  in  general  physical  development. 
Prominent  school  men  have  in  general  proposed  that 
boys  who  are  destined  for  the  classical  or  real  gymna- 
sium or  the  superior  real-school  should  not  be  received 
before  the  end  of  the  seventh  year.  Older  pupils,  as  a 
rule,  do  the  same  amount  of  work  as  the  younger  in  a 
shorter  time. 

Another  mistake  sometimes  made  by  parents  is  to 
place  boys  in  the  higher  schools  when  their  mental 
ability  is  not  adequate  for  the  work.  The  gymnasia 
of  the  smaller  cities  justly  complain  that  they  have  to 
carry  a  ballast  of  mediocre  pupils  who  care  for  nothing 
else  in  their  work  but  to  secure  thereby  the  privilege 
of  the  single  year  in  military  service.  The  multipli- 
cation of  real-schools  which  are  without  Latin,  through 
the  reform  movement  in  Pussia,  is  therefore  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  great  step  in  advance.  In  this  re- 
spect'Hamburg  may  be  taken  as  a  model,  where,  be- 
sides two  gymnasia,  one  real-gymnasium,  and  one 
superior  real-school,  we  find  fourteen  real-schools 
without  Latin,  some  public,  and  some  private. 

Furthermore,  the  home  work  of  pupils  is  often  not 
properly  arranged ;  they  have  neither  quiet  nor  direc- 
tion; and,  what  is  worse,  they  are  so  distracted  by  re- 
ceptions, theaters,  and  concerts  that  they  fail  to  have 
the  necessary  concentration  for  the  outside  school 
tasks.  Is  it  a  marvel  if  they  sit  up  late  nights  at  their 


OVER-PRESSURE  211 

work  and  can  not  follow  the  instruction  given  the  next 
day? 

Finally,  the  many  private  lessons  with  which  parents- 
load  their  children  may  lead  to  mental  over-pressure. 
Tutoring,  or  coaching,  is  a  favorite  form  of  such  work  ; 
but  it  is  not  only  unnecessary,  if  the  school  work  is 
properly  arranged,  but  may  even  disturb  and  counter- 
act the  latter. 

Too  many  music  lessons,  often  for  pupils  wholly 
without  talent,  is  a  no  less  prominent  evil.  Nearly  all 
the  feeble,  overworked,  and  distracted  pupils  in  one  in- 
stitution, where  inquiry  was  made,  practised  one  to  two 
hours  daily  on  the  piano.  To  be  sure,  music  cannot  be 
counted  as  an  alien  subject,  even  though  Kant  objected 
to  it,  as  being  an  "intrusive  art";  but  instruction  in 
it  should  keep  within  reasonable  limits.  Especially 
should  lessons  on  the  piano  not  be  given  before  the 
twelfth  year,  and  then  only  to  strong  and  talented 
pupils. 

Moreover,  the  school  may  itself  be  to  blame  for 
overwork  on  the  part  of  the  young  people  in  its 
charge.  Of  course  not  every  serious  demand  upon 
their  mental  activity  must  be  looked  upon  as  over-pres- 
sure. At  a  time  when  the  struggle  for  existence 
becomes  ever  more  severe  it  behooves  the  pupils  of 
our  higher  institutions  especially  to.  keep  in  mind: 
Trj?  ffaperr)?  ISpcora  deol  7rpO7rdpoi6ev  e 


The  Gods  give  excellence  through  toil. 


212  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

Nevertheless,  the  amount  of  study  at  home  can 
easily  become  too  great  through  excessive  enthusiasm 
of  departmental  teachers,  defective  concentration  in 
the  course  of  study,  the  increase  of  materials  in  cer- 
tain subjects,  and  often  the  over-crowding  of  class- 
rooms. 

At  the  Berlin  Reform  Conference,  the  German  em- 
peror said  of  the  Kassel  gymnasium  attended  by  him : 
"We  were  compelled  to  hand  to  the  director  every 
morning  a  card  with  the  number  of  hours  we  had  to 
study  to  prepare  the  lessons  for  the  day.  I  will  only 
mention  the  number  in  the  Prima,  on  this  occasion. 
Now,  gentlemen,  according  to  thoroughly  reliable 
reports — in  my  case  they  could  be  controlled  by  privy 
councillor  Hinzpeter — 5J,  6J  to  7  hours  were  required 
for  the  home  assignments." 

A  very  careful  inquiry  into  the  amount  of  home  work 
at  the  superior  state  real-school  at  Teschen  has  also 
been  made.  Here  this  amounted  to  two  to  three  hours 
daily  for  the  four  lower  classes,  and  three  to  five  hours 
for  the  upper  classes.  Many  pupils  of  class  III  and 
most  of  VII  studied  as  a  rule  to  midnight  or  longer. 
In  the  latter  class  this  can  be  partly  explained  by  the 
fact  that  the  pupils  at  the  time  of  the  investigation 
were  approaching  the  final  written  examination  and 
were  consequently  reviewing  as  well  as  carrying  on  the 
regular  work. 


STUDY    AT    HOME 


213 


Such  being  the  conditions,  governments  and  com- 
missions appointed  by  them  have  endeavored  to  deter- 
mine the  amount  of  work  which  may  be  required  of 
pupils  in  the  different  classes,  or,  in  other  words,  how 
many  hours  of  school  and  home  work  are  permissible. 

According  to  the  expert  commission  for  the  second- 
ary schools  of  Elsass-Lothringen  the  maximum  per 
week  should  be  as  follows: 


Age 

Class 

SCHOOL  INSTRUCTION 

Home 
work 

School 
and 
home 
work 

Study 

Singing 

Gym- 
nastics 

Total 

7,  8 
9 
10,  11 
12  13,14 
15,  16,  17,  18 

IX,  VIII 
VII 
VI,  V 
IV,  III 

II,  I 

18 
20 
24 
26 
30 

1 

1 
2 
2 

11 

2-3 
2 
2 

21-2H 
23-23* 
28-29 
30 
34 

A 

8 
12 
12-18 

23-24* 

28-29* 
36-37 
42 
46-52 

In  this  case  both  the  work  in  school  and  at  home  is 
taken  into  account;  while  most  school  administrations 
are  content  to  fix  a  special  limit  for  the  home  work  of 
the  pupils  of  the  higher  institutions.  In  this  connec- 
tion the  following  table  giving  the  number  of  hours 
for  the  home  tasks  per  week  is  instructive : 


Class  (I  is  lowest) 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

Prussia 

6 

9 

12 

12 

15 

15 

18 

18 

18 

Bavaria  

Wurtemberg.  .  .  . 
Grand  D.  Hessen 

6 
7 
3-4 

12 
7 
3-4 

12 
12* 
3-4 

12 

ia* 

3-4 

12 

12* 

6 

18 
12* 
6 

18 
12* 
12-15 

18 
12* 
12-18 

18 
12* 

18 

In  comparing  the  above  figures,  we  must  keep  in 
mind  that  the  weekly  programmes  of  the  gymnasium 
and  real  gymnasium  differ  somewhat  in  different  states. 


214  DATLY    PROGRAMME 

In  Bavaria  the  total  number  of  hours  per  week  for  the 
classes  I  to  IX,  inclusive  of  writing,  drawing,  and 
gymnastics,  is  236;  in  Wiirtemberg,  on  the  other 
hand,  for  the  corresponding  classes  II  to  X,  it  is  283, 
or  47  hours  a  week  more,  which  explains  the  relatively 
small  number  of  hours  devoted  in  the  middle  and 
higher  classes  in  the  latter  country  to  home  work. 
The  Wiirtemberg  ministry  for  church  and  school  affairs 
has,  moreover,  lately  ordained  that  the  home  tasks, 
including  the  memorizing  work,  shall  not  require 
more  than  one  hour  on  full  school  days  and  one  and 
one-half  hours  on  the  half  days,  for  the  classes  from 
I  to  III;  and,  one  and  one-half,  and  two  hours,  re- 
spectively, for  class  IV.  The  home  work  in  the  other 
classes  is  to  occupy  1  \  to  2  hours  on  full  school  days ; 
and  2J  to  3,  on  the  days  with  a  free  afternoon.  In  the 
case  of  classes  Y  to  YII  the  amount  of  work  is  to  be 
kept  near  the  lower  limit  of  11  hours  per  week. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  ministry  does  not  believe 
that  the  course  should  be  made  any  easier  for  the 
upper  classes,  VIII  to  X,  since  this  would  interfere 
with  the  aims  of  the  school  and  with  the  habituation 
to  independent  activity  which  is  especially  important 
at  this  age. 

Besides  limiting  the  amount  of  home  study,  the 
authorities  have  also  adopted  other  measures  to  pre- 
vent over-pressure.  A  ministerial  enactment  for  the 
higher  schools  of  Prussia  requires  that  an  investigation 


IMPROVED    METHODS  215 

shall  be  made  at  the  first  teachers'  meeting  of  each 
semester  to  see  if  the  pupils  are  over-loaded  with 
home  work  in  any  of  the  classes.  Especially  are  com- 
plaints that  may  have  come  in  from  parents  to  be  care- 
fully looked  into  at  this  meeting ;  and  whatever  may 
be  done  to  adjust  matters  is  to  be  entered  on  the 
records. 

It  is  also  very  gratifying  from  the  hygienic  stand- 
point that  the  amount  of  work  in  some  subjects  has 
been  diminished.  As  is  well  known,  there  has  been  a 
reduction  in  the  study  of  the  classics  in  most  German 
states  in  the  humanistic  as  well  as  in  the  scientific 
institutions;  and,  as  regards  instruction  in  science, 
the  latest  Bavarian  regulations  prohibit  entirely  the 
use  of  a  text-book,  on  the  ground  that  the  main  pur- 
pose of  this  line  of  work  is  to  train  the  eye  and  develop 
interest  and  pleasure  in  the  observation  of  nature. 

The  simplification  of  the  subject  matter  has  been 
accompanied  by  an  improvement  in  the  methods  of  in- 
struction. The  reforms  demand  that  as  much  effort 
be  expended  in  developing  interest  as  in  communi- 
cating knowledge;  that  the  memory  be  used  less, 
and.  the  judgment  more;  that  written  work  be 
limited,  and  the  spontaneous  activity  of  the  pupil 
be  promoted  to  develop  his  own  peculiar  talents; 
that  extempore  recitations  and  written  transpositions 
be  not  overestimated;  that  the  younger  pupils  be 
given  a  preparation  for  the  reading  to  be  done  in  the 


216  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

recitation ;  that  no  lesson  be  assigned  in  the  morning 
for  the  afternoon ;  and  that  no  task  of  any  sort  be  set 
as  a  punishment. 

The  fulfilment  of  these  requirements  can  be  counted 
on  the  more,  since  the  pedagogical  and  didactic  train- 
ing of  teachers  is  ever  growing  better  through  the 
University  seminaries,  and  the  trial  and  practice  year, 
which  succeeds  the  year  of  theoretical  study  in  them. 

Lastly,  the  lessening  of  the  severity  of  the  final 
examinations  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the 
new  school  programmes  may  be  mentioned  as  a  pro- 
tective measure  against  over-pressure.  The  graduates 
of  the  gymnasium  have  been  relieved  not  only  from 
writing  the  Latin  composition,  but  also  from  using 
Latin  in  the  oral  examination,  which  has  been  limited 
to  five  subjects  with  increased  privileges  of  substitu- 
tion and  exemption.  The  oral  examination  of  the 
real-gymnasiasts  includes  also  only  five  branches,  and 
pupils  are  allowed  the  same  exemptions  and  substitu- 
tions as  the  gymnasiasts.  It  only  remains  to  be  hoped 
that  the  examination  for  promotion  from  Lower  to 
Upper  Secunda  will  either  be  entirely  omitted  or  else 
be  greatly  simplified,  especially  since  it  comes  directly 
in  the  period  of  puberty. 

When,  nevertheless,  overpressure  exists,  it  is  likely 
to  show  itself  in  the  pupils  by  cephalic  congestions. 
This  is  to  explained  by  the  fact  that  every  organ  in 
action  at  once  receives  an  increased  blood  supply  by 


SCHOOL   HEADACHES  217 

the  expansion  of  its  arteries.  Since,  as  we  know, 
more  blood  flows  through  a  working  than  a  resting 
muscle,  the  same  is  doubtless  true  of  the  brain.  We 
all  know  from  experience  how  readily,  during  mental 
labor,  the  hands  and  feet  get  cold,  while  the  head 
gets  hot.  By  means  of  sensitive  thermopiles  it  has 
been  possible  to  show  that  the  temperature  of  the  head 
increases  in  proportion  to  the  intensity  of  mental  effort. 
Now  a  strong  rush  of  blood  to  the  head  gives  rise  to 
headache ;  and  the  frequent  occurrence  of  this  among 
the  school  population  has  been  demonstrated  repeat- 
edly. As  early  as  1869,  Virchow  called  attention  to 
the  matter;  and  this  has  since  been  done  by  Rossbach, 
Krafft-Ebing,  Keller,  Hertel,  Axel  Key,  Hakonson- 
Hansen,  Bresgen1,  and  others.  Some  speak  of  it  simply 
as  school -headaches,  or  "  cephalalgie  scolaire  ". 

Since  overwork  is  more  common  in  the  higher  than 
in  the  lower  schools,  this  headache  occurs  more  fre- 
quently in  the  former  than  in  the  latter.  Bystroff  found 
only  11.6  %  of  7,478  elementary  pupils  suffering  from 
habitual  headache ;  while  Guillaume  found  28.3  %  in  the 
municipal  college  at  Xeufchatel,  and  Becker,  80.8  %  in 
the  prima  of  the  gymnasium  at  Darmstadt.  I  ascer- 
tained, myself,  that  there  was  quite  a  regular  increase 

1  Maximilian  Bresgen,  Die  Ursachen  des  nervosen 
Kopfschmerzes  der  Schulkinder.  Wien,  1894,  Urban 
und  Schwarzenberg. 


218  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

in  the  ailment  toward  the  upper  classes  in  the  Johan- 
neuni  gymnasium  at  Hamburg.  If  this  may  be  said 
to  point  to  the  unwholesome  influence  of  excessive 
mental  strain,  so  also  does  the  fact  that  pupils  often 
come  home  with  a  headache,  especially  when  the  in- 
struction has  lasted  a  long  time. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  must  not  forget  that  the 
headaches  of  the  pupils  may  be  caused  by  many  other 
things.  Charcot  has  called  attention  to  the  peculiar 
"  cephalaea  adolescentium  ",  as  he  names  it.  Those 
suffering  from  it,  have  a  constant  headache,  which  pre- 
vents them  from  doing  any  work ;  while  school  head- 
ache is  recurrent  with  longer  or  shorter  intervals. 
Sufferers  from  these  troubles  belong  to  nervous  or 
gouty  families  and  are  liable  to  complain  of  palpitation 
of  the  heart,  which  is  sometimes  due  to  an  enlarge- 
ment of  this  organ.  As  other  aetiological  factors  in 
the  production  of  headaches  in  school,  may  be  men- 
tioned diseases  of  the  brain,  the  nose,  the  throat,  the 
ear,  the  teeth,  and  especially  the  functional  disorders 
of  the  eye.  Sometimes  the  retina  is  too  sensitive, 
sometimes  the  power  of  accommodation  is  insufficient ; 
and  again,  the  muscles  employed  in  near  vision  become 
too  easily  fatigued.  Hence,  when  pupils  are  affected 
with  headaches,  an  examination  of  their  eyes  should 
not  be  neglected,  since  they  can  often  be  relieved  by 
convex  or  prismatic  glasses. 

When  there  is  a  rush  of  blood  into  the  head,  there 


NOSEBLEED 


219 


is  one  also  into  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  nose. 
That  is  the  reason  nosebleed  is  of  such  frequent 
occurence  among  pupils.  According  to  Eulenberg, 
tall,  slim  boys,  who  have  grown  up  rapidly,  are  most 
subject  to  the  trouble.  This  investigator  thinks  he 
has  also  noticed  that  many  kinds  of  school  work 
predispose  to  nosebleed. 

Only  a  few  statistics  on  the  subject  are  at  hand. 
Eight  per  cent  of  the  pupils  at  Mulhausen,  and  11.3  % 
of  3,504  children  at  Darmstadt  were  found  to  be  thus 
afflicted.  Guillaume  ascertained  that  77  out  of  350 
boys,  or  2*2  #,  had  the  nosebleed. 

The  following  table  shows  how  these  cases  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  different  classes : 


I 

Class 

An? 

Number  of 

Number  with 

Per  cent  with 

pupils 

nosebleed 

nosebleed 

V 

7-9 

127 

44 

34.6 

IV 

8-11 

89 

11 

12.3 

III 

10-13 

72 

12 

16.6 

II 

12-15 

39 

9 

20.0 

I 

14-16 

23 

1 

4.3 

These  results  seem  to  show  that  nosebleed  dimin- 
ishes in  the  upper  classes;  but  the  number  of  older 
pupils  examined  is  too  small  for  general  conclusions 
in  accordance  with  the  principle  requiring  large  groups 
of  cases.  In  fact,  in  Darmstadt,  Becker  obtained  a 
result  directly  opposite  to  that  of  Guillaume.  He 
says  that  nosebleed  is  most  frequent  in  the  upper 


220  DAILY    PKOGRAMME 

classes  of  the  gymnasium,  and  varies  with  the  length 
of  attendance  at  school  and  the  lack  of  fresh  air. 

This  corresponds  with  a  statement  made  by  Axel 
Key1  on  the  basis  of  a  very,  extensive  investigation. 
In  the  full  graded  higher  institutions  of  Sweden,  5.5  % 
of  the  pupils  of  the  lowest  class  were  suffering  from 
recurring  nosebleed,  which  increased  considerably  in 

Class  II,  remained  constant  in  Class  III,  and  showed 

• 
some  diminution  in  Class  IV,  both  in  the  Latin  and 

scientific  divisions.  In  the  Latin  division,  by  itself , 
nosebleed  increased  up  to  7  %  in  Class  V,  and  then 
remained  constant  till  it  reached  the  maximum  of 
8.1$  in  Class  VII  B.  In  the  scientific  division,  the 
curve  remained  below  that  of  the  Latin  division  after 
the  drop  in  Class  IV,  but  reached  its  maximum  the 
same  as  the  former  in  Class  VII  B  with  6.4$.  Since 
there  is  a  distinct  tendency  toward  an  increase  of  nose- 
bleed in  the  upper  classes,  the  influence  of  mental 
strain  in  its  production  can  hardly  be  denied. 

Another  consequence  of  over-pressure,  namely  nerv- 
ousness, is  more  serious  than  either  headache  or  nose- 
bleed. Whoever  will  carefully  observe  the  people 
about  him,  will  hardly  need  a  special  proof  that  over- 
exertion  of  the  nervous  system  is  a  pathological  symp- 

JAxel  Keys  Schulhygienische  Untersuchungen.  In 
deutscher  Bearbeitung  herausgegeben  von  Leo  Burger- 
stein.  Hamburg  und  Leipzig,  1889,  Leop.  Voss. 


OVER-STIMULATED   NERVES  221 

torn  of  our  time  as  well  on  this  side  as  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  According  to  Erb,  poetry  has 
become  coarsely  naturalistic,  and  music  excessively 
loud ;  even  painting  does  not  recoil  from  the  ugly  and 
the  horrible.  Science  becomes  an  ever  more  exhaust- 
ing occupation,  the  more  it  differentiates  into  special- 
ties. To  the  excitements  of  a  profession,  must  be 
added  the  haste  in  living,  the  hunt  for  fortune,  the 
insatiable  appetite  for  pleasure,  and  the  fierce  politi- 
cal, social,  and  religious  struggles. 

These  things  shock  and  injure  the  nervous  system; 
and  consequently  not  only  is  our  fin  de  siecle  over- 
stocked with  nervous  men  and  women,  but  the  nervous 
diathesis  is  being  transmitted  by  heredity  to  our  de- 
scendants. Pupils  from  the  higher  ranks,  especially, 
often  enter  school  with  neuropathic  trouble,  as  has 
been  clearly  shown  by  Schuschny1  by  his  observations 
in  the  superior  state  real-school  at  Budapest. 

The  school  may  itself  be  the  cause  of  the  over-stimu- 
lation of  the  nervous  system.  The  whole  character 
of  the  school  work,  the  ever  recurring  rivalries,  exam- 
inations, promotions,  and,  not  the  least,  the  many 
kinds  of  punishments,  most  of  which  fall  on  the  same 
pupils,  are  well  fitted  to  generate  nervousness  or  to  de- 
velop such  a  disposition  if  already  present.  "  I  have  the 

iHeinrich  Schuschny,  Beitrage  Zur  Xervositiit  der 
Schuljugend.  Jena,  1895,  Gust.  Fischer. 


222  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

impression,"  so  writes  a  well-known  educator,  "that 
this  reckless  hurry,  and  impatient  struggle  for  the  best 
possible  results  often  produce  a  pace  which  brings 
excitement  instead  of  composure,  over-stimulation  in- 
stead of  stimulation, — in  brief,  nervousness,  instead  of 
safe  and  steady  progress." 

As  will  be  readily  understood,  these  phenomena  are 
more  liable  to  appear  in  the  secondary  schools  than  in 
the  elementary  schools;  and  the  number  of  nervous 
pupils  is  also  greater  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter. 
According  to  Warner,  351,  or  6.5$,  of  5,344  elemen- 
tary pupils  in  London  had  neurapathic  symptoms; 
while  according  to  Xesteroif1  71,  or  32$,  of  216  pupils 
in  a  gymnasium  in  Moscow  were  similarly  affected. 
In  the  latter,  nervous  trouble  increased  quite  rapidly 
and  steadily  from  class  to  class. 

The  neurasthenic  pupils  numbered  in  the  prepara- 
tory class  8  0;  in  class  I  15  0;  in  class  II  22  <f>\  in  class 
III  280;  in  class  IV  44  0;  in  class  V  27  0;  in  class  VI 
58  0;  in  class  VII  64  0;  in  class  VIII  69  0. 

It  was,  also,  possible  to  show  that,  in  correspondence 
with  this,  neurasthenia  increased  with  the  age  of  the 
pupils,  especially  from  the  fifteenth  year  onward. 
Nesteroff  found  that  of  the  588  pupils  in  the  board- 

1 W.  Xesteroff,  Die  Moderne  Schule  und  die  Gesund- 
heit.  Zeitschrift  fiir  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1890, 
Xo.  6,  p.  313  ff. 


OVER-STIMULATED    NERVES 


223 


ing  school  connected  with  the  above  mentioned  gym- 
nasium the  following  per  cent  were  nervous. 


v^ 

k'l 

o>    -s 

2 

S?   S 

"e  s 

1 

PI 

||| 

11 

Gi 

HI 

1|| 

?! 

I  i 

s 

* 

ri 

|i 

~ir 

20 

0 

0.00 

15 

44 

4 

9.09 

10 

48 

4 

8.33 

16 

48 

16 

33.33 

11 

100 

20 

20.00 

17 

48 

32 

6666 

12 

72 

12 

16.66 

18 

36 

20 

55.55 

13 

60 

12 

20.00 

19 

36 

28 

77.77 

14 

48 

12 

25.00 

20 

28 

12 

4*.  85 

That  the  numbers  here  are  not  so  regular  as  in  the 
previous  table,  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  only 
those  are  put  down  as  nervous  who  have  sought  aid 
for  their  trouble  from  the  doctor  of  the  institution. 

With  respect  to  the  character  of  the  disorders,  it 
was  impossible  to  find  a  single  case  of  a  definitely 
developed,  completed  form  of  nervous  diseases.  But 
careful  questioning  and  examination  brought  out  the 
fact  that  a  very  large  number  of  them  were  suffering 
from  general  nervous  disturbances  in  the  form  of 
neurasthenia.  There  was,  in  the  first  place,  a  ten- 
dency toward  rapid  mental  and  bodily  fatigue.  Besides 
this,  there  was  increased  psychic  irritability;  the  boys 
were  sensitive;  their  imagination  was  excited;  and 
they  frequently  complained  of  sleeplessness. 

This  irritability  in  connection  with  long  continued 
stimulation  also  made  itself  felt  in  the  field  of  the 
general  and  special  senses.  In  addition,  there  were 


224  DAILY    PBOGKAMME 

many  neuralgias,  mostly  intercostal  and  gastric; 
disturbances  of  the  sympathetic  nervous  system,  as 
was  shown  by  the  ready  paling  and  flushing  of  the 
face ;  and  neuroses  of  the  heart,  with  palpitation  and 
pericardial  anxiety ;  in  the  case  of  the  pupils  of  the 
upper  classes  there  were  also  sexual  neuroses  with  fre- 
quent pollutions. 

Even  if  nervous  disorders  are  not  so  numerous  in 
the  higher  schools  of  Germany,  it  is,  nevertheless,  de- 
sirable for  teachers  to  watch  for  the  symptoms  de- 
scribed. If  a  pupil  is  found  to  have  neurasthenia,  the 
prognosis  is  usually  favorable.  A  lessening  of  the 
mental  work  with  a  corresponding  increase  of  physical 
activity  is  of  great  value.  If  health  leaves  by  way  of 
the  head  it  can  be  saved  by  the  muscles,  but  there  is 
no  time  to  lose,  says  Fonsagrive*. 

All  sorts  of  gymnastics  and  outdoor  sports  such  as 
cycling1  are  therefore  to  be  recommended,  provided 
they  are  not  carried  to  excess ;  the  Prussian  minister 
of  education  has  especially  called  attention  to  bowling 
for  boys  in  boarding  schools. 

*"  La  sante  s'en  va  par  le  cerveau;  elle  peut  etre 
sauvee  par  les  muscles,  mais  il  n'y  a  pas  de  temps  a 
perdre." 

^egemann,  Uber  den  Fahrradbetrieb  aoi  Konig- 
lichen  gymnasium  zu  Xeu-Ruppin.  Zeitschrift  fur 
Turnen  und  Jugendspiel,  1897. 


MANUAL   TRAINING  225 

Manual  training1  can,  also,  be  designated  as  a  suitable 
means  for  increasing  depressed  nerve  force,  refreshing 
mind  and  body  after  mental  exertion,  and  making 
pupils  again  capable  of  learning.  To  be  sure,  paper, 
cartonnage,  and  paste-board  work,  notching  and  other 
wood  carving,  hammering  and  clinching  wire  and  tin, 
and  modelling  in  plastilina  and  clay,  have  only  a  small 
hygienic  value2. 

On  the  other  hand,  work  at  the  joiner's  bench,  and 
still  more  work  in  the  garden  is  of  great  importance, 
not  only  for  physical  education  in  general  but  specially 
for  the  restoration  of  an  enfeebled  nervous  system. 
Where  special  work  shops  exist,  as  at  the  gymnasium 
and  real-gymnasium  in  Detmold,  the  Falk  real-gym- 
nasium in  Berlin,  and  the  gymnasia  in  Gorlitz  and 
Heidelberg,  neurasthenic  boys  should  consequently 
seek  employment  in  them. 

Abundance  of  sleep  is,  however,  the  great  remedy 
for  such  pupils.  Every  boy  in  the  Sexta,  doubtless 

^Voldemar  Gotze,  Schulhandfertigkeit.  Ein  prak- 
tischer  Versuch,  den  Handfertigkeits  Unterricht  mit 
der  Schule  in  Verbindung  zu  Setzen.  Leipzig,  1894, 
J.  C.  Hinrichs. 

2 Otto  Janke,  Die  Hygiene  der  Knabenhandarbeit. 
Beitrage  Zur  gesundheitsgemassen  Ausgestaltung  des 
Handarbeitsunterrichts  fiir  Knabeii.  Hamburg  und 
Leipzig,  1893,  Leop.  Voss. 


226 


DAILY    PROGRAMME 


learns,  "  Sex  septemve  horas  dormisse  sat  est  juvenique 
senique,"  (to  sleep  six  or  seven  hours  is  sufficient  for 
young  and  old) ;  but  there  are  few  statements  so  false  as 
that.  Mature  persons  in  good  health  may  find  it 
sufficient,  but  it  will  not  do  for  children;  and  when 
the  youngster  wrote  instead  of  "  septemve  ",  "  sep- 
temque"  he  came  nearer  the  truth. 

To  be  sure,  it  is  hard  to  say  just  how  much  sleep  a 
boy  of  a  certain  age  needs.  It  depends  upon  many 
circumstances.  The  feeble  and  sickly  should  have 
more  sleep  than  strong  children ;  the  body  should  have 
more  rest  in  winter  than  in  summer.  More  sleep  is 
needed  in  cold  than  in  warm  climates.  In  general,  we 
may  say  that  in  the  climate  of  Prussia  young  pupils 
require  ten  hours  sleep,  and  those  more  mature  eight 
to  nine;  some  say  that  children  should  sleep  even  11 
to  12  hours  a  day  the  first  year  in  school.  Where  too 
great  demands  have  been  made  upon  the  immature 
brain,  and  nervous  disturbances  have  been  produced, 
these  numbers  must  be  considered  mimimal. 

Nevertheless,  even  these  are  not  nearly  attained  in 
the  higher  schools  of  Denmark  and  Sweden.  The 
government  investigating  commission  gives  the  follow- 
ing table  for  the  average  length  of  sleep  of  Swedish 
gymnasiasts  and  real-gymnasiasts. 

DURATION    OF   SLEEP   IN    HOURS    AND   MINUTES 


United  grades 

Latin  division 

Science  division 

I 

M 

ii 

III 

IV 

V 

8,0 

VIA 

VIB 

VIIAJVIIB 

IV 

V 
8/T 

VIA 

VIB  VII  A 

VII  B 
7,0 

8,42 

8,36 

8,12 

7,42 

7,24 

7,18,     7,12 

8,18 

7.42 

7,36      7,18 

MUCH    SLEEP    NECESSAKY  227 

Key  (see  page  220)  also  found  in  his  investigations 
in  Stockholm  that  those  pupils  who  slept  less  than  was 
necessary  for  their  age  had  5  %  more  sickness  in  the 
upper,  and  8  %  more  in  the  lower  grades  than  their 
comrades  who  had  sufficient  sleep.  The  number  of 
hours  of  sleep  in  the  upper  classes  of  the  K.  K» 
Theresia  Academy  in  Vienna  is  also  too  small.  The 
pupils  in  Class  VII  are  allowed  to  stay  up  till  9.30, 
those  in  Class  VIII  till  11  or  12  o'clock,  though  they 
must  be  up  at  six  in  the  morning.  Otherwise,  the 
time  allotted  to  sleep  amounts  on  an  average  to  nine 
hours,  from  9  P.  M.  to  6  A.  M.,  except  that  the 
younger  boarding  students  up  to  Class  II  in  the  gym- 
nasium have  more  time.  Statistics  covering  several 
years  shows  that  the  conditions  at  the  gymnasium  at 
Giessen  differ  more  than  those  of  the  Theresianum 
from  the  Swedish. 

The  duty  to  see  that  pupils,  especially  those  who 
are  neurasthenic,  have  sufficient  sleep,  belongs  in  the 
first  place  to  the  family,  which  has  much  to  answer  for 
in  this  respect.  But  the  school  may  also  interfere, 
either  by  having  the  pupils  work  too  late  at  night  or 
by  beginning  instruction  too  early  in  the  morning. 
In  large  cities,  as  is  shown  by  the  investigations  of 
Griesbach  and  Wagner,  it  should  not  commence  in 
summer  till  eight,  and  in  winter  till  nine  o'clock; 
while  in'small  towns  it  may  be  an  hour  earlier.  In 


228  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

any  case,  the  difference  between  astronomical  and 
middle  European  time  must  be  taken  into  account. 

If  nervous  pupils  are  not  helped  by  plenty  of  sleep, 
the  question  of  relieving  them  entirely  from  study 
must  then  be  considered.  As  a  disease  that  is  pro- 
duced, so  to  spea'k,  experimentally,  school  neurasthenia 
is  likely  to  disappear  with  the  removal  of  the  cause. 
A  rest  for  several  months  or  a  whole  semester  is  not 
always  necessary ;  but,  as  Friedmann  says,  a  four  weeks 
summer  vacation  at  the  seashore  or  in  the  mountains 
is  often  sufficient. 

Mental  disease1  is  not  produced  with  anything  like 
the  frequency  of  nervousness,  by  over-pressure  in  the 
schools.  It  is  very  rarely  found  in  children  under 
fifteen.  Of  the  40,076  lunatics  received  into  the  Prus- 
sian asylums  between  1886  and  1888,  4.0  %  were  below 
15  years  of  age;  25.4$  between  15  and  30;  50.7$ 
between  30  and  50;  and  19.6$  from  50  upwards. 
Emminghaus  found  an  average  of  0.69  insane  from 
the  6th  to  the  10th  year,  and  1.46  from  the  llth  to 
the  15th  for  each  10,000  inhabitants;  while  Deboutte- 
ville  ascertained  that  among  the  insane  admitted  to 
Saint- Yon  from  1827to  1834,0.9  $  were  between  5  and 
9;  3.5  $  between  10  and  14;  and  20$  between  15  and 
20  years  of  age.  Finally,  Turnham  found  among 

Christian  Ufer,  Geistesstornngen  in  der  Schule. 
Wiesbaden,  1891,  J.  F.  Bergmann. 


MENTAL    DISEASES  229 

21,333  mentally  diseased,  only  8  who  were  below  10 
years  of  age;  this  of  course  does  not  include  the  feeble- 
minded, who  are  much  more  numerous. 

"  Far  the  most  common  form  of  mental  disease  in 
children  is  idiocy,  which  may  be  either  innate,  and  due 
to  arrested  development  of  the  brain  or  acquired, 
and  the  result  of  some  other  preceding  mental  trouble. 
Then  follow  in  order  of  frequency  maniacal  excite- 
ment and  mania;  while  melancholia  is  relatively  rare, 
appearing  only  toward  the  later  years  of  childhood." 

It  is  true,  we  may  assume  that  mental  diseases  in 
children  are  often  not  recognized  as  such  but  are 
thought  of  as  ill-bred  rudeness,  or  meanness  of  dis- 
position, since  sensational  and  ideational  activity  is 
still  undeveloped  and  mental  life  in  general  has  not 
yet  taken  form.  This  is  especially  true  of  so-called 
psychopathic  immaturity,  which,  according  to  J.  L. 
A.  Koch,  is  an  intermediate  condition  between  perfect 
sanity  and  actual  insanity.  The  great  importance  of 
the  matter  for  education  has  been  emphasized  by  L. 
Stnimpell  in  his  book,  "Pedagogical  Pathology,  or 
the  Science  of  Children's  Faults." 

The  causes  of  mental  alienation  in  children  are, — 
besides  hereditary  taint,  especially  from  the  mother, 
and  alcoholism  from  the  father, — injuries  to  the  head 
received  at  birth  or  later;  acute  diseases,  and  an  ab- 
normal development  of  the  brain,  often  due  to  malfor- 


230  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

mation  of  the  skull.  Other  causes  are  sunstroke ;  and 
among  germ  diseases,  in  the  first  degree,  typhoid 
fever,  inflammation  of  the  lungs  and  rheumatism;  in 
the  second  degree,  measles,  scarlet  fever,  and  diph- 
theria. 

Moreover,  the  school  has  itself  heen  accused  of  be- 
ing a  cause  of  the  trouble.  As  early  as  1859  Giimtz 
described  in  a  pamphlet  "  An  Insanity  of  School  Chil- 
dren which  is  peculiar  to  Childhood  and  a  direct  Con- 
sequence of  School  work  ".  Still  better  known  is  a 
treatise  by  Hasse,  director  of  the  insane  asylum  at 
Brunswick,  entitled:  "  On  the  overburdening  of  School 
Children  with  Home  Tasks,"  in  which  he  gives  it  as 
his  experience  that  "the  pupils  of  the  upper  classes 
in  the  gymnasia,  in  whom  no  other  cause  for  insanity  is 
apparent  than  the  excessive  requirements  of  the 
schools,  make  up  relatively  too  large  a  per  cent  of 
the  number  of  mentally  afflicted." 

This  conclusion  has,  however,  not  been  verified  by 
an  inquiry  made  by  the  Prussian  minister  of  education 
among  all  the  asylums  under  his  direction.  On  the 
contrary,  most  of  the  superintendents  asserted  that 
insanity  was  very  rare  among  school  children;  and 
some  even  declared  that  higher  education  was  the 
best  protection  against  it.  According  to  the  reports 
of  the  ten  Bavarian  asylums,  which  'have  about  4,000 
inmates,  cases  of  mental  disease  from  over-pressure 
in  the  schools  are  wholly  exceptional. 


EFFECT  OF  SCHOOL  ON  MENTAL  DISEASES  231 

On  the  other  hand,  Eulenberg  has  very  correctly 
pointed  out  that  no  examination  was  made  of  the  pri- 
vate asylums,  where  insane  gymnasiasts  and  real-gym- 
nasiasts  would  be  most  likely  to  be  found,  and  Krafft- 
Ebing  declares  from  his  wide  experiences,  that  if 
pedagogy  should  make  a  more  thorough  study  of  man 
in  his  pathological  relations,  many  a  defect  and  hard- 
ship in  education  would  disappear,  and  many  a  mis- 
taken choice  of  a  profession  would  be  avoided,  and  so 
many  a  mental  life  saved. 

Th.  Meynert1  admits  the  influence  of  over-pressure 
in  the  production  of  mental  diseases  among  children ; 
he  examined  two  real-school  pupils  and  one  gymnasiast 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  old,  among  whom  no  other 
causes  for  insanity  could  be  found  than  extraordinary 
industry  and  loss  of  sleep. 

Just  as  this  by  itself  should  be  a  warning  to  the 
teachers  to  be  conservative  in  their  demands  upon  the 
energies  of  the  pupils,  so  also  should  the  fact  that  sui- 
cide2 is  often  due  to  over-pressure  or  similar  conditions 
connected  with  school  life.  In  the  six  years  from  1883 
to  1888,  240  school  children,  relatively  the  most  of 

1  Theodore  Meynert,  Die  durch  Uberburdung  in  den 
Mittelschulen  bedingten  Xerven-  und  Geistes  Krank- 
heiten.  Wiener  medizenische  Blatter,  1887,  XXXII. 

2GustavSiegert,  Das  Problem  der  Kinderselbst- 
morde.  Leipzig,  1893,  R.  Voigtlander. 


232  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

whom  were  attendants  at  higher  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, committed  suicide  in  Prussia.  The  number  per 
year  is  about  the  same,  namely,  50,  33,  33,  38,  41,  45. 

In  France,  on  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  a  de- 
cided increase  in  suicide,  both  among  adults,  and 
among  school  children  under  sixteen.  In  the  latter 
country,  from  1875  to  1877,  an  average  of  41  school 
children  per  year  committed  suicide;  in  the  same 
length  of  time,  from  1885  to  1887,  there  were  200 
cases,  or  an  average  of  66  per  year.  In  fact,  in  1892 
there  were  87  suicides  below  16  years  of  age,  and  475 
between  16  and  21 ;  while  in  1890  there  were  only  358, 
and  in  1880,  267  between  these  latter  ages. 

If  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  suicide  among 
adults  is  obstructed  by  considerable  difficulties,  this  is 
still  more  the  case  with  school  children,  since  adequate 
accounts  of  their  previous  life  are  not  so  often  obtain- 
able. Thus,  in  the  case  of  77  suicides  among  pupils 
of  the  higher  institutions  of  learning,  15  could  not 
be  accounted  for.  In  22  cases,  the  school  was  clearly 
not  concerned,  because  11  were  caused  by  disease,  5  by 
disgust  with  life,  4  by  unfortunate  love  aifairs,  1  by 
ill-treatment  by  parents,  and  1  by  bodily  disease. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  following  motives  were  also 
reported:  in  15  cases,  fear  of  examinations,  failure  to 
pass,  or  be  promoted;  in  5  cases,  other  causes  con- 
nected with  school  attendance ;  and  in  2,  quarrels  with 


SUICIDE  233 

parents  or  teachers.  To  these  must  be  added  11 
cases  of  wounded  pride,  2  of  anger,  indignation,  and 
stubbornness;  and  1  of  fear  of  punishment,  in  all  of 
which  the  school  may  have  had  a  part. 

What  can  teachers  do  when  face  to  face  with  such 
sad  occurrences  ?  They  have,  in  the  first  place,  the 
means  with  which  they  always  work,  namely,  the 
moral  and  religious  education  of  the  children  and  a 
rational  method  of  instruction,  which  gives  due  atten- 
tion to  individual  capacities.  To  be  able  to  do  the 
latter,  one  must  continually  keep  in  close  touch  with 
the  home  life  of  the  pupils. 

The  following  points  by  the  Prussian  minister  of 
education  deserve  particular  attention.  The  surpris- 
ing of  pupils  by  an  unexpected  failure  of  promotion  is 
to  be  avoided  by  informing  the  parents  at  the  proper 
time  of  the  probable  result.  If  temporary  mental 
or  bodily  indispositions  set  in,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
the  period  of  puberty,  pupils  should  receive  especially 
careful  treatment,  sometimes  under  the  advice  of  a 
good  doctor.  School  societies  should  be  watched 
constantly,  since,  as  experience  shows,  they  exercise 
such  an  unfavorable  influence  over  their  members, 
soul  and*  body,  that  the  latter  succumb  in  cases  of 
conflict,  and  free  themselves  from  their  real  or  imagined 
difficulties  by  taking  their  own  lives.  Finally,  in 
many  cases  of  suicide  among  pupils,  there  has  been  a 


234  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

psychic  epidemic  such  as  is  often  observed  with  in- 
sanity. In  the  gymnasium  at  Altona,  for  instance, 
several  pupils  committed  suicide  one  after  the  other. 
Accordingly,  when  a  pupil  has  taken  his  own  life, 
teachers  should  give  their  professional  care  particularly 
to  the  "problematic  characters",  but  say  as  little  as 
possible  of  the  unhappy  event. 

Epilepsy  is  another  neuropathic  affliction  that  may 
spread  through  schools  as  a  psychic  epidemic, — a 
fact  to  be  readily  understood  from  the  shocking  im- 
pression made  by  the  attacks.  These  generally  pre- 
sent the  following  picture:  The  boy  utters  a  loud 
shriek  and 'at  the  same  time  falls  unconscious  to  the 
ground.  For  a  few  moments  after  falling,  the  muscles 
are  in  convulsive  tetanus;  breathing  ceases,  and  the 
eyes  stare  wide  open.  Violent  convulsions  of  the 
whole  muscular  system  follow;  the  trunk  is  twisted, 
the  face  distorted,  the  jaws  shut  tight  together,  and 
breathing  is  irregular ;  the  lips  and  cheeks  turn  blue 
and  saliva  accumulates  in  the  mouth  and  is  expelled 
as  froth. 

Fortunately,  this  disease  does  not  attack  pupils  very 
often.  Of  the  286,035  boys  who  attended  the  public 
schools  of  the  kingdom  of  Saxony  in  1880,  42?  or 
0.14$  were  epileptic.  Of  these,  37  were  between  6J  and 
8  years  of  age;  83  between  8  and  10;  121  between  10 
and  12;  and  186  were  12  and  over.  In  1894,  the  cor- 


EPILEPSY  235 

responding  numbers  were  33,  67,  108,  167.  Epilepsy 
is  thus  seen  to  increase  with  the  age  of  the  pupils. 
The  number  of  cases  in  the  larger  cities  is,  moreover, 
considerably  above  the  general  average  for  the  whole 
country.  From  the  last  two  facts  we  may  infer  that 
epilepsy  is  more  common  in  th«  secondary  than  in  the 
elementary  schools. 

The  question  now  arises,  shall  epileptic  pupils  be 
excluded  from  the  public  schools  ?  The  Lower  Rhine 
Association  for  Public  Hygiene  has  demanded  this  un- 
conditionally; and  has  presented  a  petition  to  that 
effect  to  the  Prussian  minister  of  education.  The 
same  view  is  held  by  the  Baden  ministry  of  the  in- 
terior, which  prohibits  epileptic  children  from  attend- 
ing public  schools.  In  this  case,  special  institutions 
for  these  pupils  are  necessary,  where  they  may  receive 
physical  and  mental  training,  and  if  possible  also 
medical  treatment.  Bielefeld  in  Westphalia  and  Kork 
in  Baden  may  be  mentioned  as  examples. 

Much  may,  however,  be  said  against  excluding  epi- 
leptic pupils  entirely  from  attendance  at  the  public 
schools.  In  the  first  place,  many  have  these  attacks 
only  on  very  rare  occasions,  while  others  have  them 
most  frequently  at  night.  Furthermore,  only  a  part 
of  the  children  suffering  with  epilepsy  are  weak-minded, 
many  of  them  having  normal  ability.  An  inquiry  in 
the  grand-duchy  of  Saxe-Weimar  makes  the  proportion 
of  the  former  to  the  latter  46 :  89  or  about  1:2.  It 
would  be  unjustifiable  severity  to  prevent  boys  with 


236  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

only  rare  attacks  and  with  good  capacities  from  enjoy  - 
ing  the  benefits  of  higher  institutions  of  learning  and 
compel  them  to  receive  their  education  among  the 
feeble-minded.  Every  case  is,  therefore,  to  be  decided 
by  itself;  and  as  long  as  we  have  no  special  school 
physicians,  it  should  be  done  by  the  official  physician 
of  the  community  in  conjunction  with  the  director  of 
the  school. 

If  a  pupil  has  an  attack  in  a  class  he  should  be  re- 
moved as  quickly  as  possible.  He  can  often  be  re- 
moved before  the  attack,  since  about  half  of  the 
cases  have  premonitory  symptoms  of  varying  dura- 
tion, such  as  a  feeling  of  vapor  rising  into  the  brain 
(aura  epileptica),  headache,  dizziness,  numbness,  heavi- 
ness of  the  limbs,  pericardial  pressure,  and  palpitation 
of  the  heart.  Since  an  epileptic  can  easily  injure  him- 
self in  his  convulsions  he  should  be  placed  on  some- 
thing soft  as  a  protection.  To  prevent  them  from 
biting  their  tongues  to  pieces,  as  they  often  do,  some- 
hard  object  such  as  a  stick  of  wood  wrapped  in  a  hand- 
kerchief should  be  pushed  between  the  teeth. 

If  the  school  can  be  held  responsible  for  the  develop- 
ment of  epilepsy  only  in  so  far  as  the  disease  can  spread 
by  psychic  contagion,  it  has  in  the  case  of  St.  Vitus 
dance1  been  shown  to  be,  on  the  other  hand,  a  direct 

I0tto  Korner,  Kami  die  Schule  fur  das  hiiufige 
Auftreten  der  Chorea  minor  wahrend  des  Schulpflie- 
tigen  Alters  mit  verantwortlich  gemacht  warden  ? 
Vierteljahrsschrift  fiir  offentliche  Gesundheitspflege, 
1889,  Vol.  XXI,  part.  3. 


ST.   VITUS    DAl^CE  237 

aetiological  factor.  The  characteristics  of  chorea  St. 
Viti  are  involuntary  movements  of  single  muscles  or 
groups  of  muscles  while  consciousness  is  present.  The 
muscles  of  the  arm  are  most  frequently  attacked,  then 
those  of  the  face  and  tongue,  the  lower  limhs  being 
more  rarely  involved.  The  consequence  is  a  certain 
awkwardness  in  grasping  and  holding  things,  some- 
times thought  by  parents  and  teachers  to  be  due  to 
inattention  or  naughtiness.  The  faces  made  by  the 
afflicted  are  also  often  interpreted  incorrectly  as  bad 
habits;  and  pupils  are  even  punished  for  them.  In 
the  later  progress  of  the  disease  they  can  no  longer 
write  or  play  the  piano ;  in  fact  they  may  not  be  able 
to  raise  the  spoon  to  the  mouth.  When  the  muscular 
disturbance  is  especially  pronounced,  speech  is  ob- 
structed, the  tongue  shoots  out  spasmodically,  and 
articulation  becomes  difficult. 

As  to  the  distribution  of  this  cerebro-spinal  neurosis, 
it  is  found,  as  a  rule,  chiefly  among  school  children. 
A  general  inquiry  by  the  British  Medical  Association 
included  439  cases,  340  of  which,  or  77.46  $,  were 
between  6  and  15  years  of  age  or  within  the  compulsory 
school  period.  Sturges1  mentions  among  the  causes 
certain  injurious  influences  connected  with  school  life. 
Predisposing  factors  must,  however,  also  be  present, 

1  Sturges,  Schoolwork  and  discipline  as  a  factor  in 
chorea.  Lancet,  1885,  III. 


238  DAILY    PROGRAMME 

such  as  a  neuropathic  diathesis,  usually  hereditary,, 
defective  nutrition  and  blood  formation,  and  conse- 
quent debility.  Where  these  exist  and  no  other  causes 
like  sudden  fright  are  discernible,  an  unfavorable  in- 
fluence of  the  school  may  be  inferred.  In  223  cases, 
Sturges  says  23  were  due  exclusively  to  harmful  school 
conditions.  These  consisted  of  emotional  depression 
from  too  much  study,  or  too  difficult  lessons ;  of  anxiety 
before  examinations,  connected  with  continued  sleep- 
lessness ;  and  of  school  punishments,  especially  such  as 
were  undeserved.  Lack  of  quiet  for  performing  the 
home  tasks  was  also  mentioned  as  one  of  the  causes. 
Whatever  the  facts  may  be,  choreic  pupils  should 
never  attend  classes,  since  they  only  disturb  the  in- 
struction. The  healthy  boys  concentrate  their  whole 
attention  upon  their  afflicted  comrade,  whose  muscu- 
lar spasms,  often  accompanied  by  loud  noises,  are  not 
only  thoroughly  strange  and  incomprehensible  to  them, 
but  cannot  always  be  explained  satisfactorily  even  by 
the  teacher. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  EYE 

The  sense  organs  are  very  closely  connected  with  the 
nervous  system,  just  as  they  have  been  in  the  process 
of  evolution  by  partly  developing  out  of  it;  and  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  hygiene  of  the  sense  organs  of  school 
children,  therefore,  follows  naturally  on  the  preceding 
exposition. 

The  eye  is  of  course  the  most  important  organ  of 
the  senses.  Anomalies  in  its  refracting  power  were 
recognized  even  by  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans. 
Aristotle  (Hepl  £axov  yevecrecos  lib.  V,  cap.  1)  gives  a 
minute  description  of  near-sightedness,  or  myopia, 
pointing  out  as  its  characteristic  features,  prominence 
of  the  eye-ball,  blinking,  and  a  tendency  to  bring 
objects  to  be  looked  at  as  near  the  eye  as  possible. 
Presbyopia,  or  the  far-sightedness  of  old  age,  was  also 
recognized.  Plutarch  (2v/A7rocrta%cJi/  lib.  I,  quaest.  8) 
has  a  special  chapter  in  his  Table-talks  devoted  to  the 
subject;  and  Aristotle  (ibid)  and  Galen  (Hepl  xpeias 
TCOV  ev  av0pa>7rov  crco/xart  fjiopi&v  lib.  V,  cap.  1),  also, 
mention  it,  though  they  differ  as  to  how  the  evil  comes 

to  develop. 

(239) 


240  THE  EYE:  HYPERMETROPIA 

In  fact  it  is  not  impossible  that  thus  early  in  history 
precious  stones  were  ground  so  as  to  be  used  instead 
of  glasses,  to  correct  the  errors  of  refraction  in  the 
eye.  At  least,  Pliny  (Nat.  hist.  lib.  XXXVII  Cap. 
16)  relates  that  Nero  watched  the  gladiatorial  combats 
by  the  aid  of  an  emerald ;  and  we  are  the  more  entitled 
to  think  of  it  as  an  eye-glass,  since  not  only  was  the 
grinding  of  stones  (Plin.  Xat.  hist.  lib.  XXXVII, 
cap.  16)  and  their  refracting  power,  when  ground 
(Plin.  ibid.  lib.  XXXVII,  cap.  76)  sufficiently  well 
understood;  but  precious  stones  were  used  throughout 
the  entire  mediaeval  period  as  eye-glasses, — especially 
the  beryl,  from  which  the  Germans  derive  the  name 
Brillen  for  spectacles. 

However  common  refraction  anomalies  may  have 
been  in  classical  antiquity,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that 
they  have  not  been  studied  accurately  till  recent 
times,  especially  in  schools.  The  number  of  school 
children's  eyes  examined  has  grown  so  mightily  in 
the  last  decades  that  no  other  department  of  school 
hygiene  can  claim  to  have  had  a  more  thorough  inves- 
tigation. Xow  what  have  been  the  results,  first  of  all 
with  respect  to  hypermetropia  ? 

In  hypermetropia^  or  far-sightedness,  the  eye  does 
not  have  sufficient  depth,  and  parallel  rays  of  light 
are  brought  to  a  focus,  not  on  the  retina,  but  behind 
it.  Hypermetropia  may  be  either  facultative  or  abso- 


A    NATURAL    CONDITION  241 

lute.  In  the  first  case,  'the  eye  can  see  distinctly  far 
and  near,  as  well  without  as  with  convex  glasses ;  in 
the  latter,  such  glasses  are  always  necessary,  since 
neither  distant  nor  near  objects  could  otherwise  be 
adequately  distinguished. 

Hypermetropia  is  the  natural  condition  of  children's 
eyes.  Ely  found  that  72  $  of  new-born  children  were 
far-sighted;  and  Landolt  states  that  children  under 
eight  are  usually  in  this  condition.  Horstmann  and 
Schleich,  also,  assert  that  hypermetropia  is  something 
very  common  in  children.  Many  having  this  defect 
are  accordingly  to  be  found  in  the  higher  institutions 
of  learning,  especially  among  the  younger  boys. 

Conrad1  examined  the  pupils  at  the  three  old  gym- 
nasia at  Konigsberg,  and  found  among  3,036  eyes, 
1.441,  or  47.47$,  hypermetropic.  I  could  myself 
classify  273,  or  48.23$,  among  the  566  eyes  of  the 
students  at  the  gymnasium  and  real-school  at  Wand- 
beck  as  far-sighted;  9  or  1.59$  having  absolute,  and 
264,  or  46.64$,  facultative  hypermetropia.  Finally, 
Erismann2  found  67.8$  far-sighted  in  the  gymnasial 

TMax  Conrad,  Die  Refraktion  von  3036  Augen  von 
Schulkindern  mit  Riicksicht  auf  den  Ubergang  der 
Hypermetropie  in  Myopie.  Inaugural-dissertation. 
Konigsberg  i.  Pr.,  1876,  Jul.  Jacoby. 

2  Erismann,  Ein  Beitrag  Zur  Entwickelungs- 
geschichte  der  Myopie,  gestutzt  auf  die  Untersuchung 
der  Augen  von  4358  Schiilern.  V.  Griifes  Archiv, 
1876,  Vol.  77. 


242 


THE  EYE:  HYPEKMETROPIA 


preparatory  classes,  which  have  boys  from  eight  to  ten. 
Hypermetropic  eyes  are  greatly  in  the  majority  in  the 

lower  grades ;  but  they  diminish  gradually  toward  the 

upper.     In  the  Wandsbeck  gymnasium,  for  example, 

the  hypermetropes  numbered : 

In  Sexta 54.76  % 

In  Quinta 43.65$ 

In  Quarta 47.91  %  (ff). 

In  Tertia 50.00$ 

In  Sekunda 22.72$ 

In  Prima 12.50$  (J). 

The   following   statistics   by   v.   Hippel1    from   the 

gymnasium  at  Giessen  gives  corresponding  figures : 

<""'  cfursts 

Sexta 5  312  27.6 

Quinta 6  412  16.6 

Quarta 7  518  10.7 

Untertertia 8  660  7.1 

Obertertia 9  590  6.6 

Untersekunda 9  562  4.3 

Obersekunda 9  396  4.5 

Unterprima 9  306  4.6 

Oberprima 9  292  2.4 

The  number  of  far-sighted  pupils  decreases  with  in- 
creasing age  as  well  as  with  advancing  classes.  Accord- 
ing to  George  Ferdinands,  the  curve  of  hypermetropes  in 
an  English  school  fell  from  46  %  among  those  of  seven, 
to  10  %  among  those  of  twelve  years  of  age.  In  an- 

TA.  v.  Hippel,  Uber  den  Einfluss  hygienischer 
Massregeln  auf  die  Schulmyopie.  Giessen,  1889,  J. 
Ricker. 


DECKEASES   WITH    AGE  243 

other  school  there  were  26  %  among  those  who  were 
seven,  and  6  %  among  those  thirteen  years  of  age ; 
while  in  a  third  school  there  were  33.3$  and  1$ 
among  those  seven  and  fourteen  years  of  age  respec- 
tively. In  the  gymnasium  at  Altona,  hypermetropia 
became  more  and  more  rare  with  increasing  age  as  the 
following  table  will  show : 

Age  No,  hypermetropic 

9-11 18.93$  (2 

12-14 7.14$ 

15-17 6.88$ 

18-20 4.05$ 

21-22 0.00$  (£). 

An  increase  in  the  number  of  years  of  attendance  at 
school  has  an  effect  similar  to  that  of  advancing  age, 
since  this,  also,  is  accompanied  by  a  decrease  in  the 
number  of  hypermetropes.  In  the  gymnasium  at 
Wandsbeck,  which  is  connected  with  the  grammar 
school  there,  the  following  statistics  were  obtained: 

No.  of  years  of  attendance  at  school  No.  of  hypermetropes 

3-  4 58.33$ 

5-  6 47.67$ 

7-  8 42.95$ 

9-10 55.12$  (if). 

11-12 42.50$  (ft). 

The  diminution  in  the  amount  of  hypermetropia  in 
the  upper  classes,  and  with  advancing  age,  and  years 
of  school  attendance,  is  to  be  explained  partly  by  the 
fact  that  during  the  period  of  growth  it  changes  over 
into  emmetropia. 


244  THE  EYE:  EMMETROPIA 

Enimetropia  represents  the  normal  condition  of  re- 
fraction, which  is  characterized  by  the  fact  that  parallel 
rays  of  light  are  brought  to  a  focus  on  the  retina 
exactly  when  accommodation  is  wholly  relaxed.  Em- 
metropes  can  consequently  see  equally  distinctly  far 
and  near,  without  the  use  of  glasses. 

Of  the  566  eyes  of  the  above  mentioned  Wandsbeck 
pupils,  179,  or  31.62$,  were  marked  emmetropic,  of 
which  91,  or  36.11  $,  were  in  the  united  lower  classes; 
43,  or  28.28$,  in  the  gymnasial  classes,  and  45  or 
27.77$,  in  the  real-school  classes.  Xormal  vision 
was,  accordingly,  found  to  be  most  frequent  in  the 
united  classes,  being  more  rare  in  the  gyronasial  and 
real-classes,  which  have  nearly  the  same  number  of 
emmetropes. 

Larger  numbers  have  been  obtained  by  Conrad  and 
v.  Hippel.  The  former  found  that  55.01  %  were 
emmetropic  in  the  three  old  gymnasia  at  Konigsberg; 
while  the  latter  ascertained  that,  in  the  gymnasium 
at  Giessen,  there  was  an  average  of  62.4  $  for  the  period 
from  1881  to  1889,  one  year  only  being  omitted  in  the 
count. 

Like  hypermetropia,  emmetropia  dimminishes  to- 
ward the  upper  classes.  Conrad  found  among  1,518 
gymnasiasts  at  Konigsberg  the  following  per  cent  em- 
metropic : 

In  Sexta 70.77$  (Jff). 

In  Quinta 61.97  $  (fff). 

InQuarta 60.32$  (||f). 


ALSO    DIMINISHES    WITH    AGE 


245 


InTertia 45.75  <£  (fff). 

In  Sekunda .' 36.23 

In  Prima 30.40^  (J 

In  the  gymnasium  at  Giessen,  the  per  cent  of  em- 
metropia  was: 

In  Sexta 66.0. 

InQuinta 72.2. 

InQuarta 73.7. 

In  Unterfcertia 71.0. 

In  Obertertia 65.0. 

In  Untersekunda 58.0. 

In  Obersekunda :.50.8. 

In  Unterprima 46. 4. 

In    Oberprima 43.5. 

Von  Reuss  in  Vienna  and  Thilenius  in  Rostock, 
also,  found  a  decrease  of  normal  vision  from  class  to 
class. 

Increasing  age  is  accompanied  by  a  similar  decrease, 
as  the  following  table  will  show: 


Age  of  pupils 
in  years 

The  Johannum  classical 
school  at  Hamburg 

Tke  Wandsbeck  gymna- 
sium and  higher 
grammar  school 

8-9 
10-11 
12-13 
14-15 
16-17 

8846£  (If) 
80.00*  (foj) 
55.72*  (i§!) 
51.50*  (Vft) 

38.93*  (T4TV) 

48.  27  *  (||) 
35.26*  (TUV) 
27.77*  (£%) 
26.92*  (TVT) 
23.83*  (*$) 

A  similar  decrease  of  emmetropia  with  the  length 
of  school  attendance  can  be  demonstrated  with  equal 
distinctness;  the  table  below  gives  the  per  cent  em- 
metropic : 


246 


THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 


No.  of  years  in 
attendance 

The  Johanneum  classical 
school  at  Hamburg 

Wandsbeck  gymnasium 
and  higher  gram,  school 

3-4 
5-6 

7-8 
9-10 
11-12 
13-14 

82.352  (TV*) 
70.98£  (iff) 
52.10^  (T%) 
42.102  Wf) 
45.552  (ft) 
36.362  (if) 

35.832  (#W 
29.652  (TBTV) 
30.282  (TV?) 
25.642  (ff) 
25.002  (i£) 

On  the  whole,  it  is  rather  better  for  a  class  or  a 
school  to  have  more  pupils  hypermetropic  than  em- 
metropic,  since  the  former  change  first  into  emmetropia 
then  into  myopia ;  while  the  latter  pass  directly  into 
myopia.  Xormal  vision  thus  stands  nearer  to  short- 
sightedness, than  does  far-sightedness. 

Myopia  occurs  when  the  eyeball  is  too  long,  and 
parallel  rays  of  light  are  brought  to  a  focus  in  front 
of  the  retina.  Xear  objects  can  be  seen  distinctly; 
but  the  more  distant  produce  circles  of  diffusion  and 
so  indistinct  and  cloudy  images. 

Short-sightedness  is  a  defect  developed  by  civiliza- 
tion, since  it  is  never  found  among  savage  tribes.  I 
have  examined  a  great  many  Lapps,  Calmucks,  Pata- 
gonians,  Nubians,  Somali,  and  Singhalese,  but  I  have 
never  found  a  single  near-sighted  person,  either  among 
the  children  or  the  adults.  Myopia  did  not  exist  in 
New  Zealand  till  it  appeared  among  the  natives  after 
the  introduction  of  civilization. 

In  harmony  with  this,  is  the  fact  first  established  by 
Cohn1,  that  myopia  is  the  more  frequent  in  schools, 

1  Hermann  Cohn,  Untersuchungen  der  Augen  von 
10,000  Schulkindern  nebst  Yorscnlagen  Zur  Verbes- 
serung  der  den  Augen  nachteiligen  Schuleinrichtungen 
— Eine  Atiologische  Studie.  Leipzig,  1867. 


A    PRODUCT   OF   CIVILIZATION  247 

the  higher  the  degree  of  education  of  its  pupils.  Least 
short-sightedness  is  found  in  the  village  schools ;  more 
in  the  elementary  city  schools;  still  more  in  the  city 
grammar  schools;  and  most  of  all  in  the  gymnasia, 
real-gymnasia,  and  superior  ^real-schools. 

The  following  table  will  show  how  large  may  be  the 
per  cent  of  myopia  found  in  the  higher  institutions; 
the  figures  marked  with  an  asterisk  have  been  revised, 
since  the  observers  did  not  take  into  account  the 
lighter  degrees  of  the  defect. 


158 
283 
219 
112 
271 
502 
396 
639 
1518 
307 
122 
203 
287 
515 
532 
316 
74 


413 
421 

402 


350 
85 
175 


Place 


Gymnasium  at  Burgdorf ,  Bern 

Gymnasium  and  real-school,  Wandsbeck 

Gymnasium  of  Lerber,  Bern 

Gymnasium  at  Solothurn 

Gymnasium  at  Giessen,  1884 

Real-school  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Breslau 

Gymnasium  at  Dorpat , 

Real-school  at  Zwiuger,  Breslau 

The  three  old  gymnasia  in  KOnigsberg,  Prussia 

Royal,  imperial  superior  state  gymnasium  at  Teschen 

Gymnasium  at  Schaffhausen 

Gymnasium  in  Frankfurt  on  the  Main 

Gymnasium  at  Heidelberg 

Friedrich's  gymnasium  in  Breslau 

Gymnasium  of  St.  Elizabeth,  Breslau 

Gymnasium  at  Rostock , 

Real-school  at  Luzern 

German  gymnasium  at  St.  Petersburg 

Gymnasium  at  Wiesbaden. 


Gymnasium  of  the  Johanueum  in  Hamburg 

Christianeum  gymnasium  at  Altona 

Real-school  of  the  Johanneum  in  Hamburg 

Russian  and  German  gymnasiasts,  St.  Petersburg 

Leopoldstadt  communal  real-school  and  superior  gymna- 


sium at  Vienna. 


Gymnasium  at  Luzern 

Gymnasium  at  Erlangen 


9.49 

19.43 

21.50 

22.30 

25.00 

*26.85 

29.50 

*29.90 

32.97 

33.00 

34.40 

34.50 

34.84 

*35.00 

*35.12 

*36.24 

36.50 

37.72 

37.90 

38.13 

40.74 

41.29 

43.21 

44.50 
51.80 
55.40 


In  contrast  with   hypermetropia   and   emmetropia, 
myopia  becomes  more  and  more  prevalent,  the  higher 


248 


THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 


the  grade.  In  proof  of  this  point  we  give  the  results 
that  have  been  obtained  by  investigations  at  the  gym- 
nasia or  real-gymnasia  at  Rostock,  Giessen,  Wies- 
baden1, Hamburg,  Montabaur,  Fulda,  Konigsberg 
(Prussia),  Frankfurt  a.  M.,  and  Magdeburg.  The 
following  per  cents  were  myopic : 


Class 


Sexta 

Quinta 

Quarta 

Untertertia 

Obertertia 

Untersekunda. 
Obersekunda. . 
Unterprima.  .. 
Oberprirna  — 


'M  v 
-10 ;; 
435? 
50* 


23  ;> 
25  ;< 

8-."; 

50;, 
no : ; 
5S ;, 

58  ',1 

i 


40% 
46% 
46% 
71% 
71% 
50% 
50% 


205? 

20  r* 

51  S 
34  * 


5S;; 


14% 
21% 
45% 
40% 
40% 
48% 
48% 
61% 
61* 


48? 


20* 

21* 
28% 
44% 
44% 
54* 
54% 
64% 
62% 


12  JJ 
:« ;, 
41;^ 
5;!  f; 


23  )t 

2T ;; 
42;:- 
47  j? 


56* 
70* 


27% 


58% 
75% 
75% 


Myopia  also  increases  with  age,  as  is  shown  by  these 
figures : 


||"- 

i*i 

-S 

S  a 

i't  I 

^  «S  >o 

?S     ^ 

s  1 

Age 

Hi 

s  If 

*S*  <1<> 

1  1 

§  3 

«  •  j  ta 

•<  is 

1  ^ 

S£    ^TJ 

1 

el 

tl    ^> 

i 

Cb 

1-  8 

of 

14.30$ 

—  $ 

—     $ 

9-10 

16.59$ 

16.30$ 

22.76$ 

24.72$ 

11-12 

31.43$ 

23.30$ 

36.48$ 

30.00$ 

13-14 

37.25$ 

32.70$ 

51.92$ 

40.34$ 

15-16 

51,52$ 

44.50$ 

55.00$ 

53.79$ 

17-18 

49.90  $ 

57.70  $ 

54.16$ 

65.21$ 

19-20 

•75]62$ 

59.'  20$ 

59.  3-  $ 

54.76$ 

21— 

-    $ 

-    $ 

77.77$ 

100.00$ 

1H.  Schmidt-Rimpler,  Die  Schulkurzsichtigkeit  und 
ihre  Bekampfung.     Leipzig,   1890,  Wilh.  Engelmann. 


INCREASES    WITH    SCHOOL    ATTENDANCE 


249 


Finally,  statistics  from  Hamburg,  Konigsberg,  Ros- 
tock, and  Wandsbeck  may  be  adduced  to  show  that 
short-sightedness  increases  with  the  number  of  years 
of  school  attendance. 


q 

ii 

1-S| 

« 

1|| 

l| 

si  ^    «^ 

111 

|1 

j|{| 

I 

IP 

&i  "i 

SP 

I"    . 

It| 

1-  2 

14.09* 

16.60* 

21.45* 

—    * 

3-  4 

18.«9* 

27.80* 

26.56* 

28.83* 

5  '6 

36.17* 

38.30* 

35.52  * 

4767* 

7-  8 

44.73* 

52  00* 

33^33* 

42.95  * 

9  10 

59.48* 

59.90* 

66.66* 

55.12* 

11-12 

51.92* 

—    * 

100.00* 

4250* 

13-14 

66  66* 

—    * 

—    * 

—    % 

\Ve  must  add,  furthermore,  that  there  is  an  increase 
not  only  in  the  frequency  but  also  in  the  degree  of 
myopia  in  the  upper  classes.  The  following  table  from 
the  three  old  gymnasia  at  Konigsberg  give  a  clear 
picture  of  the  matter: 


Degree  of 
myopia 

Oktava 

Sep- 
hma 

Sexta 

Quinta 

Quarto, 

Tertia 

Sekun- 
da 

Prima 

i^ 
W 

H 

>i 

97.00^ 
3.00 

90.70£ 
4.65' 
4.65' 

71.10* 
19.30' 

6.00' 

< 

81.70* 
13.40" 

4.90" 

58.90* 
29.90' 
8.10' 
2.40' 

0.80' 
0.80' 

46.36* 
26.05' 
14.56' 
4.22' 
4.21' 
4.60' 

36.29* 
26.99" 
14.16" 
12.38" 
5.31" 
4.87" 

1950* 
28.80' 
12.10' 
15.40' 
16.10' 
8.10' 

3.60' 

In  Octava,  97  %  of  the  myopic  have  the  very  slight 
degree  of  ^n  t°  rg-th,  and  only  3  $  have  the  some- 
what greater  degree  of  ^tn  to  TVth ;  the  higher  de- 
gree of  T^th  to  >Jth  are  not  represented.  In  Prima 


250 


THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 


on  the  other  hand  only  19.5$  of  the  myopic  had  the 
slight  degree  of  -fa  to  -g^th;  16.1$  "had  the  high 
degree  of  y  to  -g-;  and  8.1  $  had  the  highest  degree  of 

>*• 

Myopia  varies  similarly  with  the  age  of  the  Konigs- 
berg  gymnasiasts: 


Degree 
of 
myopia 

AGE 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18+ 

A-A 

92.21* 

73.21$ 

73.33* 

73.62* 

52.27,* 

51.72* 

50.96* 

47.47* 

27.11* 

31.31* 

28.47* 

A"it 

5.19" 

12.50" 

15.56" 

20.88" 

25.00" 

31.03"  30.77" 

22.22" 

32.20" 

24.24" 

26.28" 

TS~~TG 

—  '• 

8.93" 

6.67" 

4.40" 

11.36" 

8.05"    9.62" 

13.13" 

19.50" 

13.13" 

12,40" 

i~i 

2.60" 

'; 

4.44" 

1.10" 

3.41" 

1.15"    4.81" 

10.10" 

6.78" 

13.13" 

15.33" 

¥~1 

" 

" 

" 

" 

3.41-' 

2.30" 

1.92" 

5.05" 

7.63" 

12.12" 

10.95" 

>i 

" 

5.36" 

" 

" 

4.55" 

5,75" 

1.92" 

2.02" 

6.78" 

6.06" 

6.57" 

While  92.25  $  of  the  eight  year  old  myopes  had  the 
lightest  degree  of  g-1^  to  -fa;  this  was  true  of  only 
28.47$  of  those  eighteen  years  of  age  or  over.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  was  not  a  single  ease  with  the 
highest  degree  of  myopia,  >£,  among  those  eight 
years  of  age,  while  6.59$  of  those  eighteen  years  of 
age  or  over  were  thus  afflicted. 

The  table  giving  the  variation  in  the  degree  of  my- 
opia with  the  number  of  years  of  attendance  at  school 
is  somewhat  different: 


NUMBER  OF  YEARS  AT  SCHOOL 


Degree  of  myopia 

1-2 

3-4 

5-6 

7-8 

9  &  over 

i  _i 

67.70$ 
9.84" 
7.65" 
1.09" 
2.73" 
1.09" 

59.63$ 
21.74" 
6.83" 
5.59,' 
1.24" 
5.97" 

53.21$ 

28.90' 
7.80' 
5.05' 
1.37' 
3.67' 

41.55$ 
27.05" 
10.56" 
9.66  ' 
6.76" 
2.42" 

28.02' 
27.60' 
15.52' 
11.63' 
10.34' 
6.89' 

%-Z".  •  .":: 

¥~  n3 

„  Xj.  ................. 

E-.t 

>  *  

DISADVANTAGES    OF   GLASSES 

Every  degree  of  myopia  is  here  represented  in  the 
first  school  year.  This  can  be  readily  explained  by 
lhe  fact  that  a  few  of  the  older  boys  have  just  entered 
school  after  having  been  exposed  to  the  same  detri- 
mental influences  in  the  private  education  they  have 
had  up  to  this  time,  as  their  comrades  in  the  public 
schools.  The  table  shows,  nevertheless,  very  clearly 
that  the  lighter  degrees  of  myopia  diminish  through- 
out the  years  of  school  attendance,  while  the  inter- 
mediate and  higher  degrees  increase  considerably. 

The  statement  has  often  been  made  by  doctors  and 
still  oftener  by  educators  that  myopia  entails  no  dis- 
comfort or  inconvience,  but  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
useful  adaptation  of  the  eye  for  near  vision.  I  cannot 
agree  with  this  opinion.  Glasses  have  to  be  worn  at 
all  times  with  the  higher  degrees  of  myopia,  and  also 
with  the  lighter  whenever  the  person  wants  to  look 
at  objects  at  a  distance, — which  certainly  cannot  be 
said  to  be  pleasant.  Furthermore,  they  often  fail  to 
render  service.  On  dusty  roads,  they  become  dirty; 
in  great  changes  of  temperature,  moist;  and  in  rain 
.and  snow,  they  partly  lose  their  transparency  from 
drops  of  water.  In  fact,  in  some  cases,  as  for  example 
in  bathing,  they  cannot  be  used  at  all.  In  other  cases, 
they  may  be  forgotten  and  thus  cause  great  trouble; 
a  soldier  who  loses  his  glasses  is  disarmed. 

Pupils  with  the  greater  degrees  of  myopia  are,  more- 


252  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

over,  limited  in  the  choice  of  a  profession.  They  can  not 
become  sailors,  or  foresters,  or  farmers;  and  they  are- 
also  excluded  from  serving  their  fatherland  in  arms. 

The  German  army  regulations  of  September  28r 
1875,  count  myopia  as  one  of  the  defects  which  per- 
manently disable  a  man  for  service,  when  the  far  point 
of  the  better  eye  is  0.15  m.  or  less  distant  even  if 
the  retinal  sensitiveness  is  normal;  this  is  myopia  of 
seven  diopters,  or  ^  to  J,  according  to  the  old  method 
of  numbering.  Diminution  in  the  acuteness  of  vision 
to  one-fourth  of  the  normal  or  less  in  the  better  eye,, 
as  is  often  the  case  with  a  high  degree  of  myopia,  is- 
another  reason  for  exclusion  from  military  service^ 
Similarly,  those  with  intermediate  degrees  of  myopia,, 
whose  acuteness  of  vision  is  at  the  same  time  but  \ 
to  J  of  the  normal,  are  considered  fit  for  service  only 
conditionally,  and  are  assigned  to  the  reserves. 

The  requirements  of  the  navy  are  still  more  severe, 
In  Austria  the  legal  maximum  is  ^,  or  1.25  diopters 
of  myopia.  The  German  cabinet  order  of  March  10r 
1874,  considers  an  acuteness  of  vision  of  \  or  less  in- 
sufficient, and  an  acuteness  of  from  \  to  f  as  adequate 
for  the  imperial  navy  only  when  it  can  be  made  nor- 
mal by  the  use  of  glasses. 

It  is  true,  the  eyesight  of  the  myopic  can  generally 
be  greatly  improved  by  the  use  of  suitable  glasses; 
nevertheless,  the  higher  the  degree  of  myopia,  the 


DANGER   TO   VISIOK  253 

Tnore  rarely  do  they  attain  to  normal  acuteness.  Thus 
In  the  classical  schools  at  Hamburg  the  per  cent  of 
pupils  who  wore  glasses  and  yet  had  normal  acuteness 
of  vision  as  follows: 

For  g-L  —  2-V ,  64. 93  %  For  \  —  £,  26. 66  % 

For  J¥__i_,  59.13$  For  \  —  \,  13.33$ 

ForTV  — TV,  36.66$  For  £and>, 0.00  % 

The  figures  immediately  below  show  what  per  cents 
liad  lost  a  third  of  their  keenness  of  sight  with  the  same 
-degrees  of  myopia: 

For  si)— ife  18.830  For£  — £,  53.33$ 

For  A  — TT»  27-95  $  For  T  —  *»  40-00  # 

For  TV  —  TV,  60.00  0  For  |  and  >,  50.00  % 

The  per  cent  who  possessed  less  than  two-thirds  of 
their  power  of  sight  in  spite  of  having  accurately 
fitted  glasses  was : 

For  ^V  —  inr>  16.230  Fori  — 1,  20.00$ 

For  ^  —  TV,  12.90$  For|  —  £,  46.06$ 

ForTV  — TV,    3.33$  For  i  and  >,  50.00$ 

The  most  serious  thing  is,  however,  that  the  myopic, 
•especially  those  in  advanced  stages,  are  continually 
exposed  to  danger.  Even  in  the  case  of  the  inter- 
mediate degrees,  the  inner  rectus  muscle  is  liable  to 
lose  its  power  and  so  occasion  a  good  deal  of  trouble. 
The  person  afflicted  can  use  his  eyes  for  near  objects 
only  for  a  short  time  before  he  has  a  feeling  of  pres- 
sure and  tension;  his  tears  begin  to  flow;  and  if  his 


254  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

case  is  a  bad  one,  distressing  light  flashes  make  their 
appearance.  Binocular  observation  of  near  objects  is, 
therefore,  often  wholly  abandoned;  and  the  sufferer 
uses — generally  without  being  aware  of  the  fact — only 
his  better  eye  for  reading  and  writing. 

The  danger  is  naturally  more  pronounced,  the 
greater  the  degree  of  myopia.  The  vitreous  humor  is 
easily  liquefied  and  made  turbid;  and  the  consequence 
may  be  not  only  the  production  of  those  troublesome 
shadows,  knows  as  "  mouches  vol antes  ",  but  also  in 
severe  cases  of  a  special  kind  of  cataract,  called  in 
opthalmology,  the  posterior  polar  cataract.  Although 
this  by  itself  is  a  source  of  much  trouble  to  the  eye, 
there  is  nevertheless  a  still  greater  danger,  since,  as 
often  happens  in  high  degrees  of  myopia,  inflamma- 
tion of  the  choroid,  hemorrhage  in  the  retina,  or  the 
loosening  of  the  retina,  and  even  green  cataract  may 
set  in.  Sight  is  then  either  reduced  to  constant  mini- 
mum or  is  lost  completely  for  all  time,  even  with  the 
best  of  medical  treatment. 

Such  grave  consequences  naturally  demand  that  the 
causes  of  myopia  be  investigated  to  the  utmost,  in 
order  that  by  avoiding  them  the  development  and 
progress  of  this  disease  may  as  far  as  possible  be  pre- 
vented. 

Among  the  causal  factors,  heredity  takes  a  promi- 
nent place.  As  early  as  1874,  Dor  was  able  to  show 


HEREDITARY  255 

that  direct  inheritance  played  a  part  in  25  out  of  42, 
or  in  59  #,  of  the  cases  of  myopia  in  the  city  real 
school  in  Bern.  In  Rostock,  Thilenius  found  that  out 
of  eleven  families  in  which  both  parents  were  myopic, 
the  sons  were  similarly  afflicted  in  eight,  and  em- 
metropic  in  only  three, — short-sightedness  being  thus 
inherited  in  72.72^,  or  about  three-fourths,  of  the 
cases.  The  influence  of  heredity  was  not  so  marked, 
when  only  one  of  the  parents  had  myopia.  Out  of  68 
near-sighted  fathers,  37  had  myopic,  27  emmetropic, 
and  4  hypermetropic  sons,  the  per  cent  of  hereditary 
cases  being  here  54.41  %.  This  per  cent  becomes 
greater,  however,  when  the  mother  is  the  parent  that 
is  myopic.  In  37  such  cases,  the  sons  were  myopic  in 
28,  and  emmetropic  in  only  9 ;  the  hereditary  influence 
of  myopia  from  the  mother's  side  is  thus  represented 
by  75.67$. 

Pfliiger1,  also,  makes  heredity  a  powerful  predispos- 
ing cause  of  myopia.  According  to  him,  families  in 
which  the  parents  or  ancestors  have  had  the  disease 
have  15  %  more  myopic  children  than  those  in  which 
it  has  not  occurred  before.  This  is  in  harmony  with 
von  Hippel's  (see  page  242)  statistics  from  the  gym- 
nasium at  Giessen,  which  show  that  49.5  %  of  the  myo- 

1  Pfliiger,  Professor  J.  Stillings  Untersuchungen 
iiber  die  Entstehung  der  Kurzsichtigkeit,  kritisch 
beleuchtet.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege, 
1889,  Xo.  5,  p.  135  ff. 


256  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

pic  pupils  had  myopic  parents.  Kirchner1  obtained 
nearly  the  same  figures  from  the  Friedrich  and  Leibniz 
gymnasium  at  Berlin.  The  number  of  myopic  pupils 
whose  parents  were  both  emmetropic  was  here  22$; 
those  whose  father  alone  was  myopic,  34$;  and  those 
whose  parents  were  both  myopic,  52  $. 

In  this  field,  the  investigations  of  Motai  have  a 
special  value,  since  he  examined  not  only  the  pupils, 
330  in  number,  but  also  all  the  members  of  the  fam- 
ilies to  which  they  belonged;  and  did  not,  like  his  pre- 
decessors, content  himself  with  hearsay  evidence.  He, 
also,  considers  the  influence  of  heredity  in  the  produc- 
tion of  myopia  as  demonstrated.  According  to  his 
statistics,  it  is  present  in  216  out  of  the  330  families, 
that  is,  in  65  %  of  the  cases. 

He  says,  further,  that  daughters  very  often  inherit 
myopia  from  their  fathers  (70  $) ;  and  boys,  still  oftener 
from  the  mother  (86  $).  This  I  can  myself2  confirm. 
In  the  classical  schools  in  Hamburg,  both  parents 
were  myopic  in  24  cases ;  and  in  20  ot  these,  that  is, 

XM.  Kirchner,  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Entstehung 
der  Kurzsichtigkeit.  Zeitschrift  fur  Hygiene,  1889, 
Vol.  VII,  3,  p.  397  if. 

2L.  Kotelmann,  Die  Augen  der  Gymnasiasten  und 
Real-schiiler  mit  besonderer  Riicksicht  auf  die  neuesten 
Untersuchungen.  Neue  Jahrbiicher  fur  Philologie 
und  Padagogik,  1877,  II.  Div.,  parts  6  and  7,  p.  295  ff. 
and  p.  329  ff. 


HEREDITARY  257 

in  83.33$,  myopia  was  transmitted  to  the  sons.  If 
the  father  alone  was  myopic,  as  happened  112  times, 
the  sons  inherited  the  defect  in  50.89^  of  the  cases. 
Near-sightedness  on  the  part  of  the  mothers  has,  how- 
ever, a  greater  influence  upon  the  eyesight  of  the  sons. 
In  43  cases  in  which  the  mother  alone  had  the  defect 
the  sons  were  myopic  25  times,  the  influence  of  hered- 
ity being  represented  by  58.13  <f>. 

We  must  not  understand  by  hereditary  transmission 
that  myopia  passes  over  to  the  children  directly,  since 
the  new  born  are  rarely  short-sighted.  It  is  rather  a 
disposition  toward  myopia  that  is  inherited.  This 
may  be  due  either  to  an  insufficient  thickness  of  the 
sclerotic,  which  would  favor  the  anterior-posterior 
elongation  of  the  eye-ball,  or,  as  is  assumed  by  Stil- 
ling1, to  a  too  great  width  of  the  forehead,  which  gives 
a  flattened  shape  to  the  eye-socket.  In  the  latter  case, 
the  cartilagenous  trochlea  through  which  the  tendon 
of  the  superior  oblique  muscle  passes,  has  a  low  posi- 
tion; and  the  pressure  exerted  by  the  muscle  on  the 
eye-ball  in  convergent  or  downward  movements  of  the 
eye  is  greater  than  it  would  be  if  the  trochlea  were  up 
high.  By  this  means  the  eye  is  gradually  changed 
from  a  spherical  to  a  spheroidal  form.  Stilling  accord- 

JJ.  Stilling,  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Entstehung 
der  Kurzsichtigkeit.  Wiesbaden,  1887,  J.  F.  Berg 
maim. 


258  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

ingly  believes  that  myopia  is  essentially  a  race  problem. 

In  fact,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  question  of 
race  is  important  in  the  development  of  myopia.  It 
is  much  more  prevalent  among  Hebrew  than  Christian 
children.  Nicati  of  Marseilles  reported  in  1879  that 
he  found  15  %  of  the  Hebrews  and  only  8  %  of  the 
Christians  myopic.  Sidney  Stephenson  made  an  in- 
vestigation in  the  Central  Foundation  School  in  Lon- 
don, and  found  10.63$  of  all  Hebrew  children  thus 
afflicted,  which  was  nearly  5.5  times  the  number 
among  the  Christian.  Hebrew  boys  are  particularly 
liable  to  have  this  defect,  the  number  being  fully  six 
times  that  among  the  Christian  boys.  Kirchner,  from 
his  investigations  in  the  Friedrich  and  Leibniz  gym- 
nasium at  Berlin,  emphasizes  the  same  fact,  and  Fizia 
was  surprised  at  the  great  number  of  myopes  found 
among  the  Hebrew  children  in  the  royal  imperial  su- 
perior state  gymnasium  at  Teschen. 

According  to  the  latter,  German  boys  come  next  to 
the  Hebrew  with  respect  to  the  frequency  of  myopia. 
Among  174  Germans,  88  Polish,  and  46  Czech  *gym- 
nasiasts,  the  per  cents  of  myopic  were  respectively 
37.9,29.5,  and  28.2.  "These  figures  indicate  that 
the  Germans  are  more  inclined  toward  myopia  than 
the  Slavs."  Similar  results  are  obtained  by  compar- 
ing German  pupils'.'at  higher  institutions  of  learning 
with  English  and  French.  Both  in  the  French  ly- 


A    RACIAL    DEFECT  259 

cees,  and  in  the  English  colleges  it  has  been  shown 
that  myopia  occurs  less  frequently  than  in  the  German 
gymnasia  and  real-gymnasia.  To  be  sure,  the  fact  to 
which  Wiese  calls  attention,  that  so  few  English  pupils 
wear  spectacles,  cannot  be  taken  as  a  demonstration  of 
this,  since  there  is  a  far  greater  dislike  for  wearing 
them  in  England  than  in  Germany. 

Finally,  the  proportion  of  university  students  who 
are  near-sighted  is  much  greater  in  Germany  than  in 
other  countries.  Out  of  311  students  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  California,  4.81$  were  found  to  be  myopic; 
this  is  doubtless  to  be  explained  by  the  small  amount 
of  preparatory  work  done.  In  Utrecht  27.07$;  in 
Leyden  28.22$;  in  Gronigen  31.82$  of  the  university 
students  were  myopic.  In  Denmark  the  number  rises 
to  32. 3  $,  and  in  the  Eastern  part  of  North  America 
to  35.47$;  but  it  reaches  its  maximum  in  Germany 
with  40  to  50  $. 

As  myopia  very  often  originates  from  racial  or 
hereditary  predispositions,  one  might  suppose  that  the 
school  could  refrain  from  combating  the  disease  on 
the  ground  that  it  would  be  powerless  against  it» 
This  would  be,  however,  a  false  inference.  The  fact 
that  pupils  enter  school  with  inherited  or  racial  ten- 
dencies and  thus  easily  become  myopic  and  so  parents 
of  myopic  offspring,  is  just  the  reason  why  they 
should  receive  greater  care.  Those  who  are  not  thus. 


260  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

burdened  should  also  be  protected  against  myopia  as 
much  as  possible. 

Aside  from  sufficient  natural  and  artificial  illumina- 
tion, and  seats  and  desks  adjusted  to  the  size  of  the 
pupils,  the  first  question  to  be  considered  in  connec- 
tion with  this  subject  is  that  of  the  preparation  of 
hygienic  school  books.  The  paper  used  in  them 
should  be  of  a  uniform  yellowish  white,  since  pure 
white  is  apt  to  prove  dazzling.  For  the  same  reason 
the  paper  must  not  be  very  glossy.  It  should,  further- 
more, contain  as  little  wood  pulp  as  possible  and  have 
an  adequate  thickness  of  not  less  than  0.075  mm.,  so 
as  by  both  of  these  means  to  keep  the  print  from 
showing  through.  Wood  pulp  can  be  detected  by  the 
microscope  or  by  the  application  of  a  drop  of  sul- 
phuric acid  analine,  which  produces  a  brownish  yellow 
spot  on  such  paper. 

The  print  must  be  definite,  deep  black,  and  so  large 
as  to  be  readable  without  difficulty.  This  will  be  the 
case  when  all  the  peculiarities  of  a  letter  can  be  dis- 
tinctly recognized  at  a  meter's  distance.  It  will  re- 
quire a  minimum  breadth  of  .25  mm.  for  each  stroke, 
and  of  at  least  1  mm.  for  small  n,  which  gives  .25 
mm.  for  each  of  the  down  strokes  and  .50  mm.  for  the 
space  between  them. 

According  to  Cohn1  the  height  of  small  n  is  not  to 

1Hermann  Cohn,  Lehrbuch  der  Hygiene  des  Auges. 
Wien  und  Leipzig,  1892,  Urban  and  Schwarzenberg. 


TEXT    BOOKS  261 

be  less  than  1.50  mm.  It  is  best,  however,  to  make  it 
5  mm.  for  beginners  in  reading,  and  then  gradually 
reduce  the  height  to  2  mm.  by  the  end  of  the  course 
preparatory  to  the  gymnasium.  In  the  lower  classes 
of  the  latter  1.75  mm.,  in  the  upper  1.75  to  1.50  mm. 
is  sufficient. 

The  shape  of  the  letters  as  well  as  their  size  is  of 
importance  for  the  prevention  of  myopia.  The  funda- 
mental principle  is  to  make  them  as  simple  as  possible, 
since  every  flourish  makes  recognition  of  them  more 
difficult.  In  this  respect  the  Latin  is  to  be  preferred 
to  the  German  type1.  The  letters  of  the  former  are 
composed  of  a  few  distinct  elements,  and  make  a  more 
forcible  and  definite  impression;  while  the  German 
characters  are  often  worked  out  at  the  expense  of 
clearness  into  a  number  of  useless  and  entangling 
parts.  As  a  proof  of  this  let  us  compare  the  two  lines 
below. 

LESERLICH.—  READABLE. 


On  maps,  coins,  and  monuments,  where  clearness  is 
especially  desirable,  it  is,  therefore,  customary  to  use 
the  Roman  alphabet  almost  exclusively.  All  the 
nations  around  us,  —  the  French,  Belgians,  Dutch, 
English,  Danes,  Swedes,  and  Norwegians  —  print  their 

xLeo  Burgerstein,  Die  Weltletter.  Vortag,  Wien, 
1889,  Karl  Konegen. 


262  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

books  in  it ;  and  more  than  250  millions  of  people  use 
nothing  else.  If  this  were  the  case  with  us  also,  our 
children  would  be  saved  much  time  and  trouble  by  not 
having  to  learn  the  German  type.  Nevertheless,  the 
substitution  of  Roman  type  will  doubtless  long  remain 
only  a  pious  wish,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  numerous 
associations. 

The  space  between  two  successive  letters  or  words, 
the  so-called  "approach",  is  also  important  for  the 
hygiene  of  the  eye.  This  should  be  .75mm.  between 
two  letters  of  the  same  word ;  and  at  least  2  mm.  be- 
tween adjacent  words.  The  interlineage,  or  distance 
between  lines,  must  not  be  less  than  2.5  to  3  mm. 

The  lines  should  be  about  100  mm.  long;  Alsatian 
expert  advice  does  not  permit  a  length  of  more  than 
80  to  90  mm.  for  school  books.  Long  lines  are  un- 
doubtedly harder  to  read  than  short  ones;  and  news- 
papers have,  therefore,  for  a  long  time  been  printed  in 
narrow  columns.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  eye 
has  to  move  a  considerable  distance  in  passing  from 
one  long  line  to  another,  which  in  the  end  proves 
fatiguing.  Besides  this,  the  ends  of  such  lines  are 
much  farther  away  from  the  eye  than  the  center,  so 
that  considerable  changes  in  accommodation  have  to 
be  made. 

The  last  requirement  for  good  print  is  that  there 
shall  be  a  sufficiently  wide  margin  at  the  sides,  since 


TEXT    BOOKS  263 

one  is  otherwise  liable  to  get  the  lines  mixed.* 
How  far  our  school  books  are  from  coming  up  to  these 
standards  is  well  known.  We  will  pass  over  the  minia- 
ture editions  still  occasionally  used  in  our  schools,  — 
justly  characterized  as  "eye-powders"  —  in  which  the 
Greek  and  Roman  classics  are  wont  to  appear.  There 
are  enough  other  books  that  injure  the  eyes.  We  need 
only  to  call  to  mind  the  dictionaries  in  pearl  type,  the 
tables  of  logarithms  with  their  minute  figures,  and 
maps  upon  which  there  is  a  confusion  of  names  and 
marks. 

School  boards  should  not  permit  the  introduction  of 
books  or  other  similar  materials  without  having  their 
hygienic  qualities  pronounced  satisfactory  by  compe- 
tent persons.  But  it  is  possible  for  even  such  a  book 
to  injure  the  eyes.  In  the  course  of  time  the  ink  is 
rubbed  off,  the  letters  become  more  or  less  grey,  and 
lose  their  sharp  contours.  Long  usage  has  a  still  more 
detrimental  effect,  if  as  is  often  the  case  the  books 
are  handled  carelessly  and  with  dirty  hands,  since  the 


.  —  It  will  be  observed  that  this  page  more 
than  corresponds  with  Dr.  Kotelmann's  requirements. 
The  height  of  the  small  m  is  If  mm.,  the  space  be- 
tween the  letters  of  the  word  is  nearly  1  mm.,  the 
space  between  two  successive  words  on  the  average 
fully  2  mm.,  the  space  between  the  lines  is  3.6  mm., 
and  the  lines  are  87  mm.  long. 


2U4  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

print  is  not  then  in  clear  enough  contrast  with  the 
paper. 

But  even  if  the  book  is  hygienically  unobjectionable, 
the  pupils  should  not  read  continuously  more  than 
three-fourths  of  an  hour  to  an  hour.  There  should 
then  be  an  intermission,  during  which  the  eyes  had 
better  look  into  the  distance  to  relax  the  muscles  of 
accommodation  and  relieve  the  pressure  from  the 
external  rectus  existing  in  near  vision.  This  should 
also  be  the  time  for  cleaning  spectacles,  since  moisture 
and  small  particles  of  dust  are  likely  to  settle  on  them 
on  account  of  the  great  hygroscopic  qualities  of  glass. 

In  general,  it  is  better  to  limit  reading  in  the  schools 
as  much  as  possible  and  make  the  instruction  oral. 
The  reading  craze  some  boys  have  should  be  checked, 
and  those  with  a  high  degree  of  myopia  should  be 
allowed  only  a  limited  use  of  the  school  library.  There 
is  special  danger  at  the  time  of  convalscence  from 
children's  diseases,  since  the  patients  are  only  too  glad 
to  give  themselves  up  to  light  reading;  or  they  may 
take  up  their  school  books  to  make  up  for  lost  time. 
The  foundation  for  myopia  is  often  laid  at  such  times, 
since  the  eye  has  for  a  while  less  power  of  resistance. 

Writing  as  well  as  reading  requires  careful  manage- 
ment, if  myopia  is  not  to  replace  hypermetropia  or  em- 
metropia  or  be  itself  aggravated  if  it  already  exists. 


PENMANSHIP  265 

The  slate  and  pencil1  should  be  banished  even  in  the 
first  class  of  the  preparatory  school,  and  instead  pen,  ink, 
and  paper  should  be  used  from  the  start.  The  distinct- 
ness and  so  the  ease  of  recognizing  what  is  written  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  difference  in  brightness  between 
the  back-ground  and  the  letters.  This  difference  is  great 
when  black  ink  and  white  paper  is  used ;  small,  if  the 
materials  are  slate  and  pencil.  When  a  slate  is  rubbed 
off  with  a  wet  rag  or  sponge,  the  surface  becomes 
shiny  at  first,  so  that  what  is  written  does  not  stand 
out  with  sufficient  prominence.  When  it  is  dry  it 
usually  has  a  gray  coat,  thus  making  it  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish the  pencil  marks,  which  are  also  grey. 

Comparative  tests  have  been  made  which  show  that 
writing  on  a  slate  with  a  slate-pencil  can  be  read  only 
at  a  much  less  distance  than  writing  on  paper  with 
ink,  the  writing  being  in  each  case  of  the  same  size. 
In  the  first  case,  the  eyes  have  to  be  brought  very  near 
the  object;  and  this  is  generally  assumed  to  be  the 
chief  cause  for  the  development  of  myopia.  In  addi- 
tion boys  who  can  write  tolerably  well  with  pencil  on 
the  slate  may  not  be  able  to  write  with  pen  on  paper. 
"They  therefore  really  have  to  learn  to  write  twice; 

xMax  Gruber,  August  Eitter  v.  Reuss,  und  Leopold 
Konigstein,  Drei  Gutachten  u'ber  die  Nachteile  von 
Schiefertafel  und  Griff  el.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulge- 
sundheitspflege,  1894,  ^"os.  8  and  9,  p.  449  ff. 


266  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

and  are  compelled  to  tax  their  eyes  double  what  they 
would  if  they  had  begun  with  pen  and  paper  at  the 
start." 

To  prevent  myopia  from  developing  in  using  pen  and 
paper,  the  following  rules  must  be  observed : 

1.  The  ink  should  not  be  light  but  deep  black,  and 
should  have  this  color  even  before  it  dries.     A  bluish 
or  violet  color,  such  as  is  often  found  in  the  aniline 
inks,  cannot  be  allowed. 

2.  Writing  paper  must  have  the  qualities  required 
above  for  printing  paper.     • 

3.  Tablets  should  not  be  more  than  20  cm.  long  or 
15    cm.   broad.     Tablets  or   copy  books  for  vertical 
script  have  considerably  shorter  lines,  which  is  of  ad- 
vantage to  the  eye. 

4.  Writing  systems  with  many  guiding  lines  should  be 
avoided.     The  use  of  double  lines  for  the  small  letters 
and  two  other  lines  for  the  limits  of  the  upper  and 
lower  parts  of  the  long  letters  is  doubtless  necessary  for 
beginners.     Not  more  than  four  or  five  oblique  lines 
should  be  used  on  the  horizontal  line  to  give  the  in- 
clination of  the  down  strokes,  as  more   would  be  a 
nuisance.      The   change  to  simple  double  lines,   not 
more  than  three  to  five  mm.  apart  should  be  made  as 
soon  as  possible ;  and  from  these  to  the  single  line. 

5.  To  use  line-sheets  instead  of  lines  is  unhygienic, 
since  they  do  not   show   through   the   paper   clearly 


PENMANSHIP  26? 

enough.  Red  and  blue  lines  are  also  indistinct  and  so 
injurious;  black  guiding  lines  mark  the  limits  of  let- 
ters best  of  all.  Paper  ruled  into  squares,  which  is 
often  used  in  work  in  addition,  should  be  wholly  done 
away  with,  since  it  is  particularly  fatiguing  to  the  eye. 
It  would  be  better  if  the  eye  and  hand  were  not  assisted 
at  all  by  any  kind  of  lines. 

With  regard  to  the  kind  of  script,  the  present  double 
standard  in  Germany  deserves  no  commendation1.  It 
would  be  amply  sufficient  if  our  children  learned  the  Lat- 
in script  alone,  without  the  so-called  German  script, 
which  according  to  Jacob  Grimm  could  with  as  much 
propriety  be  called  the  Bohemian  script.  The  German 
written  characters  as  well  as  the  corresponding  type  is 
not  so  readable  as  the  Latin.  Besides  this,  it  takes  longer 
to  write  it,  since  it  has  a  great  many  separate  move- 
ments and  additions.  According  to  Soennecken,  the 
'German  written  alphabet  has  107  separate  movements, 
while  the  Latin  has  68 ;  seven  movements  are  needed  for 
Mt  for  example  and  only  three  for  in.  Similarly,  the 
German  printed  alphabet  has  on  the  whole  36$  more 
parts  than  the  Latin. 

Since  the  eye  should  not  be  less  than  30  cm.  away 
from  the  line  in  writing,  vertical  penmanship  deserves 

*Leo  Burgerstein,  Die  Weltletter.  Yortrag,  Wien, 
1889,  Karl  Konegen. 


268 


THE    EYE:    MYOPIA 


to  be  preferred  to  the  ordinary  slanting  script.  Seggel1 
has  measured  the  distance  of  the  root  of  the  nose  from 
the  writing  paper  in  the  case  of  6,000  children,  and 
has  obtained  the  following  results : 


Class 

Vertical  script 

Slanting  script 

Difference  in  favor 
of  vertical  script 

I 
II 
III 
IV 

24.6cm. 
28.6    " 
30.1    " 
30.1    " 

19.2cm. 
24.4  " 
27.9   " 
27.1    " 

5.4  cm. 
4.2    " 

2.2    " 
3.0    " 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  table,  the  younger  children 
get  nearer  to  the  paper  than  the  older.  This  may  be 
explained  by  the  fact  that  they  are  not  yet  familiar 
with  the  letters  and  so  try  to  secure  as  large  a  retinal 
image  of  them  as  they  can.  But  it  is  especially  for 
these  that  close  near-vision  is  so  dangerous,  since  their 
eyes  have  as  yet  only  a  slight  power  of  resistance. 

Another  matter  that  is  by  no  means  unimportant  in 
the  development  of  myopia  is  the  handwriting  of  the 
children.  It  should  not  be  too  small;  the  common 
German  /w  should  have  a  height  of  at  least  2.5  mm. 
"  Docti  male  pingunt"  (the  learned  are  poor  artists) 
ought  not  to  be  true  of  our  gymnasiasts  and  real- 
gymnasiasts.  Illegible  writing  injures  not  only  their 

1Seggel,  Bericht  der  vom  Arztlichen  Bezirksverein 
Miinchen  Zur  Priifung  des  Einflusses  der  Steil-  und 
Schragschrift  (Schiefschrift)  gewiihlten  Kommission, 
Miinchener  medizinische  Wochenschrift,  1892,  No.  28 
and  1893,  No.  13  ff. 


DRAWING  269 

own  eyes  but  those  of  the  teachers  who  have  to  read 
it  in  making  corrections.  Nevertheless,  if  a  good  hand 
has  been  acquired  in  the  lower  grades  it  is  usually 
lost  in  the  upper,  by  writing  too  much  and  too  hastily. 
In  extempore  exercises  and  work  of  a  similar  sort,  dic- 
tation should  not  be  too  rapid.  Careless  short-hand 
work  must  also  be  avoided. 

Drawing  lessons  may  likewise  increase  or  give  rise  to 
myopia.  Care  should  be  exercised  in  shading  with 
fine  lines.  The  so-called  stigmographic  method  of 
Stuhlmann1  has  justly  been  vigorously  attacked.  In 
this  the  pupils  draw  even  in  the  first  year  at  school  on 
paper  marked  off  into  squares  seven  to  eight  milli- 
meters on  a  side.  The  dim  blue  lines  and  the  small 
size  of  the  squares  compel  the  pupils  to  bring  their 
eyes  close  to  the  paper.  This  is  still  more  the  case 
when  they  begin  to  use  the  stigmographic  outlines  in 
the  third  year.  These  consist  of  points,  one  centi- 
meter apart,  arranged  in  vertical  and  horizontal  rows. 
The  pupil  has  to  find  the  direction  for  his  pencil  in 
this  confusion  by  mechanically  counting  the  dots.  We 
must  not  fail,  however,  to  mention  a  mitigating  cir- 

1A  Stuhlmann,  Der  Zeichenunterricht  in  der  Volks- 
und  Mittelschule.  I.  Teil:  Begrundung  und  Meth- 
ode. — Das  Liniennetz-,  Punktnetz-,  und  Stickmuster- 
netzzeichnen.  Urteile  von  Augenarzten.  Abdruck 
aus  der  Zeitschrift  des  Vereins  deutscher  Zeichenlehrer. 
Berlin,  1881. 


270  THE  EYE:  MYOPIA 

cumstance,  which  many  opponents  of  the  method  fail 
to  notice,  namely,  that  the  drawing  itself  is  not  in- 
tended by  Stuhlmann  to  last  more  than  10  to  15 
minutes,  the  rest  of  the  lesson  consisting  of  oral  ex- 
planations during  which  the  eyes  can  rest.  Noth with- 
standing this,  we  must  concur  with  the  decree  of  the 
royal  cultus-ministry  of  Bavaria,  which  on  July,  1883, 
prohibited  the  use  of  the  stigmographic  method  in 
schools. 

Drawing  is  otherwise  an  excellent  and  healthful 
training  for  the  eyes,  especially  when  it  is  not  begun 
till  the  age  of  ten,  which  is  the  age  usually  required 
by  teachers  of  drawing.  Especially  sketching  from 
nature  can  have  only  a  favorable  influence  upon  the 
eye.  Pupils  should,  therefore,  be  excused  from  draw- 
ing only  when  their  eye-sight  is  very  imperfect,  as  for 
example  when  they  have  spots  on  the  cornea,  partial 
opacity  of  the  lens,  or  some  similar  defect. 

Colors  are  also  sometimes  used  with  the  drawing  ex- 
ercises. An  accurate  discrimination  of  them  is  indis- 
pensable in  science  courses.  Chemical  reactions  and 
zoological,  botanical,  and  minerological  objects,  are 
discriminated  by  means  of  them.  Color-blind  pupils 
are,  therefore,  at  a  great  disadvantage;  the  more  so, 
since  their  defect  excludes  them  from  many  occupa- 
tions, such  as  painting,  the  naval  service,  and  the 
external  railroad  service.  In  the  latter,  red  and  green 


COLOE-BLINDNESS  271 

lanterns  or  flags  are  used ;  and  in  the  navy,  in  addition, 
blue  and  yellow  signals. 

Young  people  often  do  not  detect  their  color-blind- 
ness till  they  have  entered  upon  a  career  for  which 
they  are  unfitted  by  it.  I  have  myself  known  gradu- 
ates of  our  secondary  schools  to  enter  an  academy  of 
art  and  spend  the  first  year  in  sketching  from  anti- 
quities and  models-,  only  then  to  find  on  taking  up 
painting  that  their  progress  was  stopped  by  this  hither- 
to unsuspected  defect.  Such  cases  are  not  so  very 
rare,  since  color-blindness  is  a  rather  frequent  trouble. 
In  schools  of  Antwerp,  3.78  %  of  the  boys  and  .72  %  of 
the  girls  were  color-blind.  The  greater  number  among 
the  boys  is  due  to  the  fact  that  colors  play  a  less  im- 
portant part  in  their  life  than  in  that  of  the  girls. 

Teachers  should  accordingly  endeavor  to  ascertain  in 
time  which  of  their  pupils  are  color-blind.  The  defect 
may  be  either  total  or  partial.  In  the  first  case,  there 
is  an  absence  of  all  color  sensations;  and  in  the  second, 
of  either  of  the  color  pairs,  red-green  or  yellow-blue. 
Sometimes  it  is  only  a  matter  of  weakness  of  the 
color  sense  which  prevents  the  perception  of  certain 
differences  in  shade. 

As  a  color-blindness  test  for  large  numbers  of  pupils, 
Holmgren's  method  is  the  best.  A  skein  of  worsted 
of  a  certain  color  is  placed  before  the  pupil  with  the 
request  that  he  select  from  a  number  of  different 


272  THE  EYE:  COLOR-BLINDNESS 

colored  skeins  that  which  is  like  it.  The  first  sample 
given  is  bright  green.  Whoever  picks  out  the  corres- 
ponding skein  quickly,  without  noticable  hesitation 
and  comparison  is  not  color-blind. 

If  anyone  seems  uncertain,  or  picks  out  the  wrong 
colors,  he  is  given  a  rose-colored  skein ;  but  this  time 
he  is  asked  not  only  to  pick  out  those  of  the  same  color, 
but  also  those  which  differ  from  it  only  in  shade. 
Whoever  passes  in  this  test  successfully  but  failed  in 
the  other,  has  merely  a  weak  color  sense. 

The  really  color-blind  person,  on  the  other  hand, 
makes  characteristic  mistakes;  the  red-blind  putting 
blue  besides  the  rose  color,  the  green-blind,  green  and 
grey,  and  the  violet-blind,  red.  The  latter  usually 
place  blue  with  green  in  the  first  trial. 

To  let  a  person  name  the  color  of  different  objects 
is  not  an  adequate  test.  For,  on  the  one  hand,  many 
of  the  color-blind  learn  the  right  names  for  the  prin- 
cipal colors  by  distinguishing  them  through  their  differ- 
ences in  brightness;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  many 
pupils  do  not  have  the  proper  expressions  for  the 
different  colors,  though  possessed  of  normal  color 
sense. 

In  addition  to  the  functional  disturbances  so  far  dis- 
cussed, there  are  two  external  diseases  of  the  eye, 
which  deserve  the  attention  of  teachers.  One  of  these 


DISEASES    OF    THE    EYE  273 

is  the  granular  inflammation  of  the  conjuctiva1. 
It  is  characterized  by  a  rosary  like  series  of  granules, 
which  look  like  frog  spawn,  and  appear  on  the  inside 
of  the  lids,  especially  where  the  conjunctiva  passes 
from  the  lids  to  the  eye-ball.  This  membrane  conse- 
quently begins  to  look  uneven  and  rough ;  and  this  has 
led  physicians  to  call  the  disease  trachoma.  It  is 
popularly  known  as  the  Egyptian  inflammation  of  the 
eyes,  because  in  the  expedition  to  Egypt  by  Napoleon 
I,  nearly  his  whole  army  was  attacked  by  the  contag- 
ion, which  is  there  endemic. 

If  the  inflammation  is  acute  the  conjunctiva  becomes 
red  and  swollen  and  secretes  more  mucus.  The  latter 
is  the  -bearer  of  the  infectious  material,  which  is 
doubtless  a  micro-organism,  though  there  is  at  present 
no  consensus  of  opinion  as  to  its  nature.  The  cornea 
is  often  affected  sympathetically  and  becomes  over- 
grown with  vessels  or  ulcers.  If  the  disease  lasts  for 
months  or  years,  or  in  other  words  becomes  chronic, 
the  conjunctiva  will  be  scarred  and  shrunken;  and 
the  tarsal  cartilages  will  be  bent  inwards  so  as  to 
bring  the  eye-lashes  against  the  eyes,  which  keeps  the 
latter  in  a  constant  state  of  irritation.  This  is  all 
very  injurious  to  the  eye-sight;  and  trachoma  still 
holds  the  second  place  among  the  causes  of  blindness. 

1Perlia,  Leitfaden  der  Hygiene  des  Auges.  Hamburg 
u.  Leipzig,  1893,  Leopold  Voss. 


274  DISEASES   OF   THE   EYE 

It  is  most  common  in  the  eastern  sections  of  Ger- 
many especially  in  the  common  schools.  In  the  vil- 
lage schools  in  Livland  17.6$,  and  in  the  elemen- 
tary schools  at  Samter  in  the  province  of  Posen  20  $ 
were  afflicted  with  the  disease ;  and  in  Wehlau  in  East 
Prussia,  all  the  common  schools  had  to  be  closed  on 
account  of  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  circle  of  Heiligenstadt  in 
the  government  district  of  Erfurt,  Schmidt-Kimpler 
found  only  5  %  in  the  village  schools,  and  only  2.4  %  in 
the  city  schools  suffering  from  trachoma.  In  fact,  in 
the  gymnasium  at  Heiligenstadt,  there  was  only  one 
among  the  203  pupils  troubled  with  granulated  lids. 
He  found  the  conditions  similar  in  the  gymnasia, 
real-gymnasia,  and  progymnasia  of  the  province  of 
Hessen-Xassau,  since  there  was  only  one  case  among 
the  1,662  pupils. 

These  figures  make  it  clear  that  trachoma  is  not  so 
frequent  among  the  boys  from  the  upper  and  more 
cultured  classes.  The  spreading  of  the  disease  is  in 
these  cases  prevented  by  greater  cleanliness  and  care 
and  more  favorable  conditions  at  home. 

For  this  reason  not  every  boy  suffering  with  trachoma 
should  be  unconditionally  excluded  from  the  gym- 
nasia and  real-gymnasia.  The  Austrian  royal-imperial 
government  of  Kiistenlande,  where  trachoma  is  in- 
digenous, excludes  only  severe  cases :  that  is,  cases  with 


TRACHOMA  275 

many  granulations  and  much  mucous  discharge,  and 
likely  to  be  a  means  of  communicating  the  disease  to 
other  pupils.  Those  with  lighter  attacks  are  permitted 
to  take  part  in  the  school  work,  yet  not  without  the 
necessary  precautions.  They  must  not  use  'the  com- 
mon wash  basins  or  towels,  nor  touch  the  persons, 
books,  or  other  effects  belonging  to  their  comrades. 
For  it  is  quite  customary  for  the  patients  to  rub  their 
eyes  and  in  that  way  get  the  infectious  secretion  on 
their  hands.  The  healthy  pupils  must  for  their  part 
avoid  coming  in  contact  with  the  property  or  persons 
of  such  pupils  as  have  the  disease.  If  a  number  of 
pupils  in  a  boarding-school  should  fall  victims  to 
trachoma,  it  is  better  not  to  send  them  home  but  to 
have  them  treated  at  the  institution,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  spreading  of  the  disease  in  still  wider  circles. 

Follicular  inflammation1  of  the  conjunctiva  is  not 
so  dangerous.  In  this  case,  also,  there  are  protuber- 
ances in  this  membrane,  which  are  hemispherical  or 
oval  in  shape,  but  which  have  a  transparent,  cyst-like 
appearance,  and  a  light  pinkish  color,  while  the  gran- 
ulations are  yellow  and  opaque,  and  usually  larger  and 
more  numerous.  There  is  never  any  extreme  swelling 
of  the  conjunctiva,  so  that  it  always  keeps  its  smooth 
appearance ;  it  is,  therefore,  only  slightly  hyperaemic, 
and  the  discharge  of  mucus  is  not  very  great.  The 

1  Perlia,  Leitf aden  der  Hygiene  de,s  Auges.  Hamburg 
u.  Leipzig,  1893,  Leopold  Voss. 


276  DISEASES    OF    THE    EYE 

follicles  are  often  very  stubborn  and  give  rise  to  all 
sorts  of  discomforts,  such  as  burning  and  itching  of 
the  eye-lids  and  a  feeling  as  if  there  were  dust  or  sand 
in  the  eyes.  The  trouble  becomes  worse  towards 
night.  The  eyes  become  abnormally  sensitive  toward 
artificial  illumination,  and  the  eye-lids  feel  tired  and 
heavy.  On  awakening  in  the  morning  they  are  found 
to  be  cemented  together  with  dried  mucus,  and  open- 
ing them  is  painful.  In  some  cases,  especially  those 
that  are  chronic,  the  patient  knows  nothing  of  his 
trouble,  and  the  little  protuberances  in  the  conjunctiva 
are  discovered  only  by  accident. 

In  the  last  decade  the  disease  has  proved  to  be  re- 
markably infectious,  since  severe  and  wide-spread 
epidemics  have  often  sprung  up  around  single  pupils 
who  introduced  it  into  the  schools.  These  epidemics 
have  usually  travelled  from  east  to  west.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  in 
eastern  and  central  Europe  favors  their  development 
there,  especially  when  the  ground  in  winter  is  not 
covered  with  snow  but  is  ready  to  give  off  dust.  In 
1885,  epidemics  originating  in  the  schools  of  East 
Prussia  spread  thence  to  Silesia  and  Saxony,  and  were 
finally  observed  in  Bremen  and  the  region  about  Dort- 
mund. Krug1  gives  a  description  of  such  an  epidemic 

1W.  Krug,  Eine  Epidemic  von  follikularer  Binde- 
Iiautentziindung  in  den  Schulen  Dresdens.  Zeitschrif t 
fur  Schulgesundheitspnege,  1891,  Xo.  2,  p.  81  ff. 


FOLLICULAB    INFLAMMATION  277 

in  Dresden.  At  first  only  12  children  in  a  class  in  the 
preparatory  school  were  attacked ;  but  the  disease  then 
went  from  school  to  school  till  4,000  pupils  were  suffer- 
ing from  it. 

Moreover,  the  follicular  inflammation,  in  contrast 
with  the  granular,  occurs  not  less  but  rather  more 
frequently  in  the  higher  than  in  the  lower  schools. 
Among  919  pupils  in  the  village  schools  of  the  district 
of  Heiligenstadt,  Schmidt-Rimpler  found  56,  or  6.09  % 
and  among  the  1,151  pupils  of  the  city  elementary 
schools  72,  or  6.25$,  afflicted  with  the  trouble.  In 
the  Heiligenstadt  gymnasium,  on  the  other  hand,  25 
out  of  203,  or  12.3$,  had  the  disease;  and  among  a 
large  number  of  gymnasiasts  and  real-gymnasiasts 
of  Hessen-^assau,  it  reached  the  high  figure  of  27  $, 
in  which  case  pupils  with  just  a  few  isolated  follicles 
must  have  been  counted. 

If  an  epidemic  of  this  follicular  catarrh  breaks  out 
in  a  school,  the  teachers  must  double  their  precautions 
to  keep  the  air  pure  and  free  from  dust  and  moisture. 
Those  affected  should  be  excluded  from  school  till  a 
ph}rsician  certifies  that  they  are  entirely  cured,  or  at 
least  beyond  the  stage  when  the  disease  can  be  com- 
municated, since  the  number  of  pupils  involved  is 
large  and  the  spreading  of  the  infection  consequently 
rapid.  Regular  examinations  of  the  eyes  of  the  pupils 
have  proved  to  be  an  important  prophylactic  measure, 


278  DISEASES   OF   THE    EYE 

since  by  this  means  new  cases  can  be  discovered  and 
removed  at  once.  Besides  this,  contaminated  class- 
rooms or  sitting-rooms,  and  bed-rooms  should  be  dis- 
infected by  rubbing  the  walls  with  bread  and  scouring 
the  floors  and  washing  the  furniture  with  carbolic  acid 
solution. 


CHAPTER  X 

HYGIENE  OF  THE  EAR 

After  the  eye,  the  ear  is  the  most  important  sense ; 
and  we  shall  therefore  next. devote  our  attention  to 
the  hygiene  of  this  organ  in  schools.  Since  v.  Reich- 
ard  first  tested  the  hearing  of  school  children  in  Riga, 
in  1878,  many  similar  investigations  have  been  made 
in  Germany,  Denmark,  Switzerland,  France,  England, 
Sweden,  Russia,  and  the  United  States. 

Among  these,  the  work  of  Fr.  Bezold1  in  Munich 
deserves  special  consideration,  not  only  because  he  has 
made  a  thorough  study  of  statistical  material  obtained 
from  1,918  school  children;  but  also  because  he  devel- 
oped the  method  of  making  the  tests  so  that  it  will 
serve  as  a  model  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

To  ascertain  the  acuteness  of  hearing  he  uses  whis- 
pering, preferably  the  whispering  of  numbers.  As 
compared  with  the  older  method  with  the  watch,  which 
is  still  much  in  use,  this  new  one  is  a  great  deal  more 
reliable,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  younger  pupils, 
since  they  show  by  repeating  the  whispered  numbers 

'Friedrich  Bezold,  Schuluntersuchungen  iiber  das 
Kindliche  Gehororgan.  Miinchen,  1885. 

(279) 


280  THE    EAR 

whether  they  have  heard  and  understood  them  cor- 
rectly. Of  course  only  one  ear  at  a  time  is  tested,  the 
other  being  closed  by  holding  some  cloth  against  it. 
Since  those  who  are  hard  of  hearing  try  to  read  the 
numbers  from  the  lips,  the  examiner  turns  his  face 
away  from  them  in  whispering.  Two  place  numbers 
are  always  selected;  and  the  difficult  figures  7,  6,  and 
5,  which  are  often  confused,  receive  special  considera- 
tion. 

It  is  only  when  the  difficult  combinations  these  make 
are  also  correctly  reproduced  that  the  distance  of 
the  pupil  from  the  examiner  is  taken  to  be  the  limit  of 
hearing.  According  to  many  experiments,  a  distance 
of  20  m.  for  those  with  normal  hearing — to  which  class 
children  especially  belong — is  rather  too  low  than  too 
high  a  limit  in  a  quiet  neighborhood.  If  the  tests  are 
made  in  the  day  time  in  large  cities,  where  noise  can- 
not be  excluded,  a  distance  of  16  m.  may  be  considered 
normal. 

The  number  of  pupils  who  fall  below  this  standard 
is  really  quite  considerable.  Von  Eeichard,  who  was 
physician  of  the  gymnasium  at  Riga,  found  that 
23.2$  out  of  1,055  pupils  had  defective  hearing. 
Wiel  made  still  more  extended  investigations  in  Stutt- 
gart, testing  as  many  as  5,905  pupils  in  the  elementary 
and  secondary  schools.  The  numbers  found  hard  of 
hearing  varied  in  this  case  from  10  to  30  $,  according 


TESTS    OF    HEARING  281 

to  the  social  conditions  of  the  pupils;  it  was  greatest 
in  an  elementary  school  attended  only  by  the  poor,  of 
whom  353  out  of  1,105,  or  nearly  one-third,  were 
deficient  to  a  marked  degree; 

In  Washington,  Samuel  Sexton  tested  570  pupils  in 
different  institutions  and  found  13  %  considerably  de- 
fective in  hearing.  In  Bordeaux  17  $  were  found  de- 
fective by  Moure  ;  in  Minden  20.9$  by  Ohleman1 ; 
in  Paris  22  to  25  %  by  Gelle2 ;  and  in  Glasgow  27.66  % 
by  Thomas  Barr.  Similarly,  Bezold  ascertained  that 
25.8$  out  of  1,918  pupils  in  the  elementary  and  sec- 
ondary schools  in  Munich  could  hear  a  whisper  only  at 
one-third  the  normal  distance;  and  11.3$  of  these 
could  understand  the  whisper  only  at  from  4  to  0 
meters  instead  of  at  25  to  20.  In  St.  Petersburg 
Shermunski  examined  2,221  children  in  50  different 
city  schools,  and  found  388,  or  17.42  $,  with  diminished 
power  of  hearing. 

The  number  with  defective  hearing  seems  to  be 
smaller  in  the  higher  than  in  the  lower  schools ;  but 
the  percentage  obtained  by  H.  Schuschny  in  the  superior 
state-real-school  in  district  V.  in  Budapest  are  excep- 

^hlemann,  Beitrag  Zu  Schuluntersuchungen  des 
Gehororgans.  Archiv  fur  Ohrenheilkunde,  1895,  Vol. 
39,  part  1,  ff.  1. 

2 Gelle,  Conditions  de  1' Audition  dans  1'ecole.  An- 
nales  d'hygiene  publique,  1883. 


282  THE   EAR 

tionally  favorable.  His  figures  show  that  only  6.2$ 
were  hard  of  hearing;  and  they  were  distributed 
among  the  different  classes  as  follows:  Class  I,  7.7$; 
11,6.7$;  111,6.6$;  IV,  3.9$;  V,  6.5$;  VI,  9.3$; 
and  VII  8. 8$.  But  when,  according  to  a  report  by 
the  Prussian  minister  of  education,  the  teachers  in  the 
higher  institutions  within  his  jurisdiction  find  only 
2.18$  defective,  this  number  must  certainly  be  ques- 
tioned, since  it  is  in  disagreement  with  the  results  of 
every  other  investigation. 

Since  the  tests  were  in  this  case  made  without  the 
aid  of  a  physician,  only  the  most  severe  cases  were 
reported;  while  slight  and  intermediate  degrees  were 
passed  over. 

It  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  a  deficiency  in 
hearing  so  small  as  to  be  ascertainable  only  by  means 
of  a  watch  or  a  whisper1,  that  is,  by  a  delicate  test, 
could  be  of  no  special  disadvantage  to  pupils,  on  the 
ground  that  they  can  follow  the  recitations  in  spite  of 
it.  But  this  would  be  an  erroneous  notion.  Of  all 
the  requirements  made  of  the  ear,  one  of  the  most 
difficult  is  the  understanding  of  language.  The  cause 
of  this  is  the  great  number  of  consonants  that  are 
crowded  together;  since  these  have  the  nature  of 

JC.  Keller,  Der  Geh'orssinn  in  Seinen  Beziehungen 
Zur  Schule.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege, 
1888,  No.  4,  p.  105  ff. 


DISADVANTAGE    OF    AUDITORY    DEFECTS  283 

noises,  they  are  not  so  readily  apprehended  as  the 
Towels,  which  are  more  like  musical  tones.  The  fact 
that  pupils  with  normal  hearing  can  easily  follow  the 
teacher,  ;s  only  apparently  in  contradiction  with  this 
.statement.  For,  as  the  eye  in  reading  does  not  see 
the  individual  letters  as  such,  but,  as  a  consequence 
of  long  practice,  takes  in  the  words  as  a  whole,  so  the 
ear  catches  the  spoken  word  as  an  entirety,  needing 
often  only  a  few  characteristic  sounds  for  the  purpose. 
For  this  reason  a  pupil  with  defective  hearing  can  for 
some  time  correctly  understand  lectures,  dictations, 
and  similar  exercises ;  but  his  attention  will  gradually 
weaken  under  the  severe  strain,  and  by  failing  to  hear 
one  or  more  words  he  may  lose  the  sense  altogether. 
A  pupil  with  normal  hearing  can  in  such  a  case  usually 
catch  the  connection  from  what  follows;  while  the 
pupil  with  defective  hearing  finds  it  much  more  diffi- 
cult to  do  so.  His  embarrassment  is  especially  great 
when  new  words  are  involved,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
loreign  languages,  history,  geography,  and  natural 
science,  because  he  finds  it  impossible  to  fill  out  the 
part  of  the  word  which  he  does  not  hear. 

In  school  work,  those  hard  of  hearing  are  usually 
behind  pupils  of  normal  hearing,  even  if  their  defect 
is  slight.  Out  of  twenty  pupils  between  the  ages  of 
ten  and  eighteen  who  were  reported  to  Gelle  (see  page 
281)  as  the  poorest  in  the  school,  only  four  had  good 


284  THE    EAR 

hearing,  while  sixteen  were  defective  in  either  one  or 
both  ears.  Similar  results  were  obtained  by  Sher- 
munski1.  Among  boys  who  could  understand  a  whis- 
per at  from  24  to  12  meters  the  ratio  of  good  to  poor 
students  was  4.19:1;  among  those  whose  hearing  was 
one-half  to  one-third  of  the  normal,  the  ratio  was 
2.6  : 1;  and  among  those  whose  hearing  was  less  than 
one-third,  it  was  1.7  : 1. 

A  comparison  of  the  hearing  power  of  bright  and 
dull  pupils  was  made  not  only  at  Paris  and  St.  Peters- 
burg but  also  at  Glasgow.  Barr  asked  the  teachers  to 
pick  out  seventy  of  each  kind.  The  result  of  the  ex- 
amination was  as  follows:  of  those  with  both  ears 
defective,  four  were  bright,  ten  were  dull;  and  of 
those  with  one  ear  defective,  ten  were  bright  and  fif- 
teen dull.  Here  also  there  were  relatively  more  dull 
pupils  among  those  hard  of  hearing. 

Finally,  as  an  additional  proof  of  the  dependence  of 
the  mental  development  of  school  children  upon  their 
ability  to  hear,  we  may  mention  the  investigation  made 
by  W.  Permewan  in  a  school  in  Liverpool.  The  teach- 
ers classified  62  of  the  203  pupils  as  dull,  52  as  medium, 
and' 89  as  bright.  The  average  distance  at  which  the 
ticking  of  a  .watch  could  be  heard  was  31 J-  inches  for 

^hermunski,  Untersuchungen  des  Gehors  der  Kin- 
der schulpflichtigen  Alters  in  den  Petersburger  Stadt- 
schulen.  Wratsh,  1888,  Xos.  38  and  39. 


DULNESS  OFTEN  FKOM  AUDITORY  DEFECTS         285 

the  62  dull  pupils;  47J  for  the  52  medium;  and  51 
for  the  89  bright  pupils.  This  makes  the  hearing 
power  of  the  dull  one-half,  that  of  the  medium  three- 
fourths,  and  that  of  the  bright  five-sixths  that  of  the 
normal,  which  was  sixty  inches. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  it  is  evidently  the  duty  of 
teachers  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  hearing  of 
pupils  who  through  slow  progress,  inattention,  or  ab- 
sent-mindedness give  occasion  for  frequent  censure. 
This  is  the  more  necessary  because  slight  defects  of 
hearing,  often  even  grave  defects,  are  frequently  un- 
recognized, not  only  by  the  afflicted  person's  friends, 
but  by  the  person  himself.  When  he  talks  to  his  par- 
ents or  comrades,  he  hears  well  enough,  since  he  is  so 
near;  why  should  he  suspect  that  his  hearing  is  inade- 
quate in  school  ?  The  teacher  himself  often  fails  to 
understand  the  matter ;  for  the  acuteness  of  hearing 
of  such  pupils  is  in  not  a  few  cases  subject  to  great 
variations.  If  the  teacher  has  satisfied  himself  one 
day  that  a  pupil's  hearing  is  good,  it  will  be  difficult 
for  him  to  believe  the  contrary  a  few  days  later ;  he 
will  rather  be  inclined  to  blame  the  pupil  for  shirking 
his  tasks. 

Auditory  defects  in  which  the  ability  to  hear  fluctu- 
ates are  usually  due  to  the  so-called  adenoid  vegeta- 
tions1, a  disease  of  the  upper  part  of  the  pharynx.  In 

^aximillian  Bresgen,  Uber  die  Bedeutung  behinder- 
ter  Nasenatmung,  insbesondere  bei  Schulkindern. 


286  THE    EAR 

the  roof  of  the  pharynx,  there  is  a  glandular  forma- 
tion, which  resembles  the  tonsils  somewhat,  and  has 
therefore  been  called  the  third,  or  pharyngeal  tonsil. 
Like  the  other  tonsils  this  gland  is  capable  of  becom- 
ing much  enlarged,  and  it  is  customary  to  find  a  simul- 
taneous swelling  in  the  surrounding  adenoid  tissue. 
This  is  loosely  built  and  remarkably  vascular ;  and  it 
can  therefore  change  in  size  according  to  the  amount 
of  blood  poured  into  it.  If  the  enlargement  is  con- 
siderable, it  closes  the  Eustachian  tubes,  which  connect 
the  cavities  of  the  ear  drums  witk^the  pharynx. 
These  tubes  are  ordinarily  opened  in  -swallowing  or 
blowing  the  nose,  so  as  to  admit  air  to  fKese  cavities.  If 
this  is  prevented  by  the  closure  above  mentioned,  the 
pressure  on  the  tympanic  membrane  may  be  so  great 
from  the  difference  in  the  tension  of  the  air  in  the  exter- 
nalauditory  meatus  and  the  middle  ear  as  to  produce 
deafness.  This  will  explain  why  the  afflicted  pupils  may 
at  one  time  hear  well  and  at  another  badly,  as  it  will 

Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1889,  No.  10y 
p.  507  ff. — Viktor  Lange,  Uber  den  Einfluss  behinder- 
ter  Nasenatmung  auf  die  korperliche  und  geistige 
Entwickelung  der  Kinder.  Ibid.,  1893,  No.  6, 
p.  313  if. — The  same,  Uber  eine  hiiufig  vorkommende 
Ursache  der  langsamen  und  mangelhaften  geistigen 
Entwickelung  der  Kinder.  Vortrag.  Berliner  klinische 
Wochenschrift,  1893,  No.  6. 


ADENOID    VEGETATIONS  287 

be  according  to  the  amount  of    enlargement   of   the 
adenoid  tissue. 

Such  boys  should  receive  special  consideration  for 
other  reasons  than  that  they  have  defective  hearing. 
From  the  stoppage  of  the  posterior  nares  by  these 
swellings  they  suffer  constantly  with  pressure  in  the 
head,  just  the  same  as  if  the  nose  was  stopped  by  a 
bad  case  of  catarrh.  The  consequence  is  that  they 
are  unable  to  direct  their  attention  or  give  their 
thoughts  to  a  subject  for  any  length  of  time,  a 
condition  which  Guye  has  named  aprosexia  nasalis 
(a — TTpocre^eiv,  sc.  vovv). 

If  the  extuberances  are  cut  away,  there  is  always  an 
improvement  and  often  a  complete  mental  change. 
Study  is  no  longer  a  hardship  for  pupils  thus  operated 
upon.  Their  memories  improve  and  they  begin  to 
take  pleasure  in  their  lessons.  Xot  only  should  such 
favorable  results  encourage  us  to  watch  for  these  cases ; 
but  so  also  should  the  fact  that  they  can  usually  be 
readily  recognized  even  by  persons  without  special 
training.  Those  suffering  from  adenoid  growths  talk, 
as  we  say,  through  the  nose;  and,  since  the  nose  is 
closed,  breathe  through  the  mouth,  which  they  conse- 
quently nearly  always  keep  open.  This  gives  them  a 
peculiar,  stupid  expression  ;  and  in  grave  cases  one 
would  think  he  was  in  the  presence  of  an  idiot. 


288 


THE    EAR 


Figures  36  and  37  give  aji  illustration  of  a  boy  with 
adenoid  vegetations  respectively  before  and  after  the 
operation  of  removal. 


FIG.  36.     BOY  WITH  ADENOID  VEGETATIONS,  BEFORE  THE 
OPERATION 

Other  diseases  of  the  throat  besides  those  described 
may  affect  hearing  sympathetically,  if  they  can  spread 
through  the  Eustachian  tubes  into  the  middle  ear. 
Pathogenic  bacteria  find  an  especially  favorable  soil  in 
the  diseased  mucous  membrane  of  the  pharynx,  and 
they  can  then  travel  by  the  ways  mentioned  into  the 
tympanic  cavities.  In  acute  infectious  diseases  like 
scarlet  fever,  measles,  diphtheria,  influenza,  typhus, 


ADENOID    VEGETATION 


289 


and  small  pox,  no  other  sense  organ  is  so  frequently 
attacked  as  the  ear.  The  purulent  inflammation  of 
the  pharynx  spreads  to  the  middle  ear,  where  it  can 


FIG.  37.  THE  SAME  AFTER  THE  OPERATION 

easily  eat  through  the  tympanic  membrane  or  destroy 
the  auditory  ossicles  and  so  produce  deafness,  which 
will  be  complete  if  the  labyrinth  should  also  be  affected. 
The  school  can  no  more  be  held  responsible  for  such 
cases,  unless  we  refer  to  the  propagation  of  infectious 
diseases  by  it,  than  for  auditory  defects  due  to  general 
constitutional  troubles  like  scrofula,  rickets,  tuber- 
culosis, or  anaemia. 


290  THE    EAR 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  also  some  unfavorable 
influences  in  school  that  may  prove  injurious  to  hear- 
ing. We  should  in  the  first  place  mention  dust  and 
overheated  air,  which  irritate  mucous  membranes  either 
mechanically  or  thermically,  and,  as  we  know,  often 
produce  catarrh  of  the  pharynx  and  so  of  the  ear. 
Cold  drafts  are  also  injurious,  especially  in  damp  or 
windy  weather,  since  they  can  then  produce  an  inflam- 
mation of  the  tympanum.  The  ventilation  of  class- 
rooms during  recesses  should  accordingly  be  done  with 
care.  To  be  sure,  many  pupils  do  not  have  their  hear- 
ing affected  even  by  strong  drafts ;  but  in  others,  again, 
the  ears  become  sensitive  and  have  a  feeling  of  pres- 
sure, fullness,  and  pain  as  the  premonitory  symptoms 
of  inflammation.  Pupils  with  aural  diseases  should 
therefore  have  their  ears  protected  when  they  are  out 
on  the  play-ground  in  damp,  cold  weather;  such  pro- 
tection is,  however,  not  necessary  in  fine  weather  or 
inside  the  building. 

Violent  noises  also  endanger  the  sense  of  hearing. 
They  sometimes  produce  a  loud  buzzing  in  the  ears ; 
and  may  even  occasion  temporary  or  permanent  loss  of 
function,  probably  because  they  give  motion  to  the 
fluid  in  the  labyrinth,  whereby  the  end-organs  of  the 
auditory  nerve  are  torn  from  their  usual  fastenings 
and  become  irritated  or  paralyzed. 

Such   concussions  are  liable  to  occur,  for  example, 


VIOLENT   NOISES   AVOIDED  291 

in  lessons  in  chemistry,  when  oxyhydrogen  gas  or  a- 
mixture  of  coal-gas  and  air  is  allowed  to  explode, 
Small  boys  sometimes  yell  or  whistle  too  loudly  in  each 
other's  ears.  Something  similar  happens  often  in  sing- 
ing, or  in  concert  recitations  of  sentences,  numbers, 
vocables,  etc.,  in  the  lower  classes.  Furthermore, 
many  of  our  teachers,  especially  those  who  are  most 
enthusiastic  in  their  calling,  have  acquired  the  habit 
of  talking  unnecessarily  loud,  which  also  diminishes 
the  hearing  ability  of  the  pupils. 

"The  national  custom  of  the  English,  whether  in 
public,  in  church,  or  in  parliament,  of  speaking  in  gent- 
ler but  more  distinct  tones,  and  with  greater  slowness, 
where  special  emphasis  is  required,  is  very  worthy  of 
imitation  and  of  equal  advantage  to  both  the  throat 
and  ear."  By  training,  that  is,  by  giving  careful  and 
methodical  attention  to  weak  sense  impressions,  the 
pupil  can  improve  his  hearing  as  well  as  his  eye-sight. 

To  put  these  precepts  into  practice  it  is,  of  course, 
necessary  to  have  the  class-rooms  situated  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  noises  of  the  street;  to  have  no 
arched  ceilings  with  strong  resonance;  and  to  have 
the  singing  exercises  conducted  in  special  rooms,  so 
that  the  sound  may  not  disturb  the  recitations.  Those 
especially  who  have  one  of  the  ears  defective  should 
be  careful  not  to  neglect  it  but  turn  it  often  toward 
the  teacher  and  use  it  as  much  as  possible  in  listening. 


292  THE    EAR 

Teachers  cannot  be  cautioned  enough  against  boxing 
the  ears.  In  this  mode  of  punishment,  the  tympanic 
membrane  is  easily  ruptured  by  the  sudden  compres- 
sion of  the  air;  and  though  it  usually  heals  without 
any  after-effects,  more  or  less  time  is  required  for  the 
purpose.  In  many  cases,  on  the  other  hand,  ringing 
in  the  ears  and  deafness  are  the  result,  especially  in 
those  cases  in  which  the  drum-head  has  not  been  rup- 
tured. In  the  latter  event  the  full  force  is  transmitted 
from  the  tympanic  membrane  to  the  stapes  and  from 
this  to  the  labyrinth,  where  paralysis  may  be  produced 
by  the  concussion. 

Even  death  has  been  known  to  follow  a  box  on  the 
ear.  In  one  case  of  such  punishment,  a  little  blood 
flowed  from  the  ear  immediately  after  the  blows  were 
given,  on  account  of  the  splitting  of  the  tympanic 
membrane ;  and  slight  dizziness  set  in.  In  thirty-six 
hours  there  was  a  discharge  of  bloody  matter;  later 
of  pure  matter,  accompanied  by  great  dizziness,  quick- 
ened pulse,  and  lower  temperature.  In  a  few  days 
there  was  found  that  besides  the  rupture  of  the  ear 
drum  and  the  purulent  inflamation  of  the  tympanic 
cavity,  an  effusion  of  blood  had  taken  place  in  the 
outside  membranes  and  the  lateral  ventricles  of  the 
brain. 

Not  only  blows  on  the  ear  but  blows  on  the  temples 
and  pulling  of  the  ear  are  to  be  avoided,  since  this, 


OBJECTS    IX   THE   EAR  293 

too,  may  produce  rupture  of  the  tympanic  membrane 
and  bleeding  in  the  middle  .ear  and  the  labyrinth. 

Finally,  with  younger  pupils  in  particular,  foreign 
bodies  introduced  into  the  ear  play  a  not  unimportant 
part  among  the  things  which  are  harmful.  Children 
sometimes  scratch  their  ears  with  small  objects,  as  for 
example  with  a  lead  pencil  or  pen-holder,  and  a  piece 
breaks  off  and  is  lodged  inside.  In  an  examination 
made  in  a  school,  Nager  twice  found  objects  in  the 
outer  auditory  meatus  of  which  the  possessors  were 
themselves  ignorant.  One  boy  had  the  movable  metal 
ring  of  a  pen-holder  wedged  fast  in  his  ear,  fortunately 
a  few  millimeters  away  from  the  tympanic  membrane 
so  it  could  be  removed  without  damaging  it.  Another 
had  two  large  wads  in  each  ear,  evidently  put  in  at 
different  times,  after  the  extraction  of  which  his  limit 
of  hearing  rose  from  between  one  and  two  to  seventeen 
meters. 

Foreign  bodies  are  as  a  rule  not  easy  to  remove,  if 
unskilled  persons  have  tried  to  get  them  out  before- 
hand. For  this  reason,  teachers  had  better  not  make 
the  attempt  at  all.  Through  ignorant  and  awkward 
manipulation  the  objects  may  be  driven  still  further 
into  the  ear,  so  as  to  perforate  the  drum-head  and 
even  penetrate  into  the  tympanum,  where  they  pro- 
duce inflammation  and  its  consequences.  Unprofes- 
sional attempts  at  extraction  accordingly  make  the 


294  THE    EAR 

work  of  removal  by  the  specialist  more  difficult  and  in 
fact  may  even  make  an  extensive  operation  necessary, 
such  as  the  cutting  away  of  the  bones  or  the  partial 
severing  of  the  arteries.  Death  has  even  resulted  from 
unskilled  work. 

Water  in  the  outer  auditory  passage  is  also  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  foreign  body.  In  most  cases  it  gives  no 
special  trouble,  because  it  rarely  reaches  the  tympanic 
membrane  on  account  of  the  curvature  of  the  passage. 
Many  times,  however,  the  external  meatus  and  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  tympanum  become  inflamed, 
especially  where  the  passage  is  straight,  for  both 
pressure  and  low  temperature  act  as  irritants.  Teach- 
ers in  taking  pupils  bathing  must  see  that  they  hold 
their  heads  high  enough  in  wading  and  swimming  so 
that  the  water  may  not  get  into  the  ears,  mouths,  or 
noses ;  for  it  can  easily  flow  from  the  nose  and  pharnyx 
through  the  Eustachian  tubes  into  the  tympanum.  If 
one  does  not  wish  to  dispense  with  ducking  and  div- 
ing, the  ears  should  have  stoppers  soaked  in  oil.  But 
since  this  process  is  rather  inconvenient,  we  prefer  to  rec- 
ommend closing  the  ear  passages  with  the  fore-fingers. 

Good  hearing  is  of  distinct  advantage  to  pupils  in 
speaking  and  singing,  as  is  made  evident  by  the  disa- 
greeable voices  usually  possessed  by  deaf  mutes;  and 
we  will  therefore  next  consider  the  vocal  organs. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  VOCAL  ORGANS 

Experiments  upon  the  compass  of  the  voices  of  chil- 
dren just  entering  upon  school  work  have  been  made 
by  Ed.  Engel,  who  examined  624  boys  six  years  of  age. 
His  conclusions  differ  somewhat  from  views  so  far 
entertained.  He  found  that  a  fourth  of  the  number 
of  pupils  could  sing  the  low  tones,  f .  g,  a.  The  inten- 
sity of  these  tones  was  not  very  great ;  yet  they  were 
produced  without  effort  and  were  capable  of  further 
development.  The  compass  was  four  tones  for  13.3  % 
of  the  boys;  five  for  9.13$;  six  for  17.91$;  seven 
for  17.32$;  and  eight  for  6.25$.  A  few  had  a 
still  greater  range,  one  boy  producing  ten  and  a 
half  tones,  from  f  to  b' ;  six  boys  eleven  tones  from 
g  to  c". 

While  Engel  dealt  only  with  boys  six  years  old,  E. 
Paulsen  examined  2,685  cases  from  six  to  fifteen  years 
of  age.  According  to  him,  the  singing  compass  in  the 
sixth  year  is  from  b  to  f  ".  The  increase  in  height  of 
pitch  is  gradual,  amounting  to  four  whole  tones,  the 

XE.  Paulsen,  Die  Singstimme  der  Kinder.  Pfliigers 
Archiv,  1896,  Vol.  61,  p.  407  ff. 

(295) 


296 


THE   YOCAL    ORGANS 


highest  point,  c '",  being  reached  in  the  twelfth  year. 
In  depth  boy's  voices  move  down  about  four  and  a  half 
tones,  the  lowest  limit,  d,  being  attained  in  the  thir- 
teenth year.  Their  compass  is  consequently,  when 
the  voices  are  fully  developed,  nearly  three  octaves, 
from  d  to  c'".* 

Engel  gave  attention  also  to  the  discriminative  ability 
for  tones ;  but  he  fails  to  tell  us  what  he  considers  the 
normal  limits  to  be.  Among  the  624  boys,  17.3$ 
were  found  to  have  poor  or  inadequate  sensibility  for 
music. 

Experiments  of  a  more  systematic  nature  have  been 
carried  on  by  J.  A.  Gilbert1  who  made  use  of  a  specially 
constructed  instrument  for  ascertaining  children's  dis- 
criminative ability  for  tones.  This  was  least  in  the 

*  The  following  table  from  Helmholtz's  Sensations  of 
Tone,  p.  17,  gives  the  notation  and  pitch  of  the  gen- 
eral system  of  musical  notes. 


Notes 

G'-B' 

C-B 

c-b 

c'-V 

c"-b" 

c'"-b'" 

c""-b"" 

C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
A 
B 

33 
»  37.125 
41.25 
44 
49.5 
55 
61.875 

66 
74.25 
82.5 
88 
99 
110 
123.75 

132 
148.5 
165 
176 
198 
220 
247.5 

264 

297 
330 
352 
396 
440 
495 

528 
594 
660 
704 
792 
880 
990 

1056 
1188 
1320 
1408 
1584 
1760 
1980 

2112 
2376 
2640 
2816 
3168 
3520 
3960 

JJ.  Allen  Gilbert,  Experiments  upon  the  musical 
sensitiveness  of  school  children.  Studies  from  the 
Yale  psychological  laboratory,  edited  by  Edward  "VV. 
Scripture,  1893,  Oct.  1st,  pages  80-87. 


CAPACITY   FOE   SINGING  297 

sixth  year;  though,  even  at  that  time,  half-tones 
could  be  easily  distinguished.  It  then  improves  rap- 
idly up  to  the  ninth  year.  At  the  end  of  the  tenth, 
it  sinks  a  little.  Then  comes  a  more  gradual  increase 
of  ability  up  to  the  fourteenth  year,  when  there  is  an- 
other retardation.  At  fifteen  the  last  period  of 
development  sets  in,  reaching  its  maximum  at  nine- 
teen. The  depression  in  the  tenth  and  fourteenth 
years  are  connected  by  Gilbert  with  two  epochs  in 
general  development,  namely,  the  second  period  of 
dentition  and  puberty. 

Since  pupils  six  years  of  age  have,  according  to 
these  investigations,  a  register  of  from  six  to  seven 
tones,  and  possess  besides  sufficient  acuteness  of  hear- 
ing, instruction  in  singing  can  begin  with  the  seventh 
year.  Garbini  maintains  that  children  of  about  this 
age,  in  fact  as  young  as  four  or  five,  have  a 'great 
enough  compass  for  singing;  and  that  they  can  not 
only  repeat  a  tune  accurately,  but  give  it  its  musical 
finish. 

The  expert  deputation  for  medical  affairs  in  Prussia 
also  advise  that  instruction  in  singing  begin  with  the 
seventh  year;  but  they  require  very  properly  that  the 
voices  of  children  of  this  age  should  not  be  over- 
strained, and  believe  that  lessons  of  an  hour's  duration 
are  too  long  for  children  of  six.  In  accordance  with 
these  views,  a  circular  letter  of  the  Prussian  cultus- 


298  THE   YOCA.L    ORGANS 

minister  of  April  23,  1883,  prescribes  two  half-hour 
periods  of  singing  per  week  for  the  preparatory  classes 
of  higher  institutions  of  learning,  "  as  a  suitable  and 
delightful  exercise  for  pupils  of  that  age  ".  Garbini 
says  that  two-part  chorus  exercises  even  are  permis- 
sible for  children  in  these  years  of  school  work.  If 
the  chorus  is  made  up  of  boys  six  or  seven  years  of 
age,  the  exercises  should  have  a  range  of  about  six 
tones  at  first,  and  of  eight  tones  after  eight  months 
training.  Younger  and  older  boys  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  sing  together,  except  when  the  song  is  adapted 
to  the  younger. 

In  Sexta  and  Quinta,  instruction  in  singing  has  always 
been  obligatory  in  Prussia.  Participation  in  the  work 
by  the  pupils  of  the  upper  classes  has  on  the  other 
hand  been  optional  for  those  who  ' '  through  talent  or 
special  inclination  desire  to  continue  it. "  This  option 
was,  however,  justly  revoked  in  1882,  so  that  now 
pupils  are  excused  from  singing  only  when  a  physician 
certifies  to  its  necessity,  or  the  teacher  finds  an  abso- 
lute lack  of  musical  ability. 

From  a  hygienic  point  of  view,  the  new  regulation 
deserves  the  preference,  because  singing  is  excellent  ex- 
ercise not  only  for  the  throat  and  larynx  but  also  for 
the  lungs,  to  say  nothing  of  its  cheering  effect  upon 
emotions.  With  respect  to  the  influence  upon  the 
lungs,  Wassiljeff  has  shown  that  regular  singing 


HYGIENE    OF   SINGING  299 

practice  extends  them  and  increases  their  vital  capacity. 
This  fact  is  supported  by  a  statement  from  Barth,  that 
professional  singers  can  exhale  on  an  average  5,000 
ccm.  of  air,  while  the  corresponding  number  for 
ordinary  people  is  only  3,222  ccm.  As  to  details,  the 
following  hygienic  rules  are  to  be  observed  in  the  sing- 
ing lessons. 

1.  Care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  air  especially 
pure  and  free  from  dust.     As  the  production  of  tones 
requires  increased  expirations,  it  naturally  gives  rise 
to  deeper  inspirations.     Dust  and  other  impurities  can 
then  enter  the  bronchial  tubes. 

2.  The  temperature  in  the  room  had  better  be  below 
than    above    14°    R  =  17.5    0  =  63.5°    F.     (In    the 
United  States  the  temperature  is  usually  5°  F.  higher. 
See  page  121.) 

3.  Singing  makes  a  person  warm.     If  the  pupils  are 
to  leave  the  place  at  the  end  of  the  hour,  time  should 
under  certain  circumstances  be  allowed  before  its  close 
for  cooling  off. 

4.  The  pupils  should  stand  while  they  sing ;  if  they 
sit,  the  organs  of   the  chest  and  abdomen  are  likely 
to  be  compressed,  while  the  free   movement  of    the 
lungs  and  diaphragm  is  especially  necessary  in  singing. 
But  we  must  not  forget  that  long  continued  standing 
is  exhausting.     The  entire  weight  of   the  body  rests 
upon  the  joint  cartilages;  the  ligaments  are  stretched, 


300  THE    YOCAL    OKGANS 

and  the  muscles  which  keep  the  legs  straight  and  in 
equilibrium  are  in  constant  contraction.    % 

Singing  like  any  other  physical  exercise  is  fatiguing;, 
and  in  fact  quite  strongly  so  according  to  the  investi- 
gations of  Kemsies.  As  far  as  the  lungs  are  con- 
cerned, it  is  true  this  fatigue  is  not  so  much  to  be 
feared,  since  in  case  of  over  exertion  the  larynx  loses 
its  power  first.  Nevertheless,  singing  should  not  be 
continued  too  long  uninterruptedly,  but  should  be 
broken  by  adequate  intermissions  during  which  the 
pupils  should  be  seated. 

5.  For  the  same  reason,  singing  in  subdued  tones 
should  be  practised,  both  because  it  is  less  taxing  and 
because  too  loud  singing  may  injure  the  vocal  cords. 
The  teacher  must  especially  see  to  it  that  the  pupils 
do/not  sing'the  Jiigh  notes  louder  than  the  low  notes, 
as  they  usually  do. 

6.  The  chin  should  not  be  lowered  in  singing  the  low,, 
nor  raised  in  singing  the  high  notes. 

In  the  first  case,  singing  is  made  more  difficult  by 
the  closing  of  the  entrance  to  the  larynx  by  the  arch- 
ing of  the  base  of  the  tongue.  The  chin  is  also  low- 
ered in  bending  too  far  over  the  music  sheet,  which 
should  accordingly  be  held  at  a  proper  height. 

7.  The  teacher   must   not   fail   to   have   breathing 
exercises  in  the  song  period,  such  as  having  the  pupils 
hold   a   tone,   now   soft,   now   loud,  or   crescendo    or 
diminuendo,  while  he  counts  the  seconds. 


HYGIENE    OF   SINGING  301 

8.  The  most  important  thing,  however,  is  never  to 
allow  a  pupil  to  sing  at  a  pitch  unsuited  to  his  voice, 
that  is,  too  high  in  the  case  of  soprano,  or  too  low  in 
the  case  of  alto ;  by  such  a  procedure  the  muscles  of 
the  larynx  would  be  over-strained. 

9.  In  a  two-part  chorus,  the  boys  should  be  placed 
so  that  the  second  part  may  be  sung  by  those  who  can 
give  the  lower  notes  with  the  greatest  ease.     Since  low 
tones  produce  less  effect  than  high  tones,  to  prevent 
the   former  from  being  drowned  out  by  the  latter, 
fewer  pupils  should  be  assigned  to  the  first  than  to  the 
second  parts,  say,  in  the  ratio  of  one  to  two,  if  the 
boys  are  of  the  same  age ;  or  one  to  four  if  they  are  of 
different  ages,  the  difference  being  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  voices  of  older  boys  are  more  powerful  than 
those  of  the  younger. 

10.  When  the  voice  changes  at  puberty,  it  takes  on 
a  new  pitch.      Soprano  is  usually  transformed   into 
tenor,  and  alto  into  base.     There  should  be  no  singing 
while  this  transformation  is  incomplete.     Pupils  who 
participate  in  the  singing  lessons  should  receive  special 
care  from  their  fourteenth  to  their  seventeenth  years. 
If  they  do  not  receive  it,  the  voice  is  often  permanently 
injured.     It  is  especially  liable  to  break.     During  the 
period  of  puberty  the  larynx  changes  rapidly  both  in 
form  and  size.     The  relation  between  the  cartilages, 
vocal  cords,  and  muscles  is  then  suddenly  altered,  so 


302  THE   YOCAL    OKGANS 

that  the  latter  do  not  have  the  proper  feeling  for  the- 
new  conditions  of  tension,  and  the  voice  consequently 
fails  or  cracks.  If  the  voice  is  not  given  the  neces- 
sary rest  at  this  time,  these  high  cracked  tones  become 
fixed  and  remain  even  after  growth  is  complete.  The 
lost  muscle  sensations  are  not  fully  recovered ;  and  the 
muscles  of  the  larynx,  adapted  to  its  former  small 
size,  are  over-strained,  so  that  the  vocal  cords  only 
produce  a  sort  of  crowing  tone. 

The  hygiene  of  the  voice  in  speaking,  that  is,  in 
the  cultivation  of  distinct  and  musical  articulation,  is 
no  less  important  than  the  hygiene  of  the  voice  in 
singing.  For  this  reason,  pupils  should  not  begin  to 
read  too  early.  Boys  just  entering  school  cannot  pro- 
duce more  than  half  the  sounds  correctly ;  and  to  try 
to  make  them  read  at  once  is  unnatural. 

In  the  reading  lessons,  the  effort  should  first  of  all 
be  made  to  train  the  pupils  into  correct  habits  of  ex- 
pression, the  more  so  since  the  little  mistakes  in  lan- 
guage can  never  be  so  easily  corrected  as  at  the  begin- 
ning. In  these  exercises,  the  vowels  should  be 
pronounced  sharply  and  clearly,  but  naturally  and 
with  chest  tones;  and  the  teacher  should  see  that  the 
pupil  holds  the  mouth  in  the  proper  position.  The 
tone  should  be  as  agreeable  as  possible,  neither  too 
soft,  nor  too  piercing.  It  is  therefore  best  to  have  the 
vowels  practised  in  different  pitches,  intensities,  and 


CORRECT   ARTICULATION  303 

lengths.  The  articulation  of  the  consonants  must  be 
clear  and  distinct  but  not  affected1. 

The  more  difficult  combinations  require  special  drill. 
The  teacher  must  also  see  that  the  breath  is  used 
properly  in  speaking;  breathing  should  not  be  very 
rapid  but  slow  and  deep. 

It  is  only  when  correct  articulation  has  been 
developed  in  this  way,  that  reading  lessons  should  be- 
gin. In  these,  the  phonic  method  is  now  doubtless 
generally  in  use  instead  of  the  a,  b,  c,  spelling  method 
formerly  employed;  and  it  is  to  be  preferred  since  it 
is  based  upon  the  physiology  of  the  letter  sounds. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  it 
has  the  great  disadvantage  of  making  the  children 
learn  to  read  too  quickly  Aside  from  the  discrepancy 
which  thus  arises  between  mental  development  and 
the  mechanical  ability  to  read,  the  normal  speech  of 
the  children  is  greatly  injured  thereby.  For  it  is  not 
a  question  of  how  soon  a  boy  can  learn  to  read,  but 
whether  he  can  read  with  clear  pronunciaton  and  cor- 
rect emphasis. 

In  this  respect  much  still  remains  to  be  desired,  even 
in  the  upper  grades  of  our  higher  institutions  of  learn- 
ing. One  of  our  most  experienced  medical  speech 

1Adriano  Garbini,  Evoluzione  della  voce  nella 
infanzis.  Con  10  tab.  Verona,  1892,  G.  Franchini. 


304  THE   YOCAL    ORGANS 

experts,  Dr.  H.  Gutzmann1,  assures  us  that  "  The  way 
gymnasiasts  read  their  mother  tongue  often  beggars  all 
description." 

In  Greek  and  Latin  accurate  vocalization,  accent, 
and  quantity  are  anxiously  insisted  upon;  and  in 
modern  languages,  correct  pronunciation  is  most  care- 
fully striven  for  by  the  aid  of  phonetics.  But  in  the 
mother  tongue  all  this  seems  to  be  left  to  accident  or 
to  some  happy  talent. 

The  poor  reading  of  our  gymnasiasts  and  real-gym- 
nasiasts  is  partly  due  to  speaking  too  rapidly  in  school, 
since  reading  and  speaking  mutually  influence  one 
another.  This  mistake  is  especially  prevalent  in  the 
lower  and  interme'diate  grades.  "Answer  quickly!" 
is  there  the  watchword.  In  reciting  vocabularies,  the 
pupil  must  not  stop  to  think;  and  in  mental  arithme- 
tic he  must  give  the  result  as  soon  as  he  can.  Thus, 
it  naturally  happens  that  he  often  mis-speaks  and 
drops  out  letters  or  syllables.  We  can  readily  under- 
stand that  this  may  easily  give  rise  to  errors  in  lan- 
guage, or  increase  such  as  are  already  present.  More- 
over, oratorical  training  is  itself  damaged  by  too  quick 
replies.  The  pupil  doubtless  finds  time  to  consider 
what  he  wants  to  say  but  not  how  he  is  to  say  it.  The 
form  of  the  answer  is,  therefore,  often  imperfect. 

1H.  Gutzmann,  Die  Hygiene  der  Sprache  und  die 
Schule.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1892, 
No.  5,  p.  201  £E. 


AVOID   SHOUTING  305 

Besides  being  trained  to  speak  too  hurridly,  pupils 
are  in  many  schools  taught  to  speak  too  loudly.  The 
teacher  thinks  that  their  pronunciation  thereby  gains 
in  distinctness.  Just  the  contrary  is  true,  since  the 
over-loud  vowels  drown  out  the  consonants,  which  are 
particularly  important  for  the  understanding  of  spoken 
language. 

Shouting,  also,  seriously  damages  the  voice.  By  it 
the  vocal  cords  are  stretched  too  far  and  finally  lose 
their  elasticity.  In  forcing  the  air  violently  through 
the  larynx,  the  voice  is  not  only  made  louder  but  is 
also  raised  in  pitch  and  consequently  sounds  quite  un- 
pleasant. There  is  special  danger  in  speaking  too 
loudly  at  the  time  of  the  change  of  voice.  The  larynx 
may  then  be  permanently  damaged  in  its  function. 
"  What  will  all  this  care  on  the  part  of  the  teachers  of 
singing  amount  to,"  asks  Dr.  Gutzmann,  "if  the 
pupils  whose  voices  are  changing  are  led  to  shout  in 
the  class-room  ?  I  know  a  large  number  of  people 
whose  voices  were  ruined  in*school." 

Finally  the  school  may  also  give  occasion  for  the 
production  of  another  disorder  of  speech,  namely 
stammering  or  stuttering1.  The  etiology  of  this 
trouble  is  usually  to  be  sought  elsewhere  than  in  the 

1H.  Gutzmann,  Das  Stottern.  Eine  Monographic 
fiir  Arzte,  Pedagogen  und  Behorden.  Frankfurt  a. 
M.,  1898,  J.  Rosenheim. 


306  THE   YOCAL   ORGANS 

school.  Hereditary  brain  trouble,  violent  mental 
shocks  come  first  among  the  causes;  then  scrofula, 
rickets  and  diseases  of  the  upper  part  of  the  pharynx. 
Moreover,  a  great  many  have  become  stutterers  simply 
by  imitation,  the  number  being  38.7$  of  the  whole, 
according  to  the  investigations  of  Gutzmann  in  Ber- 
lin. The  disease  is  contracted  in  this  way  usually  be- 
fore the  school  age,  as  children  who  stutter  generally 
begin  to  do  so  from  three  to  six. 

But  that  it  may  also  be  contracted  in  school  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  in  the  elementary  schools  in  Berlin 
0.5  %  were  found  to  stutter  in  the  lowest  classes;  while 
1.5$  were  so  afflicted  at  the  end  of  the  course. 
Similarly,  out  of  210  stutterers  in  the  common  schools 
in  Bremen,  16  $  had  acquired  the  defect  during  the 
school  period,  as  was  ascertained  by  Winckler.  A 
single  stutterer  may  thus  be  a  source  of  danger  to 
many  of  his  companions. 

As  to  the  frequency  of  the  trouble  among  school 
children,  the  numerous  official  and  private  investiga- 
tions give  corresponding  figures.  Among  the  school 
children  in  Potsdam  there  were  1.2$  stutterers  in 
1885;  among  155,000  school  children  in  Berlin,  1  $  in 
1887;  among  15,717  in  Nuremberg,  118  or  0.75$  in 
1888,  besides  93,  or  .59  $,  stammerers.  The.  conditions 
in  Denmark  and  the  United  States  are  not  very  differ- 
ent. In  Copenhagen,  Westergaard  found  426,  or  2.45  $, 


STUTTERING  30? 

out  of  17,347  children  in  the  common  schools  afflicted 
with  disorders  of  speech;  and  in  Boston,  Hartwell 
found  500,  or  .78^,  out  of  63,474  school  children 
stutterers  in  1893,  and  498,  or  .75  #,  out  of  65,686  in 
1894. 

It  is  worth  noticing  that  more  boys  than  girls  are 
stutterers,  the  ratio  being  about  3:1.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  seems  to  be  no  special  difference  in  the 
number  in  the  different  kinds  of  boys  schools.  In 
the  higher  city  schools  of  Breslau,  26  stutterers  were 
found  in  1893—4;  while  in  the  much  more  numerous 
people's  schools  there  were  347  stutterers  and  66  stam- 
merers. In  1896,  Potsdam  had  42  stutterers  in  the 
common  schools,  9  in  the  remaining  higher  boys 
schools,  7  in  the  Victoria  gymnasium,  3  in  the  real- 
gymnasium,  and  9  in  the  superior  real  school. 

Xow  it  is  particularly  for  the  pupils  of  the  higher 
institutions  that  stuttering  is  so  great  a  disadvantage. 
It  not  only  retards  their  progress  in  school  but  gives 
them  much  trouble  later.  The  stutterer  is  from  the 
start  excluded  from  nearly  every  study,  every  profes- 
sion, every  public  position,  and  he  finds  all  occupa- 
tions requiring  much  oral  communication  rendered 
more  difficult.  The  evil  makes  itself  felt  now  more 
than  ever,  as  Schubert  very  truly  says,  "since  the 
changes  in  business  intercourse  through  steam  and 
electricity,  the  easier  communication  by  travel,  the 


308  THE   VOCAL   OKGANS 

use  of  the  telephone,  and  still  more,  the  intenser 
expression  of  public  life  in  the  state,  community,  and 
associations,  give  the  spoken  word  an  ever  widening 
influence." 

In  addition  to  this,  the  feelings  of  stuttering  pupils 
are  often  depressed.  In  speaking,  sympathetic  move- 
ments of  the  mimic  muscles  occur  and  so  facial  distor- 
tions; consequently  the  ridiculing  instinct  of  his 
companions  awakens;  teasing  begins;  and  the  result 
is  the  depression,  or  even  the  souring  of  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  already  heavily  burdened  pupil. 

We  must,  therefore,  consider  it  highly  gratifying 
that  the  treatment  of  stuttering  has  made  so  much 
progress  during  the  last  decade.  Eminent  service  has 
been  rendered  in  this  field  in  Berlin  by  a  teacher  of 
the  •  deaf  and  dumb,  Albert  Gutzmann  and  his  son, 
Dr.  Hermann  Gutzmann1,  to  whom  reference  has  often 
been  made. 

It  is  a  particularly  fortunate  circumstance,  that  with 
them  theory  and  practice  could  come  into  such  profit- 
able co-operation.  They  have  not  only  conducted 
many  courses  of  treatment  for  stuttering  pupils,  but 
have  also  trained  a  number  of  teachers  in  their  methods ; 
and  these  have  then  become  active  in  their  different 

1  Albert  Gutzmann  und  Hermann  Gutzmann,  Med- 
izinisch-pitdagogische  Monatsschrift  fur  die  gesamte 
Sprachheilkunde  mit  Einschluss  der  Hygiene  der 
Lautsprache.  Berlin,  1891  ff.,"H.  Kornfeld.  ^ 


STUTTERING  309 

localities.  Eight  to  ten  pupils  are  usually  brought 
together  in  a  course,  the  character  of  the  instruction 
preventing  a  large  number.  The  course  lasts  for 
three  or  four  months  and  requires  six  hours  a  week. 
With  regard  to  results,  out  of  180  stutterers  in  Eber- 
feld  110,  or  61.1  $,  were  cured;  62,  or  34.4  fa  improved 
while  8,  or  4.4$,  were  not  greatly  benefited. 

H.  Gutzmann  has  himself  had  the  following  suc- 
cess: cured,  84  to  87$;  improved  10$;  not  cured  3 
to  6  $.  Those  not  cured  are  by  no  means  always  those 
who  are  the  worst  stutterers  but  usually  those  who 
have  deficient  ability,  hereditary  taints,  cramps  of  the 
diaphragm  and  similar  troubles. 

Occasionally,  that  is  in  5  $  of  the  cases,  there  is  a 
relapse  after  the  cure.  To  prevent  this,  a  weekly 
period  for  review  has  been  found  very  useful.  When 
this  cannot  be  obtained,  those  who  have  relapsed  are 
usually  put  through  a  second  or  third  course  of  treat- 
ment. It  is  very  important  not  only  that  those  who 
have  been  cured  should  guard  themselves;  but  also 
that  their  parents  and  teachers  should  aid  them  in 
their  efforts.  For  this  purpose  the  city  supervisors  of 
Cologne  recommend  that  children  be  held  to  steadi- 
ness and  self-control  in  speaking  and  be  made  to  re- 
peat correctly  whatever  was  spoken  incorrectly;  and 
as  long  as  they  do  not  have  confidence  in  themselves, 
that  they  should  be  relieved  from  oral  work. 


CHAPTER   XII 

CURVATURE    OF   THE  SPINE 

In  discussing  in  conclusion  the  hygiene  of  the  other 
parts  of  the  body,  we  shall  first  of  all  deal  with 
scoliosis,  or  the  curvature  of  the  spine.  It  some- 
times develops  early  in  life,  usually  as  a  result  of 
a  pathological  softening  of  the  bones,  such  as  occurs 
in  the  so-called  English  disease,  or  rickets.  Since  the 
latter  is  due  to  inadequate  nourishment,  and  this  is 
not  found  so  frequently  among  the  higher  as  among 
the  lower  classes,  it  is  probable  that  it  will  be  an  ex- 
ception if  a  case  of  scoliosis  in  a  gymnasium  or  real- 
gymnasium  can  be  traced  back  to  rickets.  Even 
among  the  35  %  cases  of  lateral  curvature  of  the  spine 
found  by  Krug1  in  the  common  schools  in  Dresden, 
only  thirteen  were  developed  from  rickets  in  early 
childhood. 

Many  facts  point  rather  to  the  conclusion  that  most 
scolioses  are  due  to  certain  conditions  of  school  life. 
In  the  first  place,  most  cases  fall  within  the  compulsory 

XW.  Krug,  Uber  Ruckgratsverkrummerungen  der 
Schulkinder.  Jahrbuch  fur  Kinderheilkunde,  Xeue 
Eolge,  37. 

(310) 


A    RESULT   OF    SCHOOL   HABITS  311 

school    age.     According    to    Eulenberg,    among    300 
scoliotic  pupils  there  were  at  the  age  of: 
2  years,  2  cases,  or  .66  %. 

2  to  3  years,  3  cases,  or  1.00  %. 

3  to  4  years,  8  cases,  or  2.66  $. 

4  to  5  years,  5  cases,  or  1.66  %. 

5  to  6  years,  8  cases,  or  2.66  %. 

.    6  to  7  years,  71  cases,  or  23.66  $. 

7  to  10  years,  159  cases,  or  53.00$. 

10  to  14  years,  38  cases,  or  12.66  %. 

14  to  20  years,  7  cases,  or  2.33  <f>. 

20  to  30  years,  3  cases,  or  1.00  %. 

Here,  not  less  than  89.3  %  of  the  cases  are  of  school 
age.  This  corresponds  with  the  statement  by  Parow 
that  27  out  of  45  of  his  patients  suffering  with  lateral 
curvature  of  the  spine  were  between  8  and  14  years  of 
age.  Schildbach  says  directly  from  his  own  wide  ex- 
perience: "By  far  the  greater  number  of  scolioses 
originate  during  the  school  period."  Klopsch  reaches 
the  same  conclusion,  namely,  that  the  majority  of 
malformations  are  produced  between  the  tenth  and 
fourteenth  years  of  life.  Guillaume  found  among  731 
pupils  in  Neufchatel,  218  with  incipient  scolioses.  In 
Nuremberg,  15  %  of  the  school  population  were  afflicted 
with  spinal  curvature ;  and  in  Munich,  about  7  %  of 
2,128  school  children.  In  Dresden  344,  or  24$,  of 
1,418  pupils  in  the  common  schools  between  the  ages 


312 


CUKVATUEE    OF   THE    SPIKE 


of  eight  and  seventeen,  were  found  by  Krug  to  have 
scoliosis. 

Nor  is  the  trouble  so  rare  in  the  secondary  schools. 
In  the  superior  state  real-school  at  Temesvar  there 
were,  to  be  sure,  only  eight  cases  among  246  pupils; 
and  two  of  these  were  produced  by  rickets  and  one  by 
an  unfortunate  fall  before  attendance  at  school ;  conse- 
quently only  five  cases,  or  2.2  $,  were  developed  during 
the  school  period.  But  on  the  other  hand,  an  exam- 
ination of  216  pupils  in  a  boys  gymnasium  in  Moscow 
shows  that  6.48$  were  scoliotic;  and  12.3$  of  the 
pupils  in  the  superior  state  real  school  of  district  V. 
of  Budapest  had  more  or  less  marked  lateral  curvatures. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  more  frequent  occur- 
rence of  the  latter  during  the  school  period  does  not 
prove  definitely  that  there  is  a  causal  connection 
between  it  and  the  school.  Such  a  connection  can  be 
more  properly  inferred  because  of  the  increase  of 
scoliosis  during  school  attendance.  To  demonstrate 
that  this  is  the  case,  we  adduce  the  following  table 
from  Krug: 


Age 

Number  of  boys 
examined 

Number  cases  of 
scoliosis 

Per  cent 

8-9£ 

86 

10 

11.5 

10-1  Of 

102 

17 

16.5 

11-llf 

102 

29 

28.0 

12-12£ 

214 

59 

'  275 

13-13f 

120 

43 

35.0 

14-16| 

71 

23 

32.5 

This   shows   that   the    disease    increases    regularly 


PENMANSHIP  313 

throughout  the  grades,  except  from  the  twelfth  to 
the  thirteenth  years,  when  its  progress  seems  to  have 
been  arrested.  Conclusive  evidence  that  the  school 
co-operates  in  the  production  of  scoliosis  is  furnished 
by  the  fact  that  these  permanent  curvatures  corres- 
pond exactly  to  the  malpositions  assumed  in  writing, 
especially  the  C  shaped  bending  of  the  entire  body  to- 
ward the  left.  This  was  brought  to  light  especially  by 
the  investigations  of  Mayer  in  Fiirth.  His  results, 
were  confirmed  by  those  of  Schenk1  in  Bern.  The 
latter  examined  with  very  sensitive  instruments  the 
spinal  column  of  every  pupil  brought  before  him,  both 
when  in  the  writing  position  and  when  at  rest.  Out 
of  200  pupils,  160  sat  in  writing  "so  as  to  bend  the 
upper  part  of  the  body  over  the  pelvis  toward  the  left." 
All  these  160  had,  even  when  they  were  not  writing,  a 
more  or  less  marked  curvature  in  the  same  direction. 
Krug,  also,  states  that  the  curvatures  convex  toward 
the  left,  and  so  those  corresponding'  to  the  position  in 
writing,  are  by  far  the  most  frequent.  Of  the  344 
spinal  curvatures  found  among  the  school  children  in 
Dresden,  72  were  bent  toward  the  right  and  231  to- 
ward the  left,  39  were  double  curvatures,  34  of  which 
were  bent  toward  the  right  above  and  toward  the  left 
below;  two  had  to  be  classed  as  triple  curvatures. 
As  a  rule  spinal  curvature  receives  little  attention 

Schenk,  Zur  Atiologie  der  Skoliose.     Berlin,  1885. 


314  CURVATUEE    OF   THE    SPINE 

from  parents  and  teachers.  This  is  partly  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  individual  afflicted  does  not  himself 
recognize  his  defect  at  the  start,  since  the  troubles 
developed  by  it,  such  as  shortness  of  breath,  digestive 
and  respiratory  disorders,  intercostal  neuralgias,  etc., 
do  not  appear  till  in  the  later  stages.  Even  many 
physicians  treat  the  slightest  degrees  of  scoliosis  with 
indifference  and  assure  their  patients  that  the  spine 
will  revert  to  its  original  form  of  its  own  accord.  It 
is,  however,  very  desirable  that  there  should  be  a 
general  recognition  of  the  extraordinary  importance 
of  just  these  initial  symptoms  of  scoliosis. 

In  the  later  stages  of  curvature,  therapeutics  not  only 
has  to  combat  the  greatest  difficulties,  but  often  finds 
that  its  results  remain  quite  imperfect.  "  Kowhere," 
as  Lorenz  justly  remarks,  "  does  the  old  saying:  prin- 
cipiis  obsta  [prevent  the  beginnings]  deserve  to  be 
taken  more  to  heart  than  in  the  orthopedy  of  scoliosis." 

To  enable  us  to  detect  the  disease  as  soon  as  possible, 
it  has  been  suggested  that  the  spine  of  every  pupil 
should  be  examined  at  least  once  a  quarter.  Every 
deformity  could  then  be  discovered  in  time  so  as  to 
receive  the  proper  treatment.  Such  a  plan  would, 
however,  exceed  the  obligations  of  the  school;  its  duty 
is  only  to  see  that  all  those  things  are  avoided  which 
might  either  produce  or  develop  scoliosis. 

The  great  part  played  in  the  matter  by  improper 


VERTICAL    PENMANSHIP  315 

seats  and  desks  and  insufficient  light  need    not    be 
restated  here. 

We  must,  however,  in  this  place  give  emphasis  to 
the  great  disadvantages  of  slanting  as  compared  with 
vertical  script1,  as  these  disadvantages  are  mostly  to 
be  found  in  the  field  of  orthopedy.  The  slant  of  the 
script  depends  upon  the  position  of  the  writing  tablet. 
Two  such  positions  are  recognized,  the  right,  and  the 
median,  according  as  the  copy  book  or  tablet  is  placed 
to  the  right  or  immediately  in  front  of  the  middle  of 
the  body.  There  are  also  two  sub-positions  for  each 
of  these  two  principal  ones,  since  the  bottom  of  the 
tablet  may  either  be  placed  parallel  with  the  rear  edge 
•of  the  desk,  or  I  e  made  to  make  more  or  less  of  an 
angle  with  it,  in  the  first  case  giving  what  we  call  the 
straight,  in  the  second  the  oblique  position  of  the  tab- 
let. There  are  accordingly,  in  all,  four  possible  posi- 
tions, the  straight  or  oblique  position  at  the  right 
and  the  straight  or  oblique  position  at  the  centre. 
Since  the  down  strokes  are  always  made  from  the  point 

XP.  Schubert,  Uber  Heftlage  und  Schriftrichtung. 
Hamburg  und  Leipzig,  1890,  Leop.  Voss.  E.  Ritz- 
mann,  W.  Schulthess,  H.  Wipf,  Untersuchungen  iiber 
den  Einfluss  der  Heftlage  und  Schriftrichtung  auf  die 
Korperhaltung  der  Schiller.  Bericht,  erstattet  von 
einer  Specialkommission  an  die  Stadtschulpflege  Zurich. 
Emanuel  Bayr,  Steile  Lateinschrift.  2  ed.  Wien, 
1891,  Pichlers  Witwe  und  Sohn. 


316  CURVATURE    OF    THE    SPINE 

of  the  pen  toward  the  middle  of  the  breast,  it  follows 
that  slanting  script  will  be  written  when  the  tablet  is  in 
either  position  at  the  right  or  in  the  oblique  position  at 
the  centre;  while  vertical  script  will  be  written  when 
the  paper  is  in  the  straight  position  at  the  centre.- 

All  hygienists  agree  in  rejecting  both  positions  at 
the  right,  for  with  them  the  body  is  bent  over  toward 
the  right  and  this  throws  the  left  arm  out  of  its  proper 
place,  raises  the  left  shoulder,  and  causes  the  back- 
bone to  curve  toward  the  left.  The  oblique  central 
position  may  also  aid  in  producing  scoliosis.  This  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  eyes  are  inclined  to  follow 
the  lines  in  writing  so  as  to  make  the  so-called  base 
line  which  unites  the  middle  points  of  the  two  eyes 
parallel  with  the  lines  on  the  paper.  Since  the  lines  in 
the  oblique  central  position  are  inclined  upward  from 
left  to  right,  the  left  eye  must  be  lower  than  the  right, 
that  is  to  say,  the  head  must  be  bent  toward  the  left. 

This  bending  toward  the  left  produces  after  a  time 
a  curve  or  twist  in  the  spinal  column  itself,  first  of 
all  because  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  head  has  been 
displaced  toward  the  left.  The  left  arm  will  slip  from 
the  desk,  the  right  will  be  pushed  forward,  the  left 
shoulder  will  be  lowered,  the  right  raised,  and  the  lower 
part  of  the  spine  bent  toward  the  right  while  the  upper 
part  bends  to  the  left.  If  the  tablet  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  the  straight  central  position,  both  eyes  will  be 
held  at  the  same  height,  since  the  base  line  will  in  that 


VERTICAL    PENMANSHIP 


317 


case  be  parallel  to  the  writing  lines.  The  head  is  not 
bent  over  toward  the  left,  but  is  kept  vertical ;  the  left 
shoulder  is  not  lowered  but  the  whole  body  keeps  its 
upright  position;  in  brief,  we  have  as  George  Sand 
said:  "The  paper  straight,  the  writing  straight,  and 
the  body  straight," 


FIG.  38.     PUPIL  WRITING  VERTICAL  SCRIPT 


318  CURVATURE    OF   THE    SPINE 

Whenever  the  positions  of  the  body  in  writing  ver- 
tical and  slanting  script  have  been  compared  the  results 
have  favored  the  former.  Twice  as  many  incorrect 
postures  were  found  among  those  who  wrote  the 
slanting  script  as  among  those  who  wrote  the  vertical 
in  Nuremberg;  two  and  a  half  times  as  many  in  Mun- 
ich ;  and  four  times  as  many  in  Fiirth  and  Wurzburg, 
That  some  of  those  who  write  vertical  script  were  also 
found  in  faulty  postures — in  Fiirth  there  were  14.8^ 
as  compared  with  85.2  %  who  sat  correctly — is  due  to 
the  restlessness  of  children,  who  are  not  willing  to 
keep  the  same  position  for  any  length  of  time. 

Writing  exercises  should  not  last  very  long,  but  be- 
interrupted  now  and  then  by  short  rests.  In  the 
lower  classes  many  teachers  let  the  pupils  stand  and 
go  through  some  simple  gymnastics ;  and  this  is  gen- 
erally the  best  way  of  counteracting  and  preventing 
the  spinal  curvatures  that  have  been  produced  during 
the  recitation  from  becoming  permanent.  It  is  im- 
portant for  the  teacher  to  insist  upon  the  pupils  keep- 
ing a  correct  position,  to  forbid  the  distorting  cross- 
ing of  the  legs,  and  to  recommend  that  the  book 
satchel  be  strapped  on  the  back  rather  than  carried  in 
the  hand,  as  this  will  favor  keeping  the  vertebral  col- 
umn straight. 

If  hand  satchels  are,  nevertheless,  in  use,  they 
should  be  carried  now  on  the  right  and  now  on  the 


WEIGHT   OF   SCHOOL   SATCHELS  319 

left  so  the  load  may  not  give  rise  to  a  one-sided  cur- 
vature. How  great  this  load  may  sometimes  be,  is 
shown  by  an  investigation  made  on  six  successive  days 
in  the  Quarta  of  a  gymnasium  in  Berlin.  The  aver- 
age weight  of  a  book  satchel  was  4,715  g. ;  and  on  one 
day  it  was  5,200  g.,  which  is  nearly  a  fifth  of  the 
weight  of  the  body  of  a  pupil  eleven  to  twelve  years 
of  age. 

Lastly,  it  is  advisable  to  send  boys  with  especially 
bad  postures  to  the  school  or  family  physician  for 
examination.  In  this  way,  something  may  be  done 
by  simple  advice;  and  preparation  may  be  made  for 
further  treatment.  A  change  of  place,  a  certain  way 
of  holding  the  arm,  a  sloping  seat,  a  somewhat  higher 
heel,  and  especially  the  release  from  some  hours  of 
school  work  is  often  of  advantage. 


CHAPTER    XIII 
INFECTIOUS  DISEASES 

In  the  production  of  scoliosis  the  school  is  to  some 
extent  a  direct  cause;  but  in  the  case  of  infectious1 
diseases  it  is  only  a  means  for  further  propagation. 

Measles. — That  the  school  serves  this  purpose,  has 
been  shown  most  conclusively  to  be  the  case  in  measles. 
In  an  investigation  by  J.  Korosi,  it  was  found  that, 
in  the  three-fourths  of  the  year  schools  were  in  ses- 
sion, there  was  an  average  of  4,000  to  4,400  cases  per 
month.  On  the  other  hand,  in  August  during  the 
vacation  there  were  only  780 ;  and  in  September,  the 
first  month  of  school,  when  the  effects  of  the  vaca- 
tion were  still  felt,  there  were  only  639  cases.  As  the 
schools  continued  in  session,  the  number  increased, 
reaching  the  figure  1,635  in  October.  But  even  count- 
ing this  month,  the  vacation  quarter  had  only  3,054 
cases;  while  the  first,  second,  and  third  school  quar- 
ters have  11,865,  13,258,  and  13,147  cases,  respectively. 

1  Joseph  Rychna,  Uber  Schiilerepidemien.  Beobach- 
tungsresultate  nebst  Yorschlagen  Zur  Verhiitung  und 
Verhinderung  der  Weiterverbreitung  derselben.  Prag, 
1887,  H.  Dominicus. 

(320) 


MEASLES  321 

A  further  proof  of  the  causal  connection  between 
school  attendance  and  measles  may  be  found  in  the- 
fact  that  when  the  vacations  were  changed  because 
of  the  cholera  there  was  a  corresponding  change  in  the 
numerical  frequency  of  the  measles.  Since  the 
spreading  of  this  disease  is  thus  decidedly  favored 
by  the  school,  it  behooves  teachers  to  be  somewhat 
familiar  with  its  symptoms  so  they  may  be  able  to 
dismiss  suspected  cases  at  once.  Aside  from  general 
langor,  headache,  coated  tongue,  and  fever,  measles 
are  particularly  characterized  by  their  attacking  the 
skin,  the  mucous  membranes  of  the  air  passages, 
and  the  conjunctiva.  Even  in  the  prodromic  stages 
before  the  rash  appears,  sneezing,  nas#l  catarrh,  dry 
croup-like  coughing,  reddening  and  swelling  of  the 
eye-lids,  increased  lachrymal  flow,  and  photophobia 
are  constant  symptoms.  Then  comes  the  real  erup- 
tion in  the  form  of  small  well  denned  red  spots  about 
the  size  of  a  lentil  or  bean.  The  skin  between  the 
spots  retains  its  normal  color.  These  spots  appear 
first  on  the  soft  palate,  then  on  the  forehead,  neckr 
breast,  and  back ;  and  finally,  also  on  the  extremities. 
The  rash  generally  remains  in  full  bloom  only  twenty- 
four  hours,  when  it  begins  to  disappear  in  the  same 
order  in  which  it  came,  changing  in  two  to  four  days 
to  a  yellowish  color.  Bran-like  scales  then  begin  to 
come  off,  especially  in  the  region  of  the  temples  and 
the  nose,  the  process  lasting  for  about  24  days. 


322  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

If  there  are  no  other  complications,  measles  are 
generally  not  dangerous.  Nevertheless,  the  mortality 
in  Basel  was  3  %  for  children  from  five  to  ten,  7  %  for 
those  from  ten  to  fifteen ;  and  in  Konigsberg  11.1$  for 
those  from  five  to  fifteen,  and  2.3  %  for  those  over  fifteen. 
In  the  government  district  of  Stettin,  1,090,  or  3$, 
of  the  37,000  cases  of  measles  resulted  in  death.  The 
mortality  varied  from  year  to  year  from  1.2  %  to  7.1  $; 
and  in  the  case  of  an  epidemic  in  a  locality  it  rose 
there  to  4$. 

Pupils  taken  down  with  the  disease,  or  seeming 
liable  to  be  so,  should  be  removed  from  school  at 
once.  The  pupils  of  the  preparatory  schools  should  be 
watched  with  special  care  during  these  measle  epidemics. 
Older  pupils  need  less  attention  since  most  of  them 
have  already  had  the  disease. 

For  example  in  the  classical  school  of  the  Hamburg 
Johanneum,  85.11$  of  the  boys  from  nine  to  eleven 
had  had  the  measles,  as  had  87.4$  of  those  from 
twelve  to  fourteen,  88.65$  of  those  from  fifteen  to 
seventeen,  and  93.33  $  of  those  from  eighteen  to  nine- 
ten1.  It  is  very  rare  for  the  same  individual  to  take 
the  measles  a  second  time.  Of  the  515  pupils  of  the 

1lt.  Kotelmann,  Die  Korperverhaltnisse  der  Gelehr- 
tenschiiler  des  Johanneums  in  Hamburg.  Ein  statis- 
tischer  Beitrag  Zur  Schulhygiene.  Berlin, '1879,  Kgl. 
statistisch.es  Bureau. 


MEASLES  323 

classical  school  mentioned,  only  eleven  had  the  disease 
a  second  time ;  while  440  had  only  had  one  attack. 

The  dismissal  of  the  entire  school-room  becomes 
necessary  only  when  the  ranks  of  the  healthy  have 
been  reduced  considerably  or  when  the  epidemic  is 
particularly  virulent.  Pupils  who  have  had  the 
measles  should  not  be  re-admitted  until  at  least  three 
weeks  after  the  eruption  appears.  Before  going  out 
for  the  first  time  they  should  take  a  soap  bath  and 
put  on  fresh  underwear.  If  the  epidemic  is  malig- 
nant, the  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  afflicted  pupils 
should  also  be  refused  admission  to  school1  during 
the  time  of  the  sickness  and  the  convalescence.  For 
the  disease  may  be  communicated  by  scales  from  the 
skin  or  by  the  mucous  secretions  which  have  become 
attached  to  the  clothing  of  healthy  individuals  and  so 
been  transmitted.  Measles  usually  spread  consider- 
ably in  spite  of  all  preventative  measures.  This  is 
partly  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  contagious  even 
in  the  period  of  incubation;  that  is,  from  the  time  of 
the  infection  to  the  appearance  of  the  first  symptoms. 

German  measles  orroteln  are  often  confounded  with 

*Fr.  Dornbliith,  Sollen  die  Geschwister  von  Masern- 
kranken,  welche  die  Krankheit  friiber  schon  iiberstan- 
den  haben,  von  Schulbesuche  Ausgeschossen  werden  ? 
Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege,  1893,  No.  3, 
p.  139  if. 


324  INFECTIOUS   DISEASES 

true  measles ;  in  fact,  they  were  once  thought  to  be  a 
mild  form  of  the  latter.  Recent  observations  make  it 
certain  that  we  have  here  an  independent  disease. 
German  measles  always  come  as  epidemics  and  usually 
attack  children;  in  Hamburg  40  of  the  515  pupils  of 
the  classical  school  had  passed  through  the  disease. 
The  period  of  incubation  lasts  from  five  to  twenty-two 
days.  There  is  no  prodromal  stage,  as  the  eruption 
appears  at  once.  This  consists  of  red  spots  varying 
in  size  from  a  small  grain  to  a  lentil,  and  it  generally 
produces  a  troublesome  itching.  It  appears  first  on 
the  face  and  forehead,  then  on  the  rest  of  the  body, 
forming  map-like  figures  on  the  skin  as  the  spots 
become  contiguous.  The  eruption  disappears  in  a  day 
or  two,  usually  without  any  after-effects,  as  it  is  only 
in  exceptional  cases  that  we  find  persistent  anaemia 
resulting.  The  general  health  is  little  affected  by 
German  measles;  and  fever,  languor,  headache,  sneez- 
ing, and  blood-shot  eyes  are  present  to  such  a  slight 
extent  as  usually  to  escape  notice.  There  is  nothing 
more  to  be  done  than  to  dismiss  the  victims  of  the 
disease  from  school  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  as  an  ex- 
tensive epidemic  might  otherwise  result. 

Scarlet  fever  has  a  much  more  serious  charac- 
ter, though  the  mortality  from  it  varies  considerably. 
In  Aidone,  a  city  of  8,000  inhabitants  in  the  Italian 
province  of  Caltanisetta,  250  persons,  mostly  chil- 


SCAKLET    FEVER  325 

dren,  died  during  an  epidemic  lasting  nine  months. 
The  hospital  at  Amsterdam  received  75  boys  under 
eleven  sick  with  scarlet  fever;  and  23,  or  30.6  $,  died 
from  the  disease.  In  an  educational  institution  in 
the  province  of  Hannover  the  mortality  was  14.8  $. 

Children  are  usually  attacked  before  the  age  of  ten. 
In  a  gymnasium  in  Northern  Germany,  32.62  %  of  the 
children  from  nine  to  eleven;  38.92$  of  those  from 
twelve  to  fourteen;  28. 37$  of  those  from  fifteen  to 
seventeen;  and  31.67$  of  those  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  had  had  the  scarlet  fever.  Only  four  out  of 
172  cases  had  the  disease  twice. 

Statements  as  to  the  period  of  incubation  vary;  in 
the  above-mentioned  Hannover  boarding-school,  it 
varied  from  five  to  twelve  days  and  was  usually  six  to 
eight  days;  while  H.  Neumann  regards  the  limits  as 
from  a  few  hours  to  twelve  days.  At  first,  the  patient 
complains  of  depression,  headache,  loss  of  appetite, 
nausea,  vomiting,  pains  in  the  tonsils,  and  difficulty  in 
swallowing;  while  the  usual  symptoms  of  measles, 
namely,  sneezing,  coughing,  and  lachrymal  catarrh,  are 
absent.  The  palate  reddens;  the  tonsils  and  sub- 
maxillary  glands  swell;  nose-bleed  also  often  sets  in; 
and,  in  a  high  fever  with  120  to  140  pulse  beats  per 
minute  and  a  temperature  of  40°  to  41°  C=105.8° 
F,  the  red  confluent  exanthema  of  the  fever  develops 


326  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

first  on  the  face,  neck,  and  breast,  then  over  the  re- 
mainder of  the  body. 

This  differs  from  the  eruption  in  measles  in  this  re- 
spect that  when  the  spot  is  pressed  by  the  finger  the 
color  returns  from  the  circumference  to  the  centre. 
The  tongue  also  has  a  peculiar  red-raspberry  color. 

The  eruption  usually  lasts  four  days  and  then  fades 
away  simultaneously  with  a  rapid  disappearance  of 
the  fever  and  the  difficulty  in  swallowing.  After 
about  eight  days,  the  skin  begins  to  peel,  not  so  much 
in  small  scales  as  in  large  shreds,  especially  on  the 
hands  and  feet.  The  peeling  off  is  usually  completed 
in  a  few  weeks,  so  that  scarlet  fever  may  be  said  to 
last  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-two  days.  However, 
irregularities  and  complications  often  appear  and  last 
a  long  time,  the  most  dangerous  being  diphtheria  and 
inflammation  of  the  kidneys. 

The  disease  is  produced  by  a  micro-organism,  which 
cannot  as  yet  be  definitely  described  ;  it  clings 
tenaciously  to  the  cast-off  skin,  the  discharge  from  the 
nose  and  excreta,  and  may  be  transmitted  both  by 
these,  and  by  clothes,  books,  and  other  objects.  The 
latter  means  of  infection  did  not  play  a  part  in  the 
Hannoverian  boarding  school,  already  referred  to;  but 
of  the  27  cases,  .16  were  infected  directly,  and  11  in- 
directly by  healthy  intermediary  persons.  What  rav- 
ages a  single  case  may  produce  in  a  school,  we  can 


SCARLET    FEVER  327 

learn  from  a  Parisian  example.  It  can  be  shown  with- 
out a  doubt  that  a  boy  readmitted  to  school  before 
complete  recovery  was  the  direct  cause  of  150  other 
cases,  eighteen  of  which  proved  fatal. 

In  times  of  scarlet  fever  epidemics,  pupils  who  com- 
plain of  sore  throat  or  act  suspiciously  in  other  ways, 
should  be  sent  home  at  once.  If  a  case  really  breaks 
out,  it  must  be  isolated  and  excluded  from  school  for 
at  least  six  weeks.  Xor  should  brothers  or  sisters  be 
admitted  to  school  unless  it  is  certain  that  they  will 
not  come  into  direct  or  indirect  contact  with  the 
sufferer. 

The  latter  should  be  allowed  to  re-enter  school  only 
after  he  has  taken  several  soap  baths  and  no  longer 
shows  any  traces  on  the  palms  of  his  hands  or  sobs  of 
his  feet  of  any  further  excoriation.  In  addition,  the 
clothing  which  he  had  during  his  sickness  and  con- 
valescence, especially  his  handkerchiefs,  must  be  dis- 
infected. The  best  thing  for  the  purpose  is  steam. 
The  shoes  should  be  washed  inside  and  outside  with 
carbolic  acid  solution. 

If  the  patient  attended  school  when  the  disease 
broke  out  or  even  during  the  period  of  its  incubation 
when  infection  might  also  take  place,  the  class-room 
should  be  disinfected.  If  the  walls  are  oiled  or 
papered  they  should  be  rubbed  off  with  bread,  which 
is  then  to  be  burned ;  the  paper  should  otherwise  be 


328  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

torn  off  and  the  walls  re-papered ;  if  the  walls  and 
ceilings  are  tinted  or  white-washed,  they  should  receive 
a  new  coat ;  and  the  floors,  doors,  wood  and  iron  fur- 
niture should  be  washed  with  a  five  per  cent  carbolic  acid 
solution  or  a  two  per  cent  Lyso-solution;  curtains  and 
similar  materials  should  be  steamed.  It  is  also  a  good 
thing  to  ventilate  the  school-room  twenty-four  hours 
before  using  it  again. 

Diphtheria1  is  a  still  more  dangerous  disease  for 
-children.  Though  it  may  be  any  time  from  one  day 
to  several  weeks,  it  is  usually  from  two  to  five  days 
after  the  infection,  that  general  depression,  headache, 
and  a  tendency  to  vomit,  as  well  as  fever,  thirst,  and 
excessive  bodily  heat  set  in.  The  tonsils  become  in- 
flamed and  coated  with  a  whitish  material,  which  sticks 
to  the  mucous  membrane  so  as  not  to  be  removable  by 
scraping  or  gargling.  The  patient  consequently  com- 
plains of  more  or  less  painful  sensations  in  his  throat, 
especially  in  swallowing  and  on  pressure.  The  sub- 
maxillary  glands  are  always  swollen  and  sore.  In  mild 
cases,  the  cheesy  coat  peels  off  in  four  or  five  days,  and 
the  spots  heal  without  scars ;  but,  even  then,  symptoms 
of  paralysis  of  the  oesophagus,  the  vocal  chords,  and  the 
muscles  of  accommodation,  may  be  felt  for  several 
weeks.  In  severe  cases,  which  at  one  time  were  by  far 

1  Bruhl  und  Jahr,  Diphtheric  und  Krupp  in  Preussen 
in  den  Jahren  1875-1882.  Berlin,  1889. 


DIPHTHERIA.  329 

the  more  common,  though  the  number  has  been  con- 
siderably diminished  of  late  by  the  use  of  Behring's 
serum,  the  whole  pharynx  becomes  simply  coated  with 
the  coherent  material ;  the  patient  can  no  longer  swal- 
low except  with  the  greatest  pain;  and,  as  the  diph- 
theria encroaches  upon  the  larynx  and  the  upper  part 
of  the  bronchial  tubes,  we  have  the  symptoms  of 
membraneous  croup,  the  husky,  hoarse  voice,  the 
noisy  breathing,  the  barking  cough,  and  the  suffocation 
in  which  the  face  turns  blue  and  the  patient  suffers 
great  restlessness  and  distress.  His  hours  are  then 
usually  numbered  and  he  will  die  in  a  short  time  from 
lack  of  oxygen  and  from  the  accumulation  of  carbon 
dioxide  in  the  blood. 

The  septic  form  of  diphtheria  is  equally  dangerous. 
It  is  characterized  by  a  gangrenous  decay  of  the 
mucous  membranes  of  the  nose  and  pharynx,  by  very 
bad  smelling  and  ill-colored  discharges  from  the  nose 
and  mouth,  by  increased  salivation,  by  vomiting,  and 
by  great  lassitude  and  apathy.  Disorders  of  the  heart 
and  kidneys  are  often  added  to  these  customary  symp- 
toms and  the  course  of  the  disease  then  becomes  dis- 
tressingly slow. 

The  Klebs-Loffler  bacillus  is  usually  regarded  as  the 
cause  of  the  disease.  It  is  this  that  grows  so  luxuri- 
ously in  the  diseased  membrane  and  is  transferred  to 
others  by  the  excretions  which  flow  from  the  mouth  or 


330  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

nose,  or  are  coughed  up  or  blown  out  so  as  to  get  on 
the  skin,  clothing,  or  surroundings  of  the  patient.  In- 
fection can  take  place  by  direct  contract  with  these 
excretions;  or  it  may  occur  by  healthy  individuals 
breathing  air  containing  dust  from  such  pathogenic 
material  as  has  become  attached  to  the  patient,  the 
floors,  the  walls,  furniture,  clothing,  books,  etc.,  and 
then  been  dried  and  disseminated  through  the  air. 

As  the  bacillus  is  extraordinarily  long-lived,  infec- 
tion is  possible  after  several  weeks  or  even  months.  It 
often  takes  place  in  school,  for  here  those  with  mild 
cases  who  are  still  able  to  be  up,  and  those  who  are 
just  convalescent  and  have  the  infectious  material  yet 
with  them,  mix  daily  with  the  pupils  for  five  or  six 
hours.  There  are  many  cases  where  it  is  possible  to 
show  that  there  was  a  causal  relation  between  taking 
the  disease  and  mutual  proximity  on  the  school  benches. 
In  one  case,  infection  was  produced  by  an  interchange 
in  the  drawing  lesson  of  pencils  between  the  healthy 
and  sick,  the  point  having  been  placed  in  the  mouth. 

A  chart  published  by  the  board  of  health  of  Boston 
in  1892,  which  shows  graphically  the  great  reduction 
in  the  number  of  cases  during  the  summer  vacations 
and  the  large  increase  on  the  opening  of  school,  give 
a  significant  picture  of  the  propagation  of  diphtheria 
by  the  school.  In  London,  also,  there  was  a  marked 
descent  in  the  curve  representing  the  number  of  cases 


DIPHTHERIA  331 

reported  for  the  years  1893  to  1895  corresponding 
with  the  duration  of  the  summer  vacation.  In  1,618 
of  the  2,168  cases  received  in  the  London  hospitals  it 
was  impossible  to  discover  the  source  of  the  infec- 
tion. In  124  cases,  it  was,  however,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly traceable  to  the  schools;  and  in  55  cases,  the 
school  was  suspected  of  being  the  cause. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  follows  that  the  teach- 
ers' at  the  time  of  the  prevalence  of  diphtheria  or 
croup  must  give  careful  attention  to  the  following 
points. 

The  health  of  the  pupil  is  to  be  watched;  and,  as 
soon  as  any  one  complains  of  pain  and  distress  in  the 
throat,  he  must  be  dismissed  immediately.  If  it  is 
found  that  he  really  has  a  case  of  diphtheria,  his 
brothers  and  sisters  should  also  be  excluded  from 
school. 

Convalescents  should  in  no  case  be  re-admitted  in 
less  than  forty  days  from  the  breaking  out  of  the 
disease;  and  the  admission  of  those  who  have  been 
cured  should  take  place  only  on  the  presentation  of 
certificates  from  physicians  stating  that  the  cure  is 
complete ;  which  means,  among  other  things,  that  the 
bacilli  have  completely  disappeared  from  the  nose  and 
pharynx. 

There  must  also  have  been  a  thorough  disinfection 
of  the  body  and  clothing.  What  was  said  about  the 


332  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

disinfection  of  class-rooms  in  scarlet  fever,  will  also 
apply  here.  If  several  cases  should  occur  in  a  week 
among  the  pupils  who  are  associated  together,  or  if 
the  epidemic  is  particularly  malignant,  school  must  be 
partially  and  in  the  worst  cases  wholly  closed. 

Of  course  pupils  must  not  associate  during  this  time, 
as  they  would,  for  example,  in  having  private  lessons 
together,  or  in  taking  part  in  the  preparatory  instruc- 
tion for  confirmation. 

Whooping-cough. — While  about  18$  of  the  nine 
year-old  pupils  of  our  higher  institutions,  and  30  %  of 
those  between  eighteen  and  twenty  have  had  diphtheria, 
the  number  of  those  who  have  suffered  from  whoop- 
ing-cough remains  about  the  same  throughout  the 
course,  varying  from  40  to  50  $. 

From  this  we  infer  that  whooping-cough  rarely  oc- 
curs during  the  school-age.  In  fact,  children  from 
four  to  six  are  usually  attacked.  Hagenbach  states 
that  in  Germany  there  are  250,000  cases  annually, 
which,  with  a  mortality  of  7.6$,  as  Biermer  gives  it, 
results  in  19,000  deaths  per  year. 

Whooping-cough  begins  very  often  with  catarrhal 
symptoms — coughing,  cold  in  the  head,  fever — which, 
however,  present  nothing  peculiar  to  enable  one  to 
pick  out  the  disease  with  certainty  even  if  it  is  known 
to  be  epidemic  in  the  place.  In  other  cases,  it  begins 
at  once  with  peculiar  convulsive  fits  of  coughing  ac- 


WHOOPING-COUGH  333 

companied  by  choking  and  vomiting;  these  occur  in 
ordinary  cases  ten  or  twelve  times,  and  in  violent 
cases,  as  many  as  fifty  times  a  day,  the  attacks  at 
night  being  most  frequent. 

The  more  consistent  the  phlegm  is,  the  longer  will 
the  coughing  spell  last,  as  the  spasmodic  contractions 
of  the  glottis  will  not  cease  before  all  of  it  is 
expelled.  It  is  these  that  produce  the  whistling  in- 
spirations characteristic  of  whooping-cough.  After 
lasting  from  three  to  twelve  weeks,  the  disease  usually 
begins  to  abate.  It  may  last  longer,  especially  if  the 
catarrh  spreads  and  inflammation  of  the  bronchia  or 
the  lungs  sets  in. 

That  this  disease  is  extremely  contagious,  especially 
in  the  convulsive  stage,  is  beyond  question.  It  is 
caused  by  a  micro-organism,  whose  nature  is  not  yet 
fully  understood.  As  soon  as  a  case  appears  in  a 
school-room,  it  should  be  isolated  at  once.  The  same 
thing  must  be  done  when  there  is  reason  to  fear  that 
an  ordinary  cough  is  only  the  forerunner  of  approach- 
ing whooping-cough. 

The  exclusion  from  school  should  last  for  twenty  to 
thirty  days  after  the  last  characteristic  coughing  fit. 
Thirty  days  are  prescribed  by  the  French  lycees. 

Whether  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  patient 
should  also  be  kept  away  from  school,  is  a  disputed 
question.  While  the  British  Medical  Journal,  which 


334  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

is  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  its  kind,  favors  exclu- 
sion, the  medical  association  of  Vienna  opposes  it,  on 
the  ground  that  it  is  not  certain  that  the  disease  can 
be  transmitted  by  intermediaries.  In  any  case,  we 
must  not  forget  that  by  such  exclusion  healthy  pupils 
are  often  compelled  to  lose  an  entire  year's  work, 
which  is  deterimental  not  only  to  their  progress  but 
often  also  to  their  morals. 

Cerebro-spinal  meningitis  is  a  much  rarer  but 
also  much  more  dangerous  disease  than  whooping- 
cough.  This  is  an  acute  inflammation  of  the  soft 
membranes  of  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  It  is  usually 
epidemic,  only  exceptionally  sporadic,  and  mostly  at- 
tacks children  under  fifteen.  It  generally  begins  with 
a  chill,  violent  frontal  headache,  and  vomiting;  a  few 
cases  have  a  brief  prodromal  stage  consisting  of  men- 
tal depress  on,  dizziness,  hyperaesthesia,  insomnia,  and 
restlessness.  On  the  second  or  third  day,  the  neck 
stiffens,  the  head  is  drawn  backward  convulsively,  and 
frightful  pains  shoot  over  the  spine  and  into  the 
limbs.  The  mind  of  the  patient  is  clear  at  first,  but 
he  gradually  loses  consciousness  and  begins  to  breathe 
irregularly;  he  is  troubled  with  convulsions  and  de- 
lirium; and  after  a  rapid  exhaustion  of  his  energies, 
death  results.  Should  he  recover,  it  will  be  a  very 
long  time  before  he  will  be  well,  and  he  is  liable  to  be 
burdened  with  mental  derangement,  weakness  of 
memory,  paralysis,  or  deafness. 


CEREBRO-SPINAL   MENINGITIS  335 

Cerebro-spinal  menigitis  is  to  be  classed  among  the 
infectious  diseases,  the  probable  cause  being  the 
Frankel-Weichselbaum  bacillus.  In  case  of  an  epi- 
demic, a  teacher  must  watch  for  changes  in  the  moods 
or  characters  of  his  pupils,  as  well  as  for  the  other 
symptoms  of  the  disease;  and  as  soon  as  a  pupil 
shows  any  of  the  signs,  he  should  be  sent  to  his  parents 
or  guardians.  These  must  keep  him  out  of  school 
till  a  doctor  certifies  that  there  is  no  further  danger 
of  infection.  All  other  children  in  the  patient's 
household  should  also  be  prevented  from  coming  to 
school.  The  disinfection  of  the  patient  and  the  room 
should  be  the  same  as  that  already  recommended  for 
scarlet  fever. 

Mumps  is  an  epidemic  inflammation  of  the  parotid 
glands,  usually  confined  to  school  children,  which  offers 
a  contrast  with  cerebro-spinal  menigitis  in  that  it  is 
not  attended  with  any  danger.  The  swellings  develop 
in  connection  with  a  moderate  fever  and  soon  become 
painful,  especially  when  touched ;  in  severe  cases  they 
spread  into  the  surrounding  tissue,  even  covering  the 
face  and  neck  on  the  side  afflicted  and  preventing  the 
opening  of  the  mouth  to  any  *  considerable  extent. 
These  symptoms,  and  the  fact  that  the  head  is  bent 
over  toward  the  swollen  side  makes  it  easy  to  recog- 
nize the  disease.  In  two  to  four  days,  the  swelling 
begins  to  subside ;  and,  in  from  one  to  two  weeks,  the 


336  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

trouble  is  at  an  end,  unless  the  testicles  become  in- 
flamed, as  sometimes  happens  in  the  case  of  older  boys. 

Though  the  mumps  are  not  very  serious,  they  are 
rather  contagious,  probably  on  account  of  some  mi- 
crobe in  the  saliva.  In  an  epidemic  in  Lausanne  in 
1888,  78  out  of  3,137  school  children  were  attacked. 

Infection  usually  takes  place  in  the  time  before  the 
swelling  of  the  parotid  glands, — that  is,  at  the  end  of 
the  period  of  incubation,  which  lasts  from  eight  to 
twenty-five  days.  It  can,  however,  occur  later,  since 
the  possibility  of  infection  does  not  disappear  until 
two  weeks  after  the  end  of  the  fever. 

Since  there  is  so  little  danger  from  the  mumps,  the 
school  need  do  nothing  more  than  isolate  the  patients. 
It  is  unnecesasry  to  close  school,  unless  the  disease 
becomes  so  prevalent  that  the  school  closes  of  itself. 

According  to  the  supreme  sanitary  board  of  Aus- 
tria, pupils  may  be  re-admitted  eight  days  after  com- 
plete recovery,  which  is  four  or  five  weeks  after  the 
first  symptoms. 

Sinall-pox  hardly  needs  to  be  described  here,  since 
the  disease  is  so  severe  from  the  start  that  teachers  do 
not  have  occasion  to  deal  with  it.  Indeed  cases  are 
now  exceedingly  rare  in  Germany.  For,  if  we  con- 
sider Hamburg,  Bremen,  Konigsberg,  and  Danzig, 
which  are  connected  by  an  extensive  ocean  traffic  with 
foreign  countries,  as  cities  belonging  to  the  border  of 


SMALL-POX  337 

the  German  empire,  two-thirds  of  all  the  deaths  from 
small-pox  may  be  said  to  be  due  to  importations  of 
the  germ  on  the  frontier,  as  only  one-third  of  the 
deaths  occur  in  the  interior. 

For  example,  in  1886  one  death  from  small-pox  is 
reported  from  Berlin;  none  from  Breslau,  Dresden,. 
Cologne,  and  Frankfurt  a.  M. ;  two  from  Munich;  and 
three  from  Leipzig.  To  what  a  small  extent  the 
disease  is  developed  in  Germany,  may  be  seen  from 
the  fact  that  among  the  eighty-six  communities  with 
deaths  from  small-pox  in  1886,  54  had  only  one  case 
each,  19  had  but  two,  and  only  4  had  five  or  more. 

The  rare  occurrence  and  slight  extension  of  small- 
pox in  Germany  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  vaccination  and  re-vaccination  of  children  is 
carried  out  so  rigorously.  This  can  be  proved  by  a 
comparison  of  the  mortality  from  small-pox  in  Ger- 
many with  that  from  the  same  disease  in  other  coun- 
tries where  vaccination  is  not  compulsory.  In  1886  in 
the  cities  of  Hungary  the  mortality  from  the  disease 
was  486  times  as  great  as  in  the  cities  of  Germany ;  in 
the  cities  of  Austria  65  times,  in  those  of  Switzerland 
44  times,  and  in  those  of  Belgium  39  times  as  great. 
Even  in  England  it  was  1.5  times  greater  than  in  Ger- 
many, because  while  vaccination  is  compulsory,  re- 
vaccination  is  not. 

There  are  facts  enough  from  other  sources  to  show 


338  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

the  beneficent  influence  of  vaccination.  In  the  dis- 
trict of  Mologa,  Russia,  only  sixteen,  or  1.3$,  of  1,- 
055  vaccinated  children  under  fourteen  took  the 
disease;  while  35  or  46.6$  of  seventy-five  children 
whose  vaccination  was  doubtful,  and  244,  or  58.6$, 
of  434  who  had  not  been  vaccinated,  fell  victims. 
The  liability  of  being  attacked  by  the  small-pox  was, 
therefore,  forty-five  times  greater  for  the  unvaccin- 
ated.  Similarly,  in  a  great  small-pox  epidemic  in  Shef- 
field, only  one-half  per  cent  (£$)  of  the  vaccinated 
children  under  ten  took  the  disease;  while  10.1$  of 
the  unvaccinated  came  down  with  it.  The  mortality 
among  the  vaccinated  was  1.09  $,  among  the  unvac- 
cinated 44$.  A  regular  decrease  in  mortality  is  a 
noticeable  feature  whenever  a  country  introduces  com- 
pulsory vaccination. 

The  latter  is  often  opposed  on  the  ground  that  dis- 
eases are  frequently  contracted  from  the  operation. 
This  assumption  is  chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  every 
sickness  contracted  after  vaccination  is  without  dis- 
crimination attributed  to  its  influence.  Voigt  has 
shown  by  careful  statistics  that  in  about  100,000  cases 
of  vaccination  only  69  received  supposed  injuries.  All 
the  patients  recovered  in  a  short  time;  and  it  is  cer- 
tain that  something  independent  of  vaccination  was 
the  cause  of  the  trouble.  He  comes  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  "  howl  of  distress  and  murder  from  the  anti- 


VACCINATION  339 

vaccinationists  is  simply  obdurate  prejudice  against 
the  truth." 

In  view  of  these  facts,  there  is  every  reason  why  the 
school  should  insist  strongly  upon  the  vaccination  or 
re-vaccination  of  its  pupils.  According  to  the  Ger- 
man vaccination  law  of  April  8,  1874,  the  principals 
of  schools  must  see  that  a  certificate  of  vaccination  is 
presented  by  pupils  just  entering.  Similarly,  in  Aus- 
tria, an  order  from  the  cultus  minister  of  the  9th  of 
June,  1891,  requires  teachers  to  inform  themselves 
about  the  vaccination  of  the  children  and  assist  the 
physician  in  attending  to.  the  matter1.  The  law  in 
Germany  further  requires  that  school  children  shall  be 
re-vaccinated  within  the  calendar  year  in  which  they 
complete  their  twelfth  year ;  and  if  the  attempt  fails, 
it  must  be  repeated  at  the  latest  during  the  following 
year. 

There  need  be  no  hesitation  in  allowing  pupils  who 
have  just  been  re- vaccinated  from  attending  school. 
They  must,  however,  keep  their  bodies  scrupulously 
clean.  The  sores  should  be  free  from  dirt  and  should 
not  be  abraded  or  scratched.  The  shirt-sleeves  must 
be  loose,  so  they  will  not  irritate  the  spots  by  rubbing. 
It  is  a  good  thing  to  excuse  those  who  have  been  re- 
vaccinated  from  bathing  and  gymnastics  for  two  weeks. 

1Leo  Burgerstein  und  August  Xetolitzky,  Handbuch 
der  Schulhygiene.  Jena,  1895,  Gust.  Fischer,  p.  337. 


340  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

If  the  inoculation  is  successful,  small  vesicles  appear 
after  the  fourth  day ;  these  usually  increase  in  size  up 
to  the  ninth  day,  developing  into  the  vaccine  pustule 
with  its  surrounding  inflamed  red  zone.  These  con- 
tain at  first  a  clear  liquid  which  on  the  eighth  day 
begins  to  grow  turbid.  From  the  tenth  to  the  twelfth 
day  they  dry  up  into  a  scab,  which  in  three  or  four 
weeks  falls  off  by  itself.  No  bandage  is  needed,  unless 
the  red  swelling  becomes  extensive  or  the  pustule 
breaks,  when  a  bandage  coated  with  vasaline  had  bet- 
ter be  placed  about  the  arm. 

Since  vaccination  does  not  afford  sure  protection 
for  so  long  a  time  as  twelve  years,  it  is  always  possible 
to  have  a  pupil  fall  victim  to  the  disease.  In  such  a 
case  there  should  be  the  most  careful  isolation  and  the 
most  thorough  disinfection  of  everything  that  either 
comes  into  contact  with  him  or  even  near  him ;  and  he 
should  not  be  re-admitted  to  school  till  five  weeks 
from  the  beginning  of  the  disease. 

Chicken-pox  is  a  disease  definitely  distinguishable 
from  small-pox;  it  has  characteristics  of  its  own,  but 
it  also  is  infectious,  and  capable  of  attacking  large 
'numbers  of  pupils.  In  the  Hamburg  classical  school, 
something  like  a  fourth  of  the  pupils  came  down  with 
it.  The  period  of  incubation  is  generally  from  11  to 
17  days.  There  is  usually  no  prodromal  stage  and 
the  eruption  of  little  red  spots,  principally  on  the 


TUBERCULOSIS  341 

body,  face,  and  scalp,  takes  place  suddenly  with 
little  or  no  fever.  These  spots  have  vesicles  in  the 
centre  about  the  size  of  a  lentil,  filled  with  a  trans- 
parent fluid.  In  contrast  with  the  true  small-pox, 
they  do  not  have  a  hollow  in  the  middle.  They  dry 
up  in  twenty-four  hours,  become  scabs,  and  fall  off  in 
a  few  days  without  leaving  any  scars.  Chicken-pox  is 
usually  so  mild  that  there  is  no  need  of  medical  treat- 
ment or  the  rigorous  enforcement  of  the  rules  for  the 
exclusion  of  the  patients  or  their  brothers  and  sisters. 
The  probable  length  of  the  period  of  infection  is  twenty 
days  from  the  first  symptoms. 

Tuberculosis^  which  is  much  more  to  be  dreaded 
than  the  above  disease,  appears  both  in  an  acute  and 
in  a  chronic  form,  the  symptoms  varying  with  the 
organs  attacked.  In  adults  the  lungs  are  mostly 
affected,  but  in  children  it  is  more  frequently  the 
lymphatic  glands  and  the  brain. 

The  disease  is  more  common  with  adults  than  with 
children.  In  Prussia  out  of  10,000  inhabitants,  10 
died  of  consumption  before  the  age  of  ten ;  20  from  ten 
to  twenty ;  33  from  twenty  to  thirty ;  41  from  thirty  to 
forty;  48  from  forty  to  fifty;  62  from  fifty  to  sixty;  93 
from  sixty  to  seventy;  71  from  seventy  to  eighty. 

Among  children  tuberculosis  is  more  frequent  in  the 
common  schools  than  in  the  higher  institutions,  evi- 
dently because  the  home  surroundings  are  less  hygienic 


342  INFECTIOUS   DISEASES 

in  the  former  case.  Langerhans  found  among  2,084 
village  school  children  of  the  circle  of  Isenhagen  in 
Hannover  one  case  of  advanced  tuberculosis  of  the 
lungs  and  larynx,-  one  case  of  tubercolosis  of  the  lungs 
and  spinal  column,  five  cases  of  tuberculosis  of  the 
bones  or  joints,  and  one  where  this  disease  was  sus- 
pected ;  but  in  a  large  number  of  gymnasia  and  real- 
gymnasia  I  have  not  found  a  single  case.  Grusdeff's 
report  is  in  harmony  with  these  facts.  He  examined 
262  pupils  between  the  ages  of  nine  and  eighteen  in 
the  ecclesiastical  institute  at  Kostroma.  Though  30$ 
had  some  form  of  pulmonary  disease  and  28  %  of  these 
expectorated  and  22  %  had  consumptive  parents  or  rela- 
tives, he  was  not  able  to  find  a  single  case  of  tuber- 
culosis among  them. 

In  higher  institutions  of  learning,  the  question 
whether  teachers  are  consumptive  is  therefore  more 
important  than  the  question  whether  the  pupils  are 
so,  especially  if  we  consider  the  lower  grades.  The 
cause  of  tuberculosis  is  a  fungus,  not  the  tuber- 
cular bacillus  of  Koch,  which  is  found  in  the  breath 
of  the  patients,  but  in  the  expectorations.  If  these 
get  on  the  clothing  or  the  floors,  they  will  dry  and 
be  rubbed  or  crushed  into  powder  so  as  to  be  in  a 
condition  to  enter  the  lungs  of  the  healthy  as  dust. 
The  infectious  material  is  sometimes  transmitted  by 
flies  which  deposit  it  on  food.  Younger  children  do 


TUBERCULOSIS  343 

not  know  very  well  how  to  cough  so  as  to  clear  the 
throat  and  lungs,  and  often  swallow  the  spittle ;  con- 
sequently they  are  not  so  liable  to  communicate  the 
disease  to  the  healthy  members  of  the  school  as  older 
pupils  or  consumptive  teachers  would  be.  Robert 
Koch  is,  therefore,  right  in  demanding  that  the  latter 
classes  of  persons  stay  out  of  the  school-room,  both 
for  their  own  good  and  for  the  good  of  the  rest  of  the 
school.  Pupils  of  this  class  had  better  be  taken  to  a 
school  sanitarium  for  consumptives,  such  as  are  to  be 
found  at  Davos  and.  Meran,  where  classical  and  scien- 
tific courses  are  among  other  things  maintained. 

It  is  true,  the  effort  has  been  made  to  avoid  exclud- 
ing these  persons  from  school  by  recommending  the 
use  of  a  Dettweiler  spit-bottle  or  a  spittoon  filled  with 
water,  for  expectoration  in  school.  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  connected  with  the  use  of  spittoons. 
In  summer  the  water  will  evaporate ;  and  the  contents 
will  then  readily  dry  and  become  converted  into  in- 
fectious dust.  In  winter  they  are  liable  to  freeze  and 
burst.  But  the  chief  danger  is  that  they  will  be  run 
into,  so  that  the  liquid  will  spill  and  do  just  the  dam- 
age we  want  to  avoid.  As  is  pointed  out  by  the  scien- 
tific deputation  for  medical  affairs  in  Prussia,  freezing 
and  evaporation  may  be  prevented  by  adding  calcium 
chloride  or  salt  to  the  water;  and  spilling,  either  by 
fastening  the  vessels  down  or  adapting  their  shape. 


344  INFECTIOUS   DISEASES 

Many  have  also  proposed  filling  the  spittoons  with  five 
per  cent  carbolic  acid  solution  instead  of  water,  since 
danger  from  drying  or  spilling  would  then  be  removed 
by  the  disinfection  of  the  contents.  But  even  in  this 
case  there  would  still  be  the  daily  cleaning  of  the 
spittoons,  which  according  to  Hakonson-Hansen's1  es- 
timate would  require  four  hours  in  a  large  school, — a 
length  of  time  the  janitor  does  not  have  to  spare. 
And,  finally,  even  if  consumptive  pupils  have  been 
assigned  to  seats  at  the  end  of  the  benches  they  never- 
theless disturb  the  school  at  all  times  by  getting  up  to 
cough  and  expectorate.  ~We,  accordingly,  find  it  im- 
possible to  adopt  the  above  suggestions,  much  as  they 
may  have  been  recommended  by  those  in  authority, 

Typhus  fevers  are  more  common  than  tuberculosis 
among  school  children.  In  the  higher  schools,  one  in 
twelve  has  suffered  from  an  attack. 

There  are  three  varieties:  the  typhus  or  spotted 
iever,  the  typhoid  or  enteric  fever,  and  typhoid  relapse. 
In  the  first,  the  fever  comes  on  rapidly,  with  a  tem- 
perature of  40°  to  41°  C.=104-105.8°  F,  and  a  fast 
pulse,  which  is  often  double  quick.  In  addition, 
there  is  great  muscular  weakness,  profound  sensory 
coma,  enlargement  of  the  spleen,  catarrh  of  the 

1M.  K.  Hakonson-Hansen,  Zur  Bekampfung  der 
Tuberkulose  in  den  Schulen.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulge- 
sundheitspflege,  1891,  Xo.  5,  p.  292,  ff. 


TYPHUS   FEVERS  345 

respiratory  passages,  and  an  extensive  eruption  of 
spots,  which  may  cause  the  disease  to  be  confounded 
with  the  measles.  In  the  latter,  the  fever  is  less,  the 
pulse  not  so  rapid,  and  mental  ability  is  normal. 

Typhoid  fever  can  be  distinguished  from  typhus 
fever  by  the  more  gradual  development  of  the  fever 
symptoms,  the  scarcity  of  spots  on  the  skin,  the  thin 
pale  stools,  and  the  bloating,  aching,  and  peculiar 
rumbling  of  the  bowels. 

The  characteristic  thing  about  typhoid  relapse  is 
that  from  the  fifth  to  the  eighth  day  after  it  has  started 
with  chills,  great  depression,  tormenting  pains  in  the 
head  and  limbs,  and  high  fever,  there  comes  a  sudden 
fall  in  the  temperature  and  pulse  with  apparently  a 
return  to  perfect  health.  However,  this  does  not  last 
long  and  a  relapse  occurs  in  another  five  to  eight  days. 
These  alternations  may  take  place  two  or  three  times. 
During  attacks,  mobile,  cork-screw-shaped  bacilli,  the 
so-called  "  recurrenssperillae ",  are  always  found  in 
the  blood. 

Typhus  diseases  are  all  very  contagious.  In  the 
district  of  Kasan,  typhus  fever  spread  so  rapidly  in 
an  epidemic  that  twenty-two  out  of  eighty-six  coun- 
try schools  had  to  be  closed  in  a  short  time.  Sim- 
ilarly, in  a  French  boarding  school  with  184  boarders 
and  8  day  pupils,  80  pupils  and  21  servants  fell  sick 
with  typhoid  fever.  An  investigation  revealed  the  fact 


346  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

that  only  those  were  attacked  who  drank  the  water 
supplied  by  the  institution.  The  well  from  which  it 
was  procured  had  been  contaminated  by  refuse  materi- 
als; and  typhus  bacilli  could  be  found  in  it.  Milk  as 
well  as  water  may  be  a  means  of  infection,  if  it  has 
come  into  contact  with  some  person  suffering  with  the 
disease.  Transmission  by  clothing  and  washing  has- 
been  a  particularly  noticeable  fact. 

Typhus  patients  should  therefore  be  isolated  most 
rigorously  and  not  be  re-admitted  to  school  under  forty 
days  from  the  beginning  of  the  sickness.  Before  ad- 
mission they  and  their  effects  must  have  been  submitted 
to  a  thorough  disinfection.  In  the  case  of  typhoid 
fever  it  is  also  necessary  to  disinfect  the  excretions  of 
the  patient.  For  this  purpose  it  is  customary,  to 
throw  in  enough  lime  into  the  infected  vaults  to  make 
the  contents  strongly  alkaline,  and  to  wash  out  the 
closet  drains  with  a  five  per  cent  solution  of  calcium 
chloride. 

The  influenza^  or  grippe,  has  become  in  late  years 
the  most  prevalent  of  infectious  diseases.  Its  period  of 
incubation  is  from  one  to  four,  but  usually  from  three 
to  four  days.  According  to  Combe1  it  often  occurs 
among  school  children  in  a  very  mild  form,  a  slight 

1  Combe,  Die  Influenza  in  den  Primarschulen  von 
Lausanne.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesundheitspflege, 
1890,  No.  98,  p.  505  ff. 


THE    INFLUENZA  347 

headache,  a  scarcely  preceptible  weakness,  little  or  no 
fever,  light  chills,  and  a  sick  period  of  from  five  to 
eight  days  only.  Malling-Hansen1  found  that  his 
pupils  gained  less  rapidly  in  weight  than  usual,  but 
were  otherwise  perfectly  well  during  an  epidemic  of 
the  influenza.  In  the  more  serious  cases,  especially 
with  older  pupils,  the  symptoms  are  chills,  a  high 
fever,  and  violent  pains  in  the  spine.  These  are  accom- 
panied by  eruptions,  which  are  partly  confined  to  the 
lips  and  ears,  and  partly  found  over  the  rest  of  the 
body  like  scarlet  fever  ex-anthema.  The  most  prom- 
inent symptoms  are  those  connected  with  the  nervous 
system,  such  as  severe  headache,  dizziness,  and  neu- 
ralgia, and  also  persistent  weakness,  which  prevents  all 
physical  and  mental  work. 

The  nervous  type  of  influenza  is  found  in  nearly 
half  the  cases,  while  the  bronchitic  occurs  in  about 
one-sixth.  In  the  latter  as  well  as  in  the  former  we 
find  chills,  fever,  and  headache;  but  in  a  much  less 
intense  form.  A  dry  obstinate  cough,  something  like 
whooping-cough,  and  like  this  productive  of  nausea, 
is  usually  the  most  striking  symptom.  The  most 
common  complications  are  inflammation  of  the  edges 
of  the  eye-lids,  the  conjunctiva,  and  the  cornea.  The 

XR.  Malling-Hansen,  Die  Influenza  und  die  Gewichts- 
zunahme  der  Kinder.  Zeitschrift  fur  Schulgesund- 
heitspflege,  1890,  Xo.  2,  p.  65  fl3. 


348  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

gastro-intestinal  type,  which  is  found  in  about  a  third 
of  the  cases,  is  like  the  other  two  characterized  by 
chills,  fever,  headache,  and  general  weakness;  but  there 
is  in  addition  diarrhea,  with  violent  griping  and  fre- 
quent vomiting. 

That  influenza  is  contagious,  is  an  almost  universally 
accepted  fact ;  and  a  bacillus  which  Pf eif er  has  found 
in  the  mucous  discharges  from  the  windpipe  and 
bronchial  tubes  is  supposed  to  produce  it.  This  will 
explain  the  extraordinary  propagation  of  the  grippe  in 
places  where  many  people  are  gathered  together  as  in 
schools.  In  Vienna  30  per  cent  of  the  school  children 
fell  victims  to  the  disease;  25  to  50  %  in  St.  Petersburg; 
54  %  in  Lausanne ;  and  73  %  in  London.  It  was  especially 
prevalent  in  boarding  schools ;  in  Detmold  17  out  of  39 ; 
in  Schneeberg  in  the  Erzgebirge  71  out  of  120;  and  in 
Waldenburg  in  Silesia  100  out  of  130  boarding  pupils 
were  attacked.  In  the  boarding  department  of  the 
monastery  at  Einsiedeln,  140  out  of  170  gymnasiasts 
succumbed  to  the  epidemic;  and  in  Burave,  a  boys' 
boarding  school  at  castle  Prangins  in  Switzerland, 
only  a  single  pupil  escaped.  It  has  accordingly  been 
found  necessary  to  close  the  schools  in  many  places. 

In  order  to  suppress  influenza  it  is  advisable  to  re- 
port every  case;  and  to  isolate  the  pupils  who  have  it, 
and  re-admit  them  only  when  they  have  fully  recov- 
ered. The  school  committee  of  the  district  of  Vienna 


MASTURBATION  349 

has  laid  down  the  rule  that  when  the  influenza  is  epi- 
demic, the  general  hygienic  conditions  of  the  school 
must  receive  more  attention ;  school  directors  must  be 
especially  careful  to  have  the  rooms  kept  at  a  uniform 
temperature  during  recesses ;  and  to  have  them  thor- 
oughly cleaned  every  day  with  moist  rags. 

Masturbation. — We  will  close  our  discussion  of  in- 
fectious diseases  by  giving  some  account  of  masturba- 
tion or  onanism1,  an  error  which  may  often  be  said  to 
be  due  to  a  mental  contagion.  Nothing  certain  is 
known  of  the  extent  of  the  practice  among  the  young. 
It  is  well  to  refrain  as  much  from  extreme  pessimism 
as  from  careless  optimism.  At  any  rate,  nearly  all 
agree  that  masturbation  is  most  common  at  the  time 
of  the  development  of  the  sex  impulse,  which,  of 
course,  occurs  during  the  school  period. 

H.  Schiller  writes  from  the  standpoint  of  wide  ob- 
servation of  the  facts:  "There  is  much  evidence  to 
show  that  self-pollution  is  very  extensively  practised 
in  the  schools.  It  occurs  from  Sexta  to  Prima,  not 
very  often  in  the  lowest  and  highest  grades  but  most 
frequently  in  Secunda  and  Tertia.  There  is  probably 
no  institution  entirely  free  from  the  evil,  though  its  pre- 
valence in  some  schools  is  remarkably  great.  The 


1  Hermann  Cohn.  Was  Kann  die  Schule  gegen  die 
Masturbation  der  Kinder  thun  ?  Berlin,  1894,  Rich- 
ard Schoelz. 


350  INFECTIOUS    DISEASES 

traditions  and  the  quality  of  the  students  are  the  most 
important  factors  in  the  case.  Those  institutions  are 
especially  dangerous  as  propagators  of  the  evil  whose 
intermediate  classes  are  entered  by  numerous  pupils 
who  come  in  from  the  country  and  are  several  years 
above  the  average  age.  The  bad  habit,  which  is  well 
known  and  indigenous  in  the  rural  districts,  is  either 
brought  in  or  learned  by  them  from  older  pupils  and 
then  disseminated  among  the  rest. 

Among  the  causes  we  have  already  mentioned  bad 
example.  The  occasion  for  masturbation  is  also  given 
by  neuropathic  predisposition ;  by  sitting  for  hours  at 
home  or  in  school,  especially  with  the  legs  crossed;  by 
climbing  poles  and  ropes  without  taking  the  proper 
hold;  by  long  retention  of  the  urine;  and  by  the 
presence  of  eczema  or  vermin,  which  produces  itching 
and  so  leads  to  rubbing  and  scratching  the  region 
about  the  genitals.  Obscene  books,  pictures,  and  ex- 
hibitions are  very  pernicious,  since  they  arouse  the 
already  unstable  imagination  of  the  young.  The 
most  common  cause  of  onanism  is  the  unintentional 
handling  of  the  genitals  so  as  to  produce  the  orgasm 
when  under  strong  sexual  excitement — especially 
while  lying  in  bed. 

The  consequences  of  the  vice  are  partially  mental 
and  partially  physical.  Among  the  former,  we  have 
lassitude,  weakness,  shy  demeanor,  distaste  for  study, 


MASTURBATION  351 

enfeeblement  of  memory,  absent-mindedness,  dimin- 
ished reasoning  power,  which  may  even  develop  into 
hypochondria.  Among  the  physical  results  may  be 
mentioned,  dizziness,  headache,  ringing  in  the  ears, 
palpitation  of  the  heart,  disorders  of  sight,  and  espec- 
ially a  functional  disarrangement  of  the  sexual  organs 
which  manifests  itself  in  excessive  emissions  by  night 
and  even  by  day. 

Teachers,  physicians,  and  parents  must  unite  in 
waging  war  against  this  terrible  enemy.  Censure  and 
admonitions  are  generally  of  little  value,  as  they  in- 
crease the  great  emotional  depression  already  existing. 
The  onanist  is  fully  conscious  of  his  evil  doing,  and 
would  usually  be  glad  to  be  free  from  it;  but  he  lacks 
the  energy  necessary  for  overcoming  the  powerful  im- 
pulse. This  energy  can  best  be  secured  through  the 
building  up  of  the  system  generally;  and,  for  this  pur- 
pose, plenty  of  exercise  in  the  open  air,  gymnastics  of 
all  sorts,  and  bathing  in  cold  water  will  be  found  to  be 
of  assistance.  The  food  should  be  simple,  free  from 
condiments,  and  not  too  nitrogenous;  alcohol  should 
especially  be  avoided,  since  it  contributes  strongly  to 
sexual  excitement.  Smoking  is  also  injurious,  as  it 
has  been  demonstrated  that  it  retards  physical  develop- 
ment. Aside  from  these  measures  for  invigoration, 
the  pupil  must  be  watched  continually  and  kept  away 
from  all  exciting  causes.  Whether  the  introduction 


352  INFECTIOUS   DISEASES 

of  a  special  school  Bible  and  expurgated  editions  of 
the  classics  would  be  of  any  service  in  the  matter,  is 
doubtful ;  as  a  rule  they  would  be  used  for  the  discov- 
ery of  the  objectionable  passages,  which  would  then  be 
read  in  some  complete  edition.  Lectures  on  the  sub- 
ject before  the  entire  class  are  not  advisable.  They 
would  only  result  in  calling  the  attention  of  the  inno- 
cent to  the  subject,  and  the  onanists  would  hardly 
learn  anything  they  did  not  already  know.  The  entire 
life  of  the  school  must  rather  be  such  that  the  pupil 
cannot  easily  stray  from  the  path  of  virtue  and  moral- 
ity, as  this  is  the  best  means  of  keeping  mind,  soul, 
and  body  in  a  healthy  condition. 


A  BIBLIOGEAPHY  OF  ENGLISH  AND  AMERI- 
CAN BOOKS  AND  PAPERS  ON  SCHOOL 
HYGIENE 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  headings,  this  bibliography 
is  divided  into  sections  corresponding  with  the  chap- 
ters of  Dr.  Kotelmann's  book.  It  is  designed  to  be  a 
guide  to  some  of  the  most  important  literature  in  Eng- 
lish bearing  upon  the  subjects  under  discussion.  A 
few  notes  have  been  added  on  the  character  and  con- 
tents of  the  articles  or  books  when  this  was  not  suffi- 
ciently indicated  by  the  titles  or  when  their  importance 
or  special  features  seemed  to  make  it  desirable. 

Books  marked  with  a  star  may  be  purchased  of  the 
publisher  of  this  volume. 
CHAPTER  I. — HISTORY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE,  GENERAL 

TREATISES,  SCHOOL  ARCHITECTURE. 
ABEL,    W.    Jenkinson.      School   hygiene,    including 

simple  directions  respecting  ventilation,  eye-sight, 

infectious   diseases,    and   first   aid   in   injuries,   for 

schools  and  families.     Pp.  53.     London,  1890. 

A  brief  manual  of  directions. 
ALCOTT,   Wm.   A.     *Essay  on  the  construction  of 

school-houses.     Boston,  1832.     Prize  essay  for  the 

American  Institute  of  Instruction. 

"  Its  principles  were  dominant  for  a  number  of  years, 
being  adopted  by  Horace  Mann,  G.  B.  Emerson,  et.  al." 
(Hartwell.) 

(353) 


354  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   SCHOOL   HYGIENE 

AMERICAN    Institute    of    Instruction.     *Lectures, 
discussions,  etc.     Vol.  I.     Boston,  1831.     Contains 
a  lecture  on  "  Physical  education  "  by  Dr.  John  C. 
WARREN,  and  one  "  On  the  construction  and  fur- 
nishing of  school-rooms"  by  W.  J.  ADAMS. 
BAGINSKY.     Handbuch  der  Schulhygiene.    Pp.  6 19. 
Berlin,  1883. 

The  bibliographies  contain  some  American  and  Eng- 
lish titles  that  would  now  be  of  historical  interest. 
BARNARD,  Henry.     *  School  architecture.     This  is 
the  most  important  book  historically.     It  was  written 
as  a  lecture  in  1838,  and  first  published  in  the  Conn. 
Common  school  journal,  1842.    In  *1848,  it  appeared 
as  a  separate  book  of  368  pages;  a  *2d  edition  of 
383  pages  was  published  in  1849,  reprinted  as  a  *3d 
edition ;  a  *  4th  edition  of  429  pages  in  1850;  a  *  5th 
edition  of  464  pages  in  1854,  reprinted  as  a  *6th 
edition. — (See  Barnard's  Journal,  Vol.  IX,  p.  487.) 
"  Dr.  Barnard  was  the  first  in  any  country  to  set  up 
definite  standards  for  school  seats  and  desks  on  the 
basis  of   accurate  measurements  of   children.     These 
measurements  were  made  as  early  as  1838." — (Burger- 
stein   and   Netolitzky,  Handbuch   der   Schulhygiene, 
p.  55.) 

American  journal  of  education,  1855-1881. 

Among  the  most  important  articles  for  the  present 
subject  are :  The  condition  of  school  buildings  in  the 
United  States,  1838-1850,  *Vol.  IX,  p.  491;  physical 
training  of  teachers  and  pupils,  by  Catherine  E. 
Beecher,  in  1855,  *Vol.  II,  p.  39;  and  the  examples  of 
school  buildings  in  the  United  States.  (*The  analytical 


GENERAL  TREATISES,  ARCHITECTURE  355 

index  of  Barnard's  Journal  of  education,  issued  by  the 

bureau   of  education,  Washington,  D.   C.,  1892,  pp. 

107-8,  gives  the  pages  and  volumes.) 

Keport  on  school  architecture  and  plans  for 

graded  schools,  1870.  Bureau  of  education,  Wash- 
ington. 

BELL,  A.  N.  *The  physiological  conditions  and 
sanitary  requirements  of  school-houses  and  school- 
life.  [Prize  essay,  medical  society,  State  of  N".  Y.] 
New  York,  1887. 

BICKNELL,  A.  J.  *  School-house  and  church  archi- 
tecture. Containing  23  plates,  showing  26  plans 
and  elevations  of  district,  village,  and  city  school- 
houses.  New  York. 

BOYKIN,  Jas.  C.  Physical  training.  *  Report  of  com- 
missioner of  education,  1891-92.  Pp.  494-524  give 
a  convenient  history  of  the  movement  in  the  United 
States. 

BUDGETT,  J.  B.  The  hygiene  of  schools,  or  educa- 
tion mentally  and  physically  considered.  London, 
1874. 

BURNHAM,  W.  H.  Outlines  of  school  hygiene.  Pp. 
9-71.  Pedagogical  seminary  Vol.  II,  No.  1.  Wor- 
cester, Mass.,  1892.  Excellent. 

BURROWES,  Thos.  H.  *  Pennsylvania  school  archi- 
tecture, a  manual  of  directions  and  plans  for  grading, 
locating,  constructing,  heating,  ventilating,  and  fur- 
nishing common  school-houses.  Harrisburg. 

CARPENTER,  Alfred.  The  principles  and  practice 
of  school  hygiene.  With  illustrations.  London, 


356  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

1887.  Jos.  Hughes.  Begins  with  school  architecture, 
drainage,  sewerage,  etc. 

CHAD  WICK,  Edwin.  *The  sanitary  construction  of 
schools.  Social  science  association.  New  York, 
1871. 

CLARK,  Hannah  B.  Sanitary  legislation  affecting 
schools  in  the  United  States.  ^Report  of  commis- 
sioner of  education,  1893-4.  Pp.  1301-49. 

COUNCIL  on  education,  England.  *Committee  of 
plans  of  buildings  (21  folio  sheets).  London. 

DRAPER,  A.  S.  (editor).  Designs  for  school-houses. 
Being  the  accepted  plans  in  the  competition  con- 
ducted by  the  department  of  public  instruction  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  etc.  Albany,  1888. 

Designs  for  school-houses  accepted  by  the  depart- 
ment of  public  instruction  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  Albany,  1889. 

DUKES,  Clement.  *  School  dormitories.  London 
health  exposition,  1884.  , 

DWYER,  Chas.  P.  *The  economy  of  church,  par- 
sonage, and  school  architecture.  Buffalo,  1856. 

EVELETH,  S.  F.  School-house  architecture.  De- 
signs for  school-houses,  with  perspectives,  elevations, 
plans,  sections,  details,  and  specifications,  all  drawn 
to  working  scale,  with  methods  of  heating  and  ven- 
tilation. New  York. 

FARQUHARSON,  Robert.     *  School  hygiene  and  dis- 
eases incidental  to  school  life.     Pp.  369.     London, 
1895. 
Contents: — School    buildings,    school    diet,    school 


GENERAL  TREATISES,  ARCHITECTURE  357 

work,  school  play,  the  duties   of   the    school  doctor, 

school  diseases. 

Discussion  of  school  play  and  diet  of  special  interest. 

FREEZE,  J.  R.  Report  on  school-houses  and  the 
means  of  promoting  popular  education.  In  Vol.  V. 
*  Reports  of  the  Paris  exposition  of  1867.  Washing- 
ton, 1868. 

GARDNER,  E.  C.  Town  and  country  school  buildings. 
New  York.,  1888. 

H ARRIS,  W.  T.  Preliminary  report  on  school  hygiene. 
Educational  review,  pp.  1-8,  June,  1899. 

HARTWELL,  Edward  H.  Report  of  the  director  of 
physical  training.  School  document  22,  1891. 
Boston. 

A  contribution  to  the  history  of  physical  training. 
The  report  for  1895,  school  document  No.  4,  Bos- 
ton, contains  a  history  of  the  school  desk  reform. 

HODGINS,  J.  George.  *The  school-house,  its  archi- 
tecture, external  and  internal  arrangements;  with 
elevations  and  plans  for  public  and  high  school  build- 
ings. Together  with  illustrated  papers  on  the  im- 
portance of  school  hygiene  and  ventilation,  etc. 
Toronto,  1876. 

Hints  and  suggestions  on  school  architecture  and 

hygiene,  with  plans  and  illustrations.    Toronto,  1886. 

JOHONNOT,  James.  *  Country  school-houses,  con- 
taining elevations,  plans,  and  specifications,  with 
estimates,  directions  to  builders,  suggestions  as  to 
school  grounds,  furniture,  apparatus,  etc.,  and  a 
treatise  on  school-house  architecture.  New  York, 
1859. 


358  BIBLIOGEAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

JOHONNOT,  James.  *  School-houses.  Architectural 
designs  by  S.  E.  Hewes.  New  York,  1871. 

KENDALL,  H.  C.,  Jr.  *  Designs  for  schools  and 
school-houses,  parochial  and  national.  London,  1874. 

LINCOLN",  D.  F.  *  School  and  industrial  hygiene. 
No.  12  of  the  American  health  primers.  Phil.,  1880. 

The  sanitary  conditions  of  school  houses  and 

school  life.  In  the  Lamb  prize  essays  of  the  Ameri- 
can public  health  association.  Pp.  63-98.  Concord, 
N.  H.  1886. 

MANN,  Horace.  *  Eeport  of  the  secretary  of  the  board 
of  education  on  the  subject  of  school-houses,  sup- 
plementary to  his  first  annual  report.  Boston,  1838. 

School-houses  in  Europe.  In  *  7th  annual  report. 

Boston,  1845. 

MASSACHUSETTS  emergency  and  hygiene  associa- 
tion. *Six  lectures  on  school  hygiene.  Boston,  1885. 
Contents: — School  hygiene,  heating  and  ventilation, 

use  and  care  of  the  eyes  especially  during  school  years, 

epidemics  and  disinfection,  drainage,  the  relation  of 

our  public  schools  to  disorders  of  the  nervous  system. 

*  Hygiene  of  public  schools  in  Massachusetts. 

Boston,  1879. 

MUEGATRO YD,  J.  *  The  arrangement  and  construc- 
tion of  large  middle-class  schools — grammar  and  high 
schools.  London  health  exposition,  1884. 

NEWSHOLME,  Arthur.  *  School  hygiene :  or  the  laws 
of  health  in  relation  to  school  life.  Pp.  150.  D. 
C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston,  1895.  Makes  use  of  Ameri- 
can sources  of  information,  but  discussions  are  very 
brief. 


GENERAL  TREATISES,  ARCHITECTURE  359 

PAGET,  Charles  E..  *  Healthy  schools.  Interna- 
tional health  exhibition  handbooks.  London,  1884. 

PHIPPS,  Abner.  Plans  for  villages  and  rural  districts 
in  Massachusetts  with  remarks  on  the  condition  of 
school-houses  in  1872. 

From  report  to  legislature  in  1873  by  Abner  J.  Phipps. 
Barnard's  Journal,  Vol.  XXVII,  p.  352-362. 

PHILBEICK,  John  D.  *  City  school  systems  in  the 
United  States.  Bureau  of  Education.  Circular 
No.  1,  1885.  Pp.  147-182.  Washington. 

REINHART,  A.  *  Neglect  of  bodily  development  of 
American  youth.  Syracuse. 

RICHARDSON,  B.  W.  *  Learning  and  health. 
Syracuse. 

ROBSON,  E.  School  architecture.  Practical  informa- 
tion on  the  planning,  designing,  building,  and  fur- 
nishing of  school-houses.  London. 

STOORS,  M.  *  Health  of  our  schools.  Conn,  school 
document,  Dec.,.1892. 

WHITFORD,  W.  C.  Circular  on  plans  and  specifica- 
tions of  school-houses.  Madison,  Wis.,  1882.  Re- 
printed from  the  report  of  the  State  superintendent 
of  public  instruction. 

WILSON,  W.  Carus.  *  Helps  to  the  building  of 
churches,  parsonage  houses  and  schools ;  containing 
plans,  elevations,  specifications,  etc.  London,  1842. 

WRIGHT,  D.  F.  School  hygiene.  In  report  of  State 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  Tenn.,  1884. 

YOUNG,  A.  G.  Seventh  annual  report  of  the  State 
board  of  health  of  Maine.  Pp.  83-385.  Augusta, 
Me.,  1892. 


360  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

A  good  comprehensive  treatise  on  school  hygiene. 

CHAPTER  II. — THE  ORIENTATION  or  THE  SCHOOL- 
BUILDING  AND  NATURAL  LIGHTING,  pp.  35-52. 

BURNHAM.  (See  above  page  355).  Pp.  19-21,  and 
33-36. 

COHN,  Hermann.  Hygiene  of  the  eye.  Pp.  131-145. 
Simpkin,  Marshall  &  Co.,  London,  1886. 

JAVAL,  M.  *  Daylight  in  the  school-room.  New 
York. 

MARBLE,  A.  P.  *  Sanitary  conditions  for  school- 
houses.  Lighting,  pp.  50-56.  Circular  of  informa- 
tion No.  3,  1891.  Bureau  of  ed.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

YOUNG.     (See   above,  page  359)  pp.    260-279,   also 
363-86. 
He   advocates   strongly   a   northerly    direction    for 

school-room  windows. 

CHAPTER  III. — ARTIFICIAL  ILLUMINATION  OF  SCHOOL- 
ROOMS, pp.  53-64. 

BURNHAM.  (See  above,  page  355),  pp.  35-6. 
COHN,  Herman.  (See  above  on  this  page) ,  pp.  160-71. 
Technical  journals  like  the  Electric  world  and 
engineer,  The  American  gas  light  journal,  N.  Y.,  and 
The  progressive  age,  N.  Y,,  etc.,  may  be  consulted 
for  a  description  of  different  facilities  and  inventions 
in  this  field. 

CHAPTER  IV. — VENTILATION  AND  CLEANING,  pp. 
65-103. 

BILLINGS,  John  S.  Ventilation  and  heating.  New 
York,  1893. 


VENTILATION   AND    CLEANING  361 

Important,  especially  so  Chapter  XVIII  on  school 
hygiene. 
*  Information  necessary  to  determine  the  merits 

of  the  heating  and  ventilation  of  a  school  building. 

N".  E.  A.     1882. 
The  principles  of    ventilation  and  heating  and 

their  proper  application.     London,  1884. 
-   MITCHELL   and   BERGY.     The    composition 

of    expired   air   and   its   effects   upon   animal   life. 

Smithsonian   contributions  to  knowledge,  Vol.   29. 

Abstract  in  the  annual  report  for  1895. 

Gives  results  differing  from  those  referred  to  by  Dr. 
Kotelmann. 
BRIGGS,  Robert.     *Report  on  the  plans  for  warming 

and  ventilating  the  Bridgeport  school-house.    Phila., 

1880. 
Hygienic   construction  of    the    Bridgeport   high 

school  building.     Third  annual  report  of  the  Con- 
necticut State  board  of  health.     Hartford,  Conn., 

1881.  Reprinted  by  Marble  (see  above,  page  360). 
BURNHAM,  W.  H.  (See  above,  page  355)  pp.  22-33. 
CHAPIN.  Crowded  schools  as  promoters  of  disease. 

Pp.  296-300,  Forum,  May,  1894. 
HOLBROOK,  M.  L.     Bad  breath  in  the  school-room. 

School  Bulletin,  *Vol.  II,  p.  60,  Dec.  1875. 
JACOB.     Ventilation   and   Warming.     Pp.    14,    124. 

London,  1894. 

"  A  very  convenient  outline." — Burnham. 
MARBLE,  A.  P.     (See  above,  page  360). 

"  Specially  valuable  in  regard  to  heating  and  ventila- 
tion. ' ' — Burnham. 


362  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

MEDICAL  society  of  London  and  national  health 
society.  *  Conferences  on  school  hygiene  and  school 
construction,  1884. 

MARTIN,  A.  C.  *The  ventilation  of  school-houses. 
Boston,  1871. 

MORIN,  Arthur.  *  Warming  and  ventilating  occupied 
buildings.  Washington,  1882. 

MORRISON,  Gilbert  B.  *The  ventilation  and  warm- 
ing of  school  buildings.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New 
York,  1887. 

PACKARD.  School-room  air ;  with  directions  for  ex- 
amining it  to  determine  the  degree  of  its  vitiation 
and  the  amount  of  ventilation  required.  *  Special  re- 
port of  the  bureau  of  education.  Part  II,  pp.  349- 
92.  Washington,  D.  C.,  1886. 

PENNIMAN.  The  criminal  crowding  of  public  schools. 
Forum,  May,  1895,  pp.  289-95. 

PRUDDEN.     The  story  of  bacteria.     Pp.  143.     New 

York,  1889. 
Dust   and  its   dangers.     Pp.   111.     New   York, 

1890. 

SMART,  Charles.  The  chemical  examination  of  air 
as  applied  to  questions  of  ventilation.  *N.  E.  A., 
1882. 

THORNE,  R.  T.  Inlets  for  infection.  Popular  sci- 
ence monthly,  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  73-79. 

WAGNER  and  HERBERT.  Bad  air  and  bad  health. 
Pp.  98.  Edinburg,  1894. 

WHITE.  Ventilation.  Proceedings  of  the  tenth  an- 
nual convention  of  the  International  association  of 


HEATING,    SCHOOL    FURNITURE  363 

factory  inspectors    of    North   America.      Toronto, 
Canada,  1896. 

WOODBEIDGE,  S.  H.  Plans  for  heating  and  venti- 
lating school-houses.  Pp.  315-386.  Seventh  annual 
report  of  the  State  board  of  health  of  Maine. 
Augusta,  Me. 

*  A  method  of  warming  and  ventilating  small 

school-houses.  Illustrated. 

YOUNG.  (See  above,  page  359)  pp.  283-314.  Also 
pp.  148-151  on  school  baths. 

CHAPTER  V. — HEATING. 

BALDWIN.     Steam   heating   data.     Pp.    365.     New 

York,  1897. 

"A  standard  authority  upon  the  subject."— W.  H. 
Burnham. 
CARPENTER,  A.     Heating  and  ventilating  buildings. 

New  York,  1896. 

* '  A  standard  handbook  giving  scientific  principles 
and  data."  —  W.  H.  Burnham.  See  also  Billings, 
Briggs,  Burnham,  Marble,  Morrison,  Woodbridge,  and 
Young.  Op.  cit. 

CHAPTER  VI. — SCHOOL  FURNITURE,  pp.  144-169. 

BARNARD,  Henry.     (See  above,  page  354). 

BOBRICK.  Hygienic  requirements  of  school  furni- 
ture. Pp.  51.  New  York,  1892. 

BROWN,  Buckminster.  *  Influence  of  the  prevailing 
methods  of  education  on  young  persons  of  both 
sexes.  American  social  science  association,  1879. 

BURNHAM,  W.  H.  (See  above,  page  355),  pp.  39-49. 


364  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

HAETWELL,  Edward  Mussey.     Eeport  of  the  direc- 
tor of  physical  training.     School  document  No.  4, 
1895.     Boston,  Mass. 
The  most  important  treatise  on  the  subject  in  English. 

SCUDDEE,    C.    F.     Investigation  into   one-  of    the 
etiological  factors  in  the  production  of  lateral  curva- 
ture of  the  spine. — Eeasons  why  the  seating  of  school 
children  should  receive  very  careful  supervision. 
School  document  No.  9,  189*2.     Boston,  Mass. 

SHAW.  The  latest  improved  hygienic  desk.  School 
journal,  May  1,  1897. 

SMITH,  Noble.  *  Postures  in  school;  their  influence 
upon  physical  development.  London,  health  exhibi- 
tion, 1884. 

CHAPTERS  VII,  VIII. — THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  NERV- 
OUS SYSTEM,  pp.  170-238. 

BAEDEEN,  C.  W.     The   sentimental   schoolmaster. 

School  Bulletin,  *Vol.  XII,  p.  128,  July,  1886. 

Points  out  disastrous  effects  upon  girls  often  ob- 
served. 

BAENES,  Earl.     Intellectual  habits  of  Cornell  stu- 
dents.    Cornell  mag.,  Nov.,  1890. 
BEAED,  G.  M.     American  nervousness.     Its  causes 

and  consequences.     Pp.  352.     New  York,  1881. 
A  practical  treatise  on  nervous  exhaustion.     Its 

causes   and    consequences.     Pp.   198.     New    York, 

1880. 

Dr.  Beard's  work  is  of  special  importance. 
BEEGSTEOM,  J.  A.     An  experimental  study  of  some 

of    the  conditions  of    mental  activity.      American 


THE    NERVOUS    SYSTEM  365 

journal  of  psychology,  Jan.,   1894.     Vol.  VI.,  pp. 

247-74. 

Mental  activity  as  affected  by  daily  rhythm,  baro- 
metric   changes,    exercise,   fatigue,  and   associational 
tendencies. 
BRIGHAM,  Amariah.     *  Mental  exertion  in  relation 

to  health.     Edited  with  a  chapter  on  the  cause  and 

care  of  indigestion  in  literary  men,  by  Arthur  Lamed. 

London,  1864. 
BROWN,  J.  Cnchton.      Education  and  the  nervous 

system.     London,  1884. 
BURNHAM,  W.  H.     (See  above,  page  355),  pp.  9-18, 

and  60-65. 
BUXTON,  Sydney.     *  Overpressure   in   the   primary 

schools.     London,  Sonnenschein  &  Co. 
CARTER,  R.   B.     *  Overwork   in   schools.     London, 

health  exposition,  1884. 
CLARKE,  Dr.  E.  H.     *  The  building  of  a  brain.     Pp. 

153.     Boston,  1874. 
*  Sex  in  education:  or  a  fair  chance  for  girls.   Pp. 

181.     Boston,  1886. 

"  These  two  books  are  still  classics." — Burnham. 
CLOUSTON.     The  growth  and  development  of    the 

child  in  body  and  mind.     Edinburgh,  1884. 
-  The  neuroses  of  development.     Pp.  138.     Olive 

&  Boyd,  Edinburgh,  1891     Important. 
CLOUSTON.  Developmental  insanities  and  psychoses. 

The  delirium  and  night  terrors  of  children.     The 

insanities  of  puberty  and  adolescence.     Tuke's  dic- 
tionary of  psychological  medicine,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  357- 

317. 


366  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

COMFOKT,  Anna  M.  and  G.  E.     *  Woman's  education 

and  woman's  health;    chiefly  in  reply  to  "  Sex  in 

education".     Syracuse,  1874. 
CORNING,  J.  Leonard.     Brain  exhaustion,  with  some 

preliminary   considerations   on   cerebral    dynamics. 

Pp.  324.     New  York,  1884. 
Brain  rest,  being  a  disquisition  on  the  curative 

properties  of  prolonged  sleep.     New  York,  1885. 
COWLES,  Edward.    Neurasthenia.    Shattuck  lecture. 

Boston,  1891. 

The  relation  of   fatigue  to  insanity:   its  symptoms 
and  causation.     Has  many  references. 
The  mental  symptoms  of  fatigue.     Pp.  25.     New 

York,  1893. 
DONALDSON,   H.   H.      The  growth   of    the  brain. 

Pp.  374.     Scribner's,  New  York,  1895. 
On  the  structure  and  development  of  the  nervous 

system,  in  the  American  text-book  of  physiology. 

Philadelphia,  1896. 

The  best  treatises  on  the  subject. 
DOWN,  J.  Langdon.     On  some  mental  affections  of 

childhood  and  youth.     Pp.  307.     London,  1887. 
DRESSLAR,  F.  B.     Fatigue.     Pedagogical  seminary, 

Vol.  II,  No.  1,  pp.  102-106. 
DRURY,  F.  M.,  and  FOLSOM,  C.  F.     Effects  of  the 

study  for  examinations  on  the  nervous  and  mental 

conditions  of   female    students.     Psychological   re- 
view, pp.  55-62,  1898. 
DUKES,  Clement.     Health  at  school  considered  in  its 

mental,    moral,    and    physical    aspects.     Pp.     498, 

XXIV,  London,  1894. 


THE    2sTEKVOUS    SYSTEM  367 

DUKES,  Clement.  Work  and  overwork.  Pp.  69. 
London,  1893. 

The  essentials  of  school  diet,  or  the  diet  suitable 

for  the  growth  and  development  of  youth.     Lon- 
don, 1891 

*  School    dietaries.     London    health    exposition, 

1884. 

FARIES,  Randolph.     Practical  training  for  athletics, 

health,  and  pleasure.     The  Outing  publishing  co., 

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the  feeble-minded.     Boston,  1893. 
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368  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

HAKTWELL,  Edward  Mussey.  Keport  of  the  direc- 
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THE    NERVOUS    SYSTEM  369 

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KEILER,  Alex.  *What  may  be  the  dangers  of  ed'l 
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PATRIDGE,  G.  E.  Second  breath.  Pedagogical  sem- 
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CHAPTERS  IX,  X.  THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  EYE  AND 
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Report  of  eye  examinations  in  the  Minneapolis 


THE    EYE*  AND    EAR  373 

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AMERICAN  society  of  social  science.  *Is  the  human 
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BURNHAM,  W.  H.     (See  above,  page  355),  pp.  49-60. 

BRYAN,  W.  L.  Suggestions  on  the  study  of  chil- 
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Sept.,  1895. 

CALHOUN,  A.  M.  *  Effects  of  student  life  upon  eye- 
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CHRISMAN,  Oscar.     The  hearing  of  children.     Ped- 
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Contains  a  good  resume  of  investigations  up  to  its 

date,  and  a  bibliography. 

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*  Eyes  and  schoolbooks.   Popular  science  monthly. 

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DENNETT,  Wm.  S  *  Report  of  examinations  of 
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374  -  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  §CHOOI   HYGIENE 

JACKSON,  J.  The  theory  and  practice  of  handwrit- 
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JEFFRIES,  B.  Joy.  Color-blindness,  its  dangers  and 
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LUCKEY.  Comparative  observations  on  the  indirect 
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McLEAN,  Ward.  Effects  of  study  on  the  eye-sight. 
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NORTHRUP,  B.  G.  *  Near-sightedness  in  schools, 
its  causes,  prevalence,  and  prevention.  New  Haven, 

1877. 

ROYAL  society  of  London,  1892. 

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VOICE    A2STD   SPEECH  375 

SHAW.     Vertical  script  and  proper  desks  as  related 

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tion.    April,  1895. 
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70.     Bristol,  1895. 
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YOUXG.     (See  above,  page  359.)     Pp.  98-119. 
CHAPTER  XL     THE  HYGIENE  OF  VOICE  AND  SPEECH. 

BEHXKE,  E.  and  BROWN,  L.  The  child's  voice; 
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BRYAN,  W.  L.  and  HARTER,  Noble.  Studies  in 
the  physiology  and  psychology  of  the  telegraphic 
language.  Psychological  review,  Jan.,  1897,  pp. 
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Studies   on  the   telegraphic  language.     The  ac- 
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1899.     Pp.  345-375. 
An  important  investigation  into  the  causes   of  the 

long  periods  of    apparently  slight  progress  after  the 

first  rapid  success  in   learning   languages   and   other 

subjects. 


376  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

CHATER,  Thos.     Scientific  voice,  artistic  singing,  and 

effective  speaking.     London,  1890. 
HARTWELL,   E.   M.      Stuttering.      Report  of    the 

director  of  physical  training.     School  Doc.,  No.  8, 

1894,  pp.  69-97.     An  important  statistical  study. 

HOWARD,  F.  E.     The  child's  voice  in  singing.     Pp. 

196.     Werner  Co.,  Chicago. 

LUKENS,  H.  T.     Preliminary  report  on  the  learning 

of  language. 

Pedagogical  seminary,  Vol  III,  No.  3.     June,  1896. 
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MACKENZIE.     The   hygiene   of    the   vocal   organs. 

Pp.  223.     London,  1886. 

MONROE,  Lewis  B.  *Manual  of  physical  and  vocal 
training,  for  the  use  of  schools  and  for  private  in- 
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1869. 

MULFORD.  The  throat  of  the  child.  Educational 
review.  Pp.  261-72,  March,  1897.  New  York. 

MYER,  E.  J.  The  voice  from  a  practical  standpoint. 
New  York,  1886. 

PATTON,  A.  A.  Responsibility  of  vocal  teachers  as 
voice  builders.  New  York,  1886. 

CHAPTERS  XII,  XIII.  SCOLIOSIS,  INFECTIOUS  DIS- 
EASES, AND  SEXUAL  IRREGULARITIES. 

BANGOR,  Me.  Rules  of  the  schoolboard  respecting 
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B4RDEEN,  C.  R.  *  Infection  and  Immunity.  Syra- 
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INFECTIOUS  DISEASES,  IRREGULARITIES  377 

BARNES,  Earl.  *  Studies  in  education,  pp.  301-8, 
gives  a  bibliography  by  Prof.  Earl  Barnes  of  books 
and  pamphlets  intended  to  give  sex  information. 
Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  univ.,  Palo  Alto,  Cal. 

BUCK,  A.  H.  (editor).  Reference  handbook  of  med- 
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BURNHAM,  W.  H.  The  study  of  adolescence. 
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June,  1891. 

EATON,  Gen.  John  (editor).  Typhoid  fever  in 
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1875,  p.  clxiii. 

FITZ.  A  study  of  measurements  of  curvature  of  the 
spine.  American  orthopedic  association.  Pp.  3, 

1897.        ; 

KROHN,  W.  0.  Habitual  postures  of  school  chil- 
dren. *'Child  study  monthly,  Oct.,  1895. 

LANCASTER,  G.  E.  The  psychology  and  pedagogy 
of  adolesence.  Pedagogical  seminary,  Vol.  1,  No. 
1,  pp.  61-128. 

LUEHR.  Causes  and  prevention  of  lateral  curvature 
of  the  spine,  and  near-sightedness.  Mind  and  body, 
Sept.,  1894. 

MOSHER.  Habitual  postures  of  school  children. 
Educational  review,  March,  1897.  Pp.  261-72. 
New  York. 

MULLER,  Geo.  Spinal  curvature  and  awkward  devel- 
opment. Their  causes  and  prevention  in  children. 
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378  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

SILJESTROM,   P.   A.     *A   momentous   educational 

question  [vaccination  ].     London,  1883. 
SMITH,  Southwood.     *  Epidemics  considered  with  re- 
lation to  their  common  nature,  and  to  climate  and 
civilization.     Edinboro,  1856. 

TISSOT,  S.  A.  *  An  essay  on  diseases  incident  to  lit- 
erary and  sedentary  persons.  With  proper  rules  for 
preventing  their  fatal  consequences,  and  instructions 
for  their  cure.  2d  ed.  With  preface  and  notes  by 
I.  Kirkpatrick,  M.  D.  London,  1769. 
VIRCHOW.  *0n  school  room  diseases.  Washington 

bureau  of  education,  August,  1870. 
YOUNG.     (See  above,  page  359).     Pp.  119-125,  and 
132-147. 

Articles  for  this  section  may  be  found  in  large  num- 
bers in  encyclopedias,  medical  handbooks,  current 
medical  and  educational  journals,  reports  of  boards  of 
health,  etc. 


ANTHROPOMETRIC  INVESTIGATIONS 

Investigations  into  the  rate  of  growth  of  boys  and  girls 
and  the  conditions  which  influence  it. 

AMERICAN  statistical  association.  ^Papers  on  anthro- 
pometry. Boston,  1894.  Contains  an  important  col- 
lection of  articles  by  Hartwell,  Boas,  Porter,  Hitch- 
cock, Enebuski,  and  Bowditch,  with  a  bibliography 
of  anthropometry  in  the  United  States.  May  be 
had  from  Mr.  Davis  R.  Dewey,  Mass.  Inst.  of  Tech., 
for  50  cts. 

BOAS,    Franz.      Anthropological     investigations     in 


ANTHROPOMETRIC    INVESTIGATIONS  379 

schools.     Pedagogical   seminary,  pp.   225-8,   June, 

1891.  Science,  June,  26,  1891,  p.  351-2. 

The   growth   of   children.     Science,   Vol.   XIX, 

pp.  256,  281-2;  Vol.  20  pp.  351-2. 
The   limitations  of    the  comparative   method  of 

anthropology.     Science,  N.  S.      Vol.  IV,  pp.  901-8. 
The   growth   of  Toronto  children.     *  Report  of 

commissioner  of  education  for  1896-7,  pp.  1541-99. 

BOLTON,  T.  L.  The  growth  of  memory  in  school 
children.  American  journal  of  psychology.  April, 

1892,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  362-380. 

BOWDITCH,  H.  P.  The  growth  of  children.  Eighth 
annual  report  of  the  State  board  of  health  of  Mass., 
1877.  Pp.  275-323.  Reprinted  in  papers  on 
anthropometry.  An  important  pioneer  investigation. 

The  growth  of  children.  Tenth  annual  report 

State  board  of  health  of  Mass.,  1879.  Pp.  33-62. 
The  growth  of  children  studied  by  Galton's 


method  of  percentile  grades.  Twenty-second  annual 
report  of  the  State  board  of  health  of  Mass.,  1890. 
Pp.  479-522. 

BRYAN,  W.  L.  On  the  development  of  voluntary 
motor  ability.  American  journal  of  psychology. 
Nov.,  1892,  pp.  125-204. 

BURK,  Frederick.     Growth  of  children  in  height  and 
weight.     American  journal  of   psychology.     April, 
1898,  Vol.  IX.     No.  3. 
A  comparative  study  of  investigations  so  far  made, 

with  a  descriptive  bibliography. 

GALTON,  Francis.     On  the  principles  and  methods 


380  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

of    assigning  marks  for  bodily  efficiency.     Nature, 
Oct.  31,  1889.     Pp.  649-53. 

Useful     anthropometry.      Proceedings     of     the 


American   association  for  advancement  of  physical 
education.     Vol.  VI,  pp.  51-7,  1891. 

GREENWOOD,  J.  M.  Heights  and  weights  of  chil- 
dren. American  public  health  association  report, 
1891.  See  also  Kansas  City  report,  1890-1,  pp. 
42-56. 

GROSZMANN,  M.  P.  E.     *  A  working  manual  of  child 

study.     Syracuse. 

Gives  in  detail  the  method  employed  in  the  Schools 
of  ethical  culture,  New  York  city.     Syracuse,  1897. 

HARRIS,  Wm.  T.  *  Report  on  pedagogical  and  psy- 
chological observation.  Syracuse. 

PECKHAM,  Geo.  W.  The  growth  of  children.  Sixth 
annual  report  of  the  State  board  of  health  of 
Wisconsin,  1881.  Vol.  VI,  pp.  28-73.  Pedagogi- 
cal seminary,  Vol.  I,  p.  298. 

PEREZ,  B.     *The   first   three    years    of    childhood. 
With  an  introduction  by  Prof.  Sully.     Syracuse. 
This  is  -of  such  general  interest  that  it  is  included  by 

the  American  library  association  in  the  list  of  books  to 

be  contained  in  every  library. 

PORTER,  W.  T.  The  physical  basis  of  precocity  and 
dulness.  (See  above,  page  371.) 

On  the  application  to  individual  school  children 

of  the  means  derived  from  anthropological  measure- 
ments by  the  generalizing  method.     Quarterly  publ- 


ANTHROPOMETRIC    INVESTIGATIONS  381 

lications  of  the  American  statistical  association,  Vol. 

3,  pp.  576-87.     Boston,  1893. 
The  growth  of  St.  Louis  children.     Transactions 

of  the  academy  of  science  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.     April 

14,  1894. 
The   use   of  anthropometrical   measurements   in 

schools.      Educational   review,    Feb.,    1896.      New 

York. 

*TIEDEMANN'S  record  of  infant  life.  An  English 
version  of  the  French  translation  and  commentary 
of  B.  Perez,  by  F.  Louis  Soldan.  Syracuse. 

WEST,  Gerald  M.  Worcester  school  children.  The 
growth  of  the  body,  head,  and  face.  Science,  Jan. 
6,  1893. 


BIBLIOGRAPHIES  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 
BURNHAM,  Wm.  H.  'Bibliography  of  school  hygiene. 

*  Proceedings  of  the  National  educational  association, 

1898.     Pp.  505-523. 

An  excellent  descriptive  bibliography  to  which  the 
writer  is  indebted  for  a  number  of  titles.     Especially 
see  pp.  520-3  for  list  of  journals  and  reports. 
.BILLINGS,  John  S.  (editor).  Index  medicus.  Monthly 

record  of  the  current  medical  literature  of  the  world. 

Edited  by  Dr.  John    S.    Billings   and   Dr.    Robert 

Fletcher,  Washington,  D.  C.     Begins  1879. 
MAcDOXALD,  Arthur.     Abnormal  man,  being  essays 

on  education  and  crime  and  related  subjects,  with 

a  digest  of  literature  and  a  bibliography. 

The  latter  contains  a  great  many  titles  of  importance 
to  school  hygiene. 


383  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SCHOOL  HYGIENE 

WARREN,  Howard  C.,  (et.  ah,  editors).     The  Psycho- 
logical index.     Macmillan  &  Co.     New  York.     An 
annual  bibliography  of  the  literature  of  psychology 
and  related  subjects. 
This  and  the  Index  medicus  may  be  consulted  for 

current  literature. 

WILSON,  L.  N.  *  Bibliography  of  child  study.  Ped- 
agogical seminary,  April,  1898.  May  be  obtained  in 
separate  form  from  J.  H.  Orpha,  Worcester,  Mass. 
Price  50  cts.  A  valuable  descriptive  bibliography. 


INDEX 


PAGE 

adenoid  vegetations 285 

adjustable  desks 154 

age  of  enteri  ng  school 209 

air,  composition  of 65 

in  the  school-room 32 

i  n  eye-diseases 277 

over-heated » 290 

air-tester 76 

airing  the  room 92 

albocarbon  gaslight 60 

Albrand 45 

Altenstein .   31 

American  hard  pine 96 

Anaxagoras 206 

anaemia 67 

aprosexia  nasalis 287 

Aquaviva,  Claudius 21 

arched  ceilings 291 

windows 45 

archaeological  collections 192 

Argand  burner 59 

argon 65 

Aristotle 239 

Arlt,  von 32 

army  regulations 252 

Arndt 171,  172 

Arsonval,  d' 67 

artificial  illumination 198 

articulation 291 ,  302 

aspirating  chimney 81 

assignment  of  desks 161 

association  of  ideas 183 

Auer's  gas-light 59 

automatic  regulated  fire 120 

regulators 124 

awning  for  windows 48 


Bach,  Theodore 33,35,  203 


PAGE 

bacilli 329,  335,  348 

back  rests 134 

backward  inclination  of  seats 133 

bacteria 70,  72, 288 

Baginsky,  Adolf 33,  35,  50 

Barr,  Thomas " 281,  284 

base  burner  stoves 108 

Basedow,  John  Bernard,  portrait.  25 
Bastelmann's  contact  thermome- 
ter  125 

bathing 199,  206 

Bayr,  Emanuel 55 

Becker 217,  219 

Beethoven 170,  171 

Hegenmann 224 

Behnke,  Gustav 109 

Uendziula,  Albert .     ..149 

Berthold  of  Regensburg 17 

bevelled  windows 48 

Beyer,  O.  W 203 

Bezold,  Friederich 32,  279,  281 

Biermer 332 

blackboard  crayon 167 

erasers 168 

blackboards 16j 

kept  clean 98 

blinds 45,  48 

blows  on  the  temples 292 

boating 199,  209 

book-shelf  for  school-desk 143 

Boubnoff 84 

bowling 224 

box  ing  the  ears 292 

brain,  growth  of 209 

the  acropolis  of  the  mind..  .170 

breathing  exercises 300 

Breckling,  SOnke 116 

Breiting. 32 


(383) 


384 


SCHOOL   HYGIENE 


PAGE 

Bresgen,  Maximilian 33,  217,  285 

brick  walls  detrimental 84 

bronchial  tubes 72 

Brown-Sequard 67 

Bruhl  and  Jahr 328 

Buchner 32,  135 

Burgerstein,  Leo 33,  35, 

55,  173,  189,  192,  261,  267,  339 

Buttsted  of  Osterode 24 

Butzke's  arc  light 59 

Byron 170 

Bystroff 217 

calcium  hydrate 102 

California,  university  of 259 

Camerarius,  Joachim 19 

cannon  stoves 108 

carbon  monoxide 110 

carbonic  acid 65,  66 

measured 73 

oxide Ill 

gas 112 

care  of  furnaces 122 

stoves 110 

Carnelly 71 

cast  iron 156 

Castaning  90 

Castaning's  window  ventilation.  91 

cataract  of  the  eye 254 

catarrh  of  the  bronchial  tubes. . .  72 

of  the  eye 277 

central  heating  plants 112 

cephalic  congestions 216 

cerebro-spinal  meningitis 334 

neuroses 237 

Chamotte  stone 113 

chandeliers  kept  clean 98 

Charcot 218 

chemistry  explosions 291 

chicken-pox 340 

children's  faults,  science  of 229 

3himne3rs  for  pas 61 

3hin  in  singing 300 

shorea  St.  Viti 237 

ehoroid,  inflammation  of 254 


PAGE 

class-rooms  should  be  quiet 291 

classics,  study  of  reduced 215 

cleanliness  of  the  pupils 94 

coaching 211 

cocoa  fibre  mats 99 

Cohn,  Hermann 32,  42,  43,  44, 

...  .49,  54,  56,  61,  148,  246,  260,  349 

cold  draft 290 

color 270 

color-blindness 270 

colored  crayon 168 

Columbus  school  desk 157 

Combe 346 

Comenius,  John  Amos 23 

compass  of  voice 295 

conjunctiva,  inflammation  of 273 

Conrad,  Max 241,  244 

consonants 282 

consumption 99 

contamination  of  the  air 66 

continuous  desks 155 

seat  for  pupils 145 

copy-books  266 

corridors 196 

crayon-holder 168 

croup,  membraneous 329 

curtains 49 

curvature  of  the  spine 33,  310-319 

Cuvier 170 

cycling 224 

daily  programme 189 

Dankwarth 92 

Dante, 171 

daylight  important 38 

reflector 46 

decaying  teeth 95 

decoration  of  school-rooms 192 

defective  hearing,  disadvantages. 283 

deodorizing  closets 102 

desk  frames  of  iron,  not  wood 156 

width  of 132 

desks 128,  250.  315 

Dettweiler  spit-bottle 343 

dictation  not  too  rapid 269 


INDEX 


385 


PAGE 

differences  in  school  desks .136 

different  sizes  of  desks 160 

diphtheria 72,  288,  328-332 

direct  sunlight 48 

diseases  of  the  eye 272 

disinfecting  closets 102 

distance  between  seat  and  desk..  141 

Dor 254 

Dornbluth,  Fr 323 

double  desks 145 

drafts  290 

drawing 269 

drawing-rooms 38 

dry  ness  of  air 113 

dulness  often  from  defective  ears.285 

duration  of  ventilation 92 

dust 99,  277,  290 

ear,  discharges  from 95 

hygiene  of 279-294 

easels  for  blackboards 164 

for  map-holders 165 

easterly  exposure 36 

Ebbinghaus,  H 173 

effect  of  study  on  the  brain 173 

Egyptian  eye  inflammation 273 

electric  light 53 

Elsaesser 143,  156 

school  desk 141, 160 

Ely 241 

emmetropia 244-246 

Emminghaus 228 

Engel,  Ed 295 

enlarging  windows 47 

epidemics 101 

epilepsy 234 

epileptic  pupils  excluded 235 

Erb 221 

Erismann,  Fr 32, 

44,  54,  71,  123,  143,  241 

Esrnarch. 137 

Eulenberg,  H 33,  35,  219,  231 

Eustachian  tubes 286,  288 

examinations 189,  216 

before  vacation 201 


PAGE 
examinations  of  pupils'  ears 279 

—  of  pupils'  eyes 277 

excretions  from  lungs.and  skin..  69 

excursions 199,  205 

experiments  and  demonstration.  190 
eye  defects > 32 

—  glasses 251,  252,264 

hygiene  of  the 239-278 

Fahrner 32,  135,  146 

Falk 33 

Fantoni 172 

far-sightedness 240 

fatigue  begins  early 192 

comes  soon 181 

feet,  perspiring 95 

Ferdinands,  George 242 

Fizia 258 

floors 95 

made  waterproof 100 

Foggie 71 

follicular  inflammation 275 

Fonsagrive 224 

foot-board 154 

foot-mats 94 

foot-rests 133 

FOrster 46,  114 

Frank,  Johann  Peter 28 

Frankel-Weichselbaum  bacillus. 335 

Frederick  William  III 13 

William  IV 31 

Friedmann 228 

Froriep 31 

front  light 5o 

Furtenbach,  Joseph 22 

Galen 239 

Galenus  120  years  old 19 

Gambetta 171 

games 18,  19,  197,  199,205 

Garbini,  Adriano 297,  298,  303 

gas 58 

fixtures  kept  clean 98 

stoves 109 

Gauster...  ..  33 


386 


SCHOOL    HYGIENE 


PAGE 

Geiler  of  Kaisersberg 17 

Gelle 281,  283 

geographical  collections 192 

German  measles 323 

script.: 267 

type 261 

Germans  myopic 258 

Gilbert,  J.  Allen 296 

Giessen 185 

Gillert,   E  44,  82 

globes  for  gas 61 

G  nauss 171 

Goepel 205 

Goethe,  portrait 27 

Gothic  windows 45,  47 

Gotthold 31 

Gotze,  Woldemar 225 

granulated 'eye-lids .\ 273 

Gratiolet  171 

Greek  vs.  German  games 19 

Griesbach,  H 185,  188,  198,  227 

grippe 346-349 

Grimm,  Jacob 267 

Gruber,  Max 265 

Grusdeff 342 

aesthesiometer 186 

guide-lines  for  writing 266 

Guillaume 33,  217,  219,  311 

G  ii  m  t  z 230 

Guts  Muths 27 

Gutzmann,  Albert 308 

Herbert 33,  304,  305,  306,  309 

Guye 287 

gymnastic  games 206 

halls 99,  196 

gymnastics 29,  205 

at  recess 197 

fatiguing •. 184 

habituation 183 

Hzesecke,  E 104 

Hagenbach 332 

Hakonson-Hansen,  M.  K .  195, 217, 344 

Hall,  G.  Stanley 173 

Halle  gymnasium 20 


PAGE 

handwriting  large  at  first 268 

Haselbach,  Thomas 17 

Basse 230 

hats 94 

Hebrews  myopic 258 

height  of  desk 136 

Heiusius 31 

helium 65 

Helmholtz 172,  296 

Hennig's  daylight  reflector 46 

Herder 26 

heredity  in  myopia -..  .254 

Hermann,  August.... 32,  135,  147,  148 

Hertel 217 

Hesse,  W 70 

higher  schools  not  for  all 210 

Hintrager,  Karl 22 

Hippauf 155 

Hippel,  A.  von 32,242,244,255 

historical  collections 192 

history  of  school  hygiene 17 

Holmes,  Marion  E 173 

Holmgren's  test 271 

home  tasks 230 

work 210 

HOpf  nerr  Ludwig 176,  192 

Horstmann 241 

hot  air  furnaces 112 

air  heating 81 

water  systems 81,  117 

how  many  at  a  desk 144 

Hrabowski's  overhead  reflector..  57 

humidity  of  the  air 113 

Huth 45 

hygiene  of  the  eye 239 

hypermetropia 240-243 

Hyrtl 172 

idiocy  in  children 229 

illumination,  artificial 53,  260 

natural 35,260 

needed 63 

too  strong 48 

Ignatieff 70,  84,  201 

illegible  writing 268 


INDEX 


387 


PAGE 

inclination  of  desk 138 

infectious  diseases. 95,  99,  276,  320-352 

ink  for  books 260 

for  writing 266 

inflammation  of  the  ear 290 

of  the  eye 273 

influenza 288,  346-349 

intermission  at  noon 198 

iron  cylinder  stoves 108 

frames 156 

Jahn.  J.  C 27,  31 

Janke,   Otto 225 

Januschke 182,  192,  196 

Jasper 55 

Javal 51 

Jesuits 21 

Kafemann 33 

Kant 171 

Kauffer  parlor  stove 108 

Keidel  patented  stoves 108 

Keller,  C....177,  179,  185,  191,  217,  182 
Kemsies,  Ferdinand.  180, 182, 185,  300 

kerosene 62 

Key,  Axel 217,  220,  227 

Kirchuer,  M 256,  258 

Klebs-LQfler  bacillus 329 

Klopsch 311 

Koch,  J.  L.  A 229 

Robert 342 

Koldewey,   Fr 24 

KSnigstein,  Leopold 265 

K6pke 31 

KOrner ,  Otto 236 

Korosi,  J 320 

Kotelmann,  L 209, 256.  322 

Kottmann's  desk 156,  159,  160 

desk  arranged  for  standing.  159 

Kraeplin,  Emil 194 

Krafft-Ebing 217 

Krug,  W 276,  310,  312,  313 

Kruss,  Hugo 39 

krypton 65 

Kunze 32,133,  134,  135,  149 


Kunze  desk... 


PAGE 
...160 


lamps  kept  clean 98 

Landolt 241 

Lang 32 

Lange,  Viktor 286 

Langerhans 342 

lar ynx  at  puberty 301 

Laser,  Hugo 174,  189 

layers  of  air 115 

Lemonnier 55 

length  of  lines  in  books 262 

—  of  school  desk 144 

Lickroth 143 

desk  155,  160 

map-holder 166 

Liebig 171 

Liebrecht,  K 48,49 

light  from  the  left 51 

from  two  sides 51 

lighting  of  school-room... 35,  53,  260 

lime  as  a  disinfectant 102 

line-sheets  for  writing 266 

linoleum 96 

liters  of  water  evaporated 115 

Locke,  John 25 

loin-back-rests 135 

Lorenz 32,  314 

Lorinser,  C.  J 29 

low-pressure  steam  systems 119 

lunacy 228 

lunches 195 

Lunge,  Georg 76 

Luther,  Martin,  portrait 17 

Malliug-Hansen,  R 347 

management  of  ventilators .....  89 

maniacal  excitement 229 

manual  training 225 

map-holders 165 

margins  of  books 262 

masturbation 349 

Mayer 313 

measles 288,  320-324 

mechanics  of  sitting 128 


388 


SCHOOL   HYGIENE 


PAGE 

Meidinger  stoves  108,  109 

Melanchthon,  Philip 19 

melancholia 229 

membraneous  croup 329 

memorizing 184 

memory  work  fatiguing 188 

mental  alienation .229 

disease 228 

Meyer,  Hermann  128 

W.... 33 

Meynert,  Theodore 231 

Meyrich,   Oswald 94 

micro-organisms .71,  72 

microbes  in  the  school-room 71 

minus  distance 142 

Morin Ill 

Mosso,  A 177 

icrgograph 177 

Motais 256 

mouches  volantes 254 

mountain  air 72 

Moure 281 

mucous  membranes 329 

mumps 335 

music  lessons 211 

Mutzell 31 

myopia 30,  246-270 

Nager 32,  293 

natural  curvature  of  the  spine. .  .137 

illumination 38,197 

navy  regulations  252 

near-sighted  pupils 161 

near-sightedness 30,  246-270 

nervous  system — 170 

nervousness 220 

Nesteroff  , 222 

Netolitzky,  Aug 33,  35,  339 

Neumann,  H 120,  325 

neuralgia 224 

neurasthenia 224,  228 

neurasthenic  pupils 222 

neuroses  of  the  heart  224 

Nicati 258 

no  text-book  of  science 215 


PAGE 

Nohl.  Clemens 209 

noises,  violent 290 

northerly  exposure 38 

nose-bleed , 219 

Nussbaum,  Chr 37 

Ohlemann 281 

onanism 349 

one  or  two  sessions  a  day 197 

opening  windows  and  doors 91 

organic  dust  particles 69 

excretions 73 

impurities 67 

organization  of  material 184 

orientation 35 

Ostender 109 

over-heated  air 290 

pressure 31,109,  191,211 

stimulation  of  the  nerves.. 221 

overcoats 94 

overhead  reflector 57 

overshoes 94 

paper  for  text-books  260 

for  writing 266 

Parow     32.  31 1 

school-desk 148,  160 

pathogenic  bacteria 72,  99,  288 

Paulsen,  E 295 

pedagogical  pathology 229 

penmanship 264,  315 

pericardial  anxiety 224 

Perlia 47,273,275 

permeability  of  building  stones . .  83 

Permewan,  W 284 

personal  hygiene 3£ 

hygiene  of  the  pupils 170 

perspiration  insensibilis 68 

perspiring  feet 95 

petroleum  62 

Pettenkoff er ,  von 32,  83 

Pettenkoffer's  method 73 

Pfeifer 348 

Pfliiger,  E 32,  54,  255 

pharyngeal  tonsil  286 


ItfDEX 


389 


PAGE 

phonic  method  in  reading 303 

photometer 39 

physical  education 32 

physiological  experiments  on  the 

'brain 172 

pitch  in  singing 301 

playgrounds... 196 

Pliny ,.240 

plus  distance 142 

Plutarch  239 

postures,  bad 319 

potassium  permanganate 69 

Prague  medical  board 139,  142 

Prausek,  Vincenz  155 

print  of  text-books 260 

prisms  for  reflecting  daylight 46 

promotion 233 

psychic  epidemic 234 

puberty,  change   of  voice 301 

pulling  the  hair  292 

purpose  of  vacation 202 

quick  answers 304 

racial  problems  of  the  eye 258 

rambles 199,  206 

Ramminger  and  Stetter  school 

desk 157,  160 

reading,  the  voice  in 302 

to  be  limited 264 

real-schools  without  Latin 210 

recesses  193 

Recknagel  86 

Reclam 32 

Reichard,  von 32,  279,  280 

Rembold 33 

remedies  for  insufficient  daylight.  45 

removal  of  foul  air.  88 

Renk,  Fr 59,62 

requirements  for  a  good  school 

desk 130 

reservoir  stoves. 108 

retina,  hemorrhage  in 254 

Rettig,  W 146 

Reuss,  August  R.  von 245,  265 


PAGE 

Richter,  Gustav 194 

Jean  Paul 26 

rickets 310 

Rietschel,  H  32,  33,  80 

Rimpler 32 

Ritzmann,  E 315 

roller  curtains 49 

roller  frame  blackboards 162 

Roman  type 261 

Rossbach 217 

Rousseau's  Emile 26 

Rubner 64 

Rychna,  Joseph 320 

Sadolet 19 

St.  Clair-Deville Ill 

St.  Vitus  dance 236 

Saint-Yon 228 

Salernitan  rule 106 

Sand,  George 317 

sanitary  school  management 32 

satchels 318 

scarlet  fever 288,  324-328 

Schenk,  Felix 32,  132,  313 

school  desk 153 

Schildbach,  C.  H 32,  149,  311 

Schiller,  H 185,  191,349 

Tietz 69 

Schleich 241 

Schlenck 55 

Schlimp's  desk 135,151 

Schmidt.  F.  A 32,98 

Rimpler,  H 44,  72,  248,  274 

school-books 260 

desks 32,  128,260,315 

for  standing 179 

requirements  for 130 

diseases „ .  . 32 

garden 20 

headaches 216 

rooms  in  the  mountains. .  .  .204 

societies  harmful 233 

study 188 

Schulthess,  W 315 

Schubert,  Paul...  ...33,315 


390 


SCHOOL   HYGIENE 


PAGE 

Schuschny,  Heinrich 221,  281 

sclerotic 257 

scoliosis 310-319 

scrapers 94 

script 267,  315 

sea-air 72 

seats 128,260 

back  of 134 

too  near  the  wall 145 

second-hand  text-books . .  .263 

Seggel 268 

Sexton,  Samuel 281 

sexual  neuroses 224 

shades  for  electric  light 54 

for  gas 61 

Shermunski 281 ,  284 

short-hand 269 

shouting  injurious 305 

shutters 48 

side  reflectors 56 

Siegert,  Gustav 231 

Siemen's  gas  burner 58 

singing 291,  295-302,305 

—  a  hygiene  exercise 298 

rules  for 299-302 

Sikorsky 173,  189 

single  desks 155 

size  of  brain 170 

skating 199 

sketch  from  nature 270 

slates  banished 265 

sleep,  abundance  of 225 

insufficient 187 

loss  of 231 

sleighing 199 

small-pox 289,  336-340 

Smith-Lunge  air-tester 76 

Snellen,  Hermann 44 

Soennecken 261 

southeasterly  exposure 36 

southerly  exposure 36 

spaces  between  letters 262 

speaking  too  rapidly 304 

spectacles 251,  252,  264 

spinal  curvature 310-319 


PAGE 

sponges  for  blackboords 168 

spontaneity  at  recess 197 

Staffel 135 

standing  in  singing. 299 

steam 119 

stenography 269 

Stephenson,  Sidney 258 

stereogoniometer 42 

Stierlin 206 

stigmographic  drawing 269 

Stilling,  J 32,255,257 

stoves 107 

care  of lia 

vs.  central  system 104 

where  placed 107 

Strassburg  Medical  commission.  51 

Strumpell,  L 22» 

study  in  vacation 202 

Stuhlmann,  A 269,  27a 

Sturges 237 

stuttering 33,  305 

subjects  of  school  study 

180,  181,  183,  189 

suicide 231 

sun  should  shine  into  room 35 

sunlight  disinfects 36 

sunless  rooms  unhealthful 35 

sweat 68 

sweeping 96 

swimming 199.  205,  206 

tablets 266 

teeth,  care  of 95 

temporary  depression 181 

temperature  determined 20& 

for  singing  exercises 299 

in  the  school-room 121 

recorded 124 

test  types 44 

tests  of  ears 279 

of  eyes 241 

text-books 260 

Thilenius 245 

Thome 33 

time  of  vacations...  ...201 


INDEX 


391 


PAGE 

tonsils 286 

trachoma 273 

trochlea  of  the  eye 257 

Troost Ill 

Trotzendorf 24 

true  methods  of  instruction 216 

tuberculosis 72,99,341-344 

turf  closets 102 

Turnham 228 

tutoring 211 

type,  German 261 

reading 47 

size  of 260 

typhoid  fever 344 

typhus  fever 288,  344-346 

Ufer,  Christian 228 

Uffelmann 69 

umbrellas 94 

undivided  session  in  cities 199 

uniform  temperature 106,  123 

unruled  paper 267 

uri  nals 102 

use  made  of  recess 195 

vacations 200 

in  hot  weather 207 

vacation  journeys 203 

vaccination 337-340 

Vanned,  Theodore 185 

Varrentrapp 32,  37 

Venetian  blinds 50,  81,  90 

ventilating  flues 82,  88 

windows 89 

ventilation 65 

guage 85 

of  class-rooms 92,  290 

vernacular,  reading  in 304 

vertical  script 33,  315 

Vienna  school-desk 139,  143,  150 

vitreous  humor 254 

vocal  organs 295-309 

voice  should  be  low 291,  300,  305 

Voigt 338 

Volt,  E 114 


PAGE 

Voltaire 171 

vowels  in  reading 302 

Wagner,  Ludwig.  171, 177, 188, 198,227 

walks  to  and  from  school 199 

Wallraff,  Gustav .....158 

warm  milk 196 

water  systems 118 

Warner 222 

Wassiljeff 298 

water  closets 100 

in  the  ear 294 

Weber,  Leonard 39 

photometer 39 

stereogoniometer 42 

Weil 32 

Welsbach  light.... 59 

western  exposure 38 

whooping-cough 332-334 

width  of  top  of  desk 140 

Wiese 259 

window  blinds 45,  48 

shutters 48 

windows  enlarged 47 

for  ventilation 91 

Gothic 47 

kept  clean 97 

opened  at  recess 84 

shape  of 45 

Wipf,  H..... 315 

Wismar  city  school 20 

Wolffhugel Ill 

Wolpert's  air-tester 78 

work-shops 225 

writing 264 

class  forward  position 131 

wrought  iron 156 

Wyss 206 

yelling 291 

zero  distance 142,  146 

Zwez 32,132 

Zwingli Ig 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLETIN  PUBLICATIONS. 

Blackboards  and  Blackboard  Slating. 

1.  Hornstone  Slating. — No  feature  of  the  school-room  is  of  more  vital 
importance  to  the  health  of  scholars  and  teachers  than  the  Blackboard.     If 
it  be  gray  and  greasy  the  amount  of  chalk  used  fills  the  air  with  dust  which 
produces  catarrhal  and  bronchial  difficulties,  and  yet  makes  so  faint  a  mark 
that  the  children's  eyes  are  permanently  injured. 

The  Hornstone  slating  contains  no  oil  or  grease,  and  will  not  become 
faded  or  greasy  with  use.  By  its  use  the  eyesight  of  children  is  saved,  and 
most  of  the  evil  effects  of  chalk  dust  are  escaped  ;  for  a  beautifully  clear  and 
distinct  mark  is  produced  with  the  minimum  of  crayon  wear  and  dust.  The 
reason  is  that  the  surface  finishes  down  as  smooth  as  slate,  while  possessing 
none  of  the  disadvantages. 

The  application  of  two  coats  is  recommended  for  old  or  imperfect  boards, 
but  for  new  boards  and  old  boards  with  good  foundations,  we  recommend 
two  additional  coats,  with  a  final  rubbing  down  with  pumicestone.  This 
gives  a  blackboard  never  yet  equalled.  Principal  H.  F.  Miner  of  Skaneate- 
les,  N.  Y.,  writes  after  seven  years'  use  :  "The  three  essentials  of  a  good 
blackboard  :  smoothness,  dead  blackness,  and  durability,  are  admirably 
combined  in  this  material.  When  properly  applied  to  a  suitable  foundation 
no  board  that  I  ever  saw  equals  the  Hornstone." 

The  price  is  $8.00  a  gallon,  covering  from  144  to  180  square  feet  with 
Jour  coats.  We  shall  be  glad  to  send  detailed  circulars  and  give  complete 
information  to  anyone  in  need  of  material. 

2.  Wooden  Blackboards. —For  small  schools,  where  it  would  not  pay  to 
prepare  a  special  surface,  and  where  the  old  wall  is  unfit  to  be  coated,  we 
can  furnish  wooden  boards,  made  of  inch  whitewood  thoroughly  kiln-dried, 
and  with  glued  joints,  slated  with  Hornstone,  four  coats,  one  side,  and 
packed  ready  for  shipping,  at  the  following  prices  : 

3ft.  x6ft $5.50  3  ft.  x  10  ft $  9.50 

3  "    "8" 7.50  3  "   "  12  ".... 12.00 

These  are  the  regular  sizes,  and  we  will  quote  prices  on  special  sizes 
when  requested  to  do. 

3.  Tarboard  Blackboards.— Where  only  a  small  board  is  desired  port- 
able boards  are  often  most  convenient.    We  make  them  of  the  best  tarboard, 
slated  with  Hornstone  on  both  sides,  with  wooden  frame  and  rings  for  hang- 
ing, at  the  remarkably  low  price  of  $2.00  for  a  board  25x34  inches,  or  $3.00  for 
a  board  34x50  inches.     These  are  the  cheapest  blackboards  ever  offered. 
We  also  furnish  these  tarboard  strips  without  frames,  so  that  they  can 
be  tacked  along  on  the  wall,  thus  making  a  continuous  board  with  an  excel- 
lent Hornstone  surface.    In  this  form  the  sheet,  25x34  can  be  furnished, 
slated  on  one  side,  for  $1.00,  and  the  sheet  34x50  for  $1.50. 

Slated  Cloth  on  Paper.— Another  style  of  portable  boards  is  slated  cloth 
orjmper  mounted  on  rotters  with  hooks  and  rings  for  hanging  up. 
2x3  feet,  Cloth,  $1.50.  Paper,  $1.00       3  x  6 feet,  Cloth,  $4.00.  Paper,  $2.70 
3x4"          "        2.70.        "        1.80        4x6"          "       5.40.        "         3.60 

Slated  cloth  is  furnished  in  rolls  4  feet  wide  at  $2.00  a  linear  yard  ;  slated 
paper  at  50  cts.  a  square  yard. 

C.  W.  BARDEEN,  Publisher,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


-THE  SCHOOL  BULLETIN  PUBLICATIONS. 


Compo-Board  Blackboards. 

We  manufacture  these  ourselves  of  corapo-board  covered  with  Horn- 
stone  slating.  The  corapo-board  is  a  composition  consisting  of  a  wooden 
core  made  from  narrow  slats  placed  indiscriminately  as  to  grain,  the  sur- 
face of  which  is  covered  with  a  cement  of  great  strength,  and  a  heavy 
close-pressed  water-proof  paper.  The  whole,  after  the  parts  are  properly 
put  together,  is  subjected  to  very  heavy  pressure  and  intense  heat,  making 
a  straight,  smooth  sheet  of  very  great  strength.  We  cover  it  with  Horn- 
etone  slating,  the  best  surface  yet  devised  for  blackboards. 

The  compo-board  is  made  for  us  in  sheets  4  feet  by  18  feet,  and  we  can 
make  at  short  notice  a  board  of  any  desired  size  within  those  dimensions. 
For  schools  this  makes  it  possible  to  cover  the  exact  space  between  win- 
dows, doors,  etc.,  with  a  single  sheet  of  blackboard,  without  seams  of  any 
kind.  It  cun  be  put  up  by  any  one  with  a  few  screws,  and  when  secured  by 
moulding  makes  a  handsome  and  absolutely  perfect  and  permanent  board. 
Our  charge  for  such  boards  slated  on  one  side  and  ready  to  put  up,  is  $1.00 
per  square  yard,  if  cut  in  pieces  4  feet  wide  or  so  as  not  to  waste  in  cutting. 
Prices  of  moulding,  chalk-troughs,  etc.,  are  given  on  application,  as  they 
depend  on  the  size  and  shape  of  the  surface  to  be  covered. 

These  advantages  may  be  named: 

It  can  be  cut  to  any  size  with  a  common  hand-saw. 

It  can  be  put  upon  a  broken  plastered  wall,  on  a  board  partition,  or  on 
a  bare  studding,  and  yet  do  perfect  service. 

Its  surface  being  of  considerable  thickness  and  practically  as  hard  as 
stone,  it  is  very  durable. 

Its  body  will  never  wear  out  or  be  injured  by  use. 

Its  surface  is  smootn  without  shine,  and  has  a  soft,  velvety  feeling  as. 
the  crayon  moves  over  it. 

It  is  better  than  real  stone  slate : 

BECAUSE  it  will  not  break  in  handling. 

BECAUSE  it  will  not  break  on  the  wall,  as  real  stone  slate  will  if 
placed  on  the  wall  without  cement. 

BECAUSE  it  does  not  require  experienced  mechanics  to  put  it  in  place, 
as  real  slate  does  when  set  in  cement. 

BECAUSE  the  freight  is  only  a  fraction  of  what  it  would  be  on  real 
slate. 

BECAUSE  it  has  a  jet  black  surface— not  gray  or  green  like  real  slate. 

BECAUSE  it  can  be  furnished  in  sizes  up  to  4  feet  by  18  feet  without 
seam  or  indentation,  whereas  slate  can  be  obtained  only  in  sizes  which 
necessitate  several  seams  or  breaks  in  an  ordinary-sized  blackboard. 

C.  W.  BARDEEN,  Publisher,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


•THE  SCHOOL  BULLETIN  PUBLICATIONS. 


Wooden  Blackboards, 


1.  Blackboards  for  the  Wall. — We  manufacture  these  ourselves  of  compo^ 
"board  covered  with  Hornstone  slating,  four  coats,  making  a  light  board  to 
handle,  as  well  as  a  perfect  surface.     The  compo-board  is  made  for  us  in 
sheets  4  feet  by  18  feet,  and  we  can  make  at  short  notice  a  board  of  any 
desired  size  within  those  dimensions.     For  schools  this  makes  it  possible  to 
cover  the  exact  space  between  windows,  doors,  etc.,  with  a  single  sheet  of 
blackboard,  without  seams  of  any  kind.     It  can  be  put  up  by  any  one  with 
a  few  screws,  and  when  secured  by  moulding  makes  a  handsome  and  abso- 
lutely perfect  and  permanent  board.     Our  charge  for  such  boards  slated  on 
one  side  and  ready  to  put  up,  is  $1.00  per  square  yard.     Prices  of  moulding, 
chalk-troughs,  etc.,  are  given  on  application,  as  they  depend  on  the  size 
and  shape  of  the  surface  to  be  covered. 

2.  Portable  Blackboards. — We  keep  in  stock  the  sizes  above  shown  at 
prices  named  on  each,  and  can  make  at  short  notice  any  other  size  called 
for.     All  these  boards  are  of  compo-board,  covered  with  Hornstone  slat- 
ing, with  frames  of  oak  moulding.     We  believe  them  to  be  the  very  best 
blackboards  manufactured.     They  are  light,  and  cannot  warp  or  crack, 
while  the  surface  is  perfect. 

C.  W.  BAKDEEN,  Publisher,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


•THE  SCHOOL  BULLETIN  SUPPLIES- 


Dustless  Blackboard  Erasers. 

1.    The  Me  Cully  Perforated  Erase      15  cts.  each  by  mail ;  75  cts,  a  dozen 
by  express. 


When  you  have  got  a  good  blackboard  be  sure  and  get  good  Erasers. 
The  Carpet  Eraser,  once  almost  universally  used,  has  been  rejected ;  the 
hard  twine  glazes  and  wears  off  the  slated  surface.  Tacks  carelessly  driven 
and  points  projecting  into  the  erasive  material,  have  ruined  or  defaced 
many  blackboards.  Such  tacks  are  not  found  until  they  have  done  some 
damage.  Besides  Carpet  Erasers,  or  any  others  with  flat  surface,  merely 
brush  the  crayon  down  to  the  crayon-ledge,  and  thence  to  the  floor,  whence 
it  is  constantly  rising  and  permeating  the  air  of  the  school -room.  For  this 
reason  a  Dustless  Eraser  should  always  be  used,  and  the  best  we  have 
found  to  be  the  Me  Cully  Perforated  Eraser ;  Of  this  the  marked  peculiarity 
is  that  it  provides  spaces  into  which  the  crayon  dust  falls  and  where  it 
remains  until  shaken  out,  outside  the  school-room.  It  deposits  the  chalk 
through  the  holes  in  the  grooves,  leaving  the  surface  of  the  eraser  always 
clean,  and  thus  enabling  it  to  take  up  every  particle  of  dust.  It  is  the  neat- 
est and  prettiest  eraser  made.  Its  clean  rectangular  edges  are  especially 
adapted  to  map  and  other  pictorial  black-board  work,  where  the  erasing  is 
to  be  done  deftly  and  exactly.  Principal  Clapp,  of  Fulton,  N.  Y.,  says  :  "I 
have  used  the  McCully  Eraser  n  my  school  for  nearly  two  years,  and  un- 
heskatingly  recommend  it  as  the  best  eraser  on  the  market." 

The  Favorite  Eraser.    15  cts.  each  by  mail ; 
75  cts.  a  dozen  by  express. 

This  has  long  been  what  its  name  implies,  a 
favorite.    It  is  light,  and  catches  the  dust  in 
the  grooves  of  the  felt.    The  felt  is  made  of 
assorted  colors,  and  the  eraser  is  handsome  as  well  as  useful. 

Special  prices  for  large  quantities  will  be  given  upon  either  of  these 
erasers  on  application 

C.  W.  BARDEEtf,  Manufacturer,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


•TEE  SCHOOL  BULLETIN  PUBLICATIONS. 


The  Bulletin  Pencil-Holder. 


Points  of  Superiority. 

(1)  It  is  of  wood,  7x10  inches,  resting  on 
legs  two  inches  high,  and  holds  60  pencils. 
Hence  it  takes  less  room  than  any  other. 

(2)  It  has  a  handle  underneath  in  the  cen- 
tre, so  that  it  can  be  carried  firmly  in  one 
hand. 

(3)  The  pencils  cannot  fall  out,  even  when 
held  upside-down. 

(4)  Every  hole  is  numbered,  so  that  each 
pupil  keeps  his  own  pencil. 

(5)  It  has  no  springs  to  wear  out,  and  is 
indestructible. 


Beware  of  the  Spread  of  Contagious  Diseases. 

The  alarming  prevalence  of  diphtheria  in  the  schools  of  Syracuse  re- 
cently led  to  investigation  both  by  the  Board  of  Education  and  by  the  Board 
of  Health.  As  a  result  it  was  determined  that  the  principal  source  of 
danger  was  the  lead-pencils,  of  which  the  present  system  of  gathering  and 
distribution  did  not  ensure  that  every  child  should  get  his  own.  Accord- 
ingly on  Dec.  12, 1893,  an  order  was  given  us  for  268  Bulletin  Pencil-Holders, 
for  use  in  ever  room  in  the  city  schools  where  lead-pencils  are  distributed. 

Send  one  dollar  for  a  sample,  and  you  will  put  it  into  every  room  in 
your  school.  It  is  equally  available  for  the  distribution  of  pens,  in  penman- 
ship work.  In  many  schools  the  pens  are  gathered  and  distributed,  but  at 
great  inconvenience.  This  Holder  makes  the  gathering  and  distribution 
easy  and  free  from  error. 

C.  W.  BARDEEN,  Proprietor,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


•THE  SCHOOL  BULLETIN  PUBLICATIONS.- 


The  Bulletin  Ink- Well  Filler. 

No  more  spilled  ink.    To  see  it  is  to  buy  it.    Price  fi.25.