The young mother, or Management of children in regard to health

Front matter

of tfje

RJ6J.

iiiiiiiiiiiwiiiiiiiii

Contents

CHAPTER L THE NURSERY.

General remarks. Importance of a nursery. Generally overlooked. Its walls — ceiling- — windows— chimney. Two apartments. Sliding partition. Reasons for this arrangement. Objections to carpets. Furniture, &c. Feather beds. Holes or crevices. Currents of air. Cats and dogs. " Suckkig the child's breath." Brilliant objects. Squinting-. . 33—36

Chapter II. Temperature

General principle—" Keep cool." Our own sensations not always to be trusted. Thermometer. Why infants require more external heat than adults. Means of warmth. Air heated in other apartments. Clothes taking- fire. Stove. Railing around it. Excess of heat — its dangers. . . . 37 — 40

CHAPTER IB. VENTILATION.

General ignorance of the constitution of the atmosphere. The subject briefly explained. Oxygen gas. Nitrogen. Carbonic acid. Fires, candles, and breathing, dependent on oxygen. Danger from carbonic acid. How it destroys people. Impurity of the air by means of lamps and candles. Other sources of impurity. Experiment of putting the candle under the bed-clothes. Covering the heads of infants while sleeping — its dangers. Proportions of oxygen and nitrogen

CONTENTS.

in pure and impure air. No wonder children become sickly. Particular means of ventilating rooms. Caution in regard to lamps. Washing, ironing, cooking, &c, in a nursery. Their evil tendency. Fumigation— -camphor, vinegar. . 41 — 46

Chapter IV. The Child's Dress

General principles — 1. To cover us; 2. To defend us from cold ; 3. from injury 47

Sec. 1. Swathing the Body.

Buffon's remarks. Transforming children into mummies. Use of a belly-band. Evils produced by having it too tight. Cripples sometimes made. Absurdity of confining the arms. Infants should be made happy 47-— 51

Sec. 2. Form of the Dress.

Curious suggestion of a London writer. Advantages of his plan. Killing with kindness. Dr. Buchan's opinion. Conformity to fashion. Tight-lacing the chest. Its effects. Why dangerous. Physiology of the chest. Its motions. An attempt to make the subject intelligible. Serious mistakes of some writers. Appeal to facts. Color of females. Their breathing. Their diseases. Customs of Tunis. Our own customs little less ridiculous 51—61

Sec. 3. Material.

Flannel in cold weather. Its use — 1. As a kind of flesh brush; 2. As a protection against taking cold 3 3. As a means of equalizing the temperature. Clothing should be kept clean — often changed- — color — lightness — softness. Cotton apt to take fire. Silk expensive. Linen not warm enough. Flannel under-clothes 61 — 64

Sec. 4. Quantity.

The power of habit, in this respect. Opinion that no clothing is necessary. Anecdote of Alexander and the Scythian. Argument from analogy. Begin right, in early life. We generally use too much clothing. Should clothing be often varied ?— objections to it. Avoid dampness 65—69

CONTENTS.

Sec. 5. Caps.

How caps produce disease. Nature's head-dress. Miserable apology for caps. What diseases are avoided by going with the head bare. Judicious remarks of a foreign writer. Covering the "open of the head.7' Wetting the head with spirits 69—71

Sec. 6. Hats and Bonnets.

Hats usually too warm. No covering needed in the house ; and but little in the sun or rain. Is it dangerous to go with the head always bare ? 72 — 74

Sec. 7. Covering for the Feet.

The feet should be well covered. Why. Rule of medical men. No garters. Objections to covering the feet considered. Shoes useful. Not too thick. Thick soles. Mr. Locke's opinion 76 — 77

Sec. 8. Pins.

These ought not to be used. Why. Substitutes. Practice of Dr. Dewees. Needles. Their danger. Shocking anecdote. 77 — 80

Sec. 9. Remaining Wet.

Changing wet clothing. Monstrous error — its evils. Clean as well as dry. A lame excuse for negligence. No excuse sufficient but poverty 80 — 81

Sec. 10. Remarks on the Dress of Boys. Every restraint of body or limb injurious. Tight jackets. Stiff stocks and thick cravats. Boots. Evils of having them too tight. A painful sight 81— 8&

Sec. 11. On the Dress of Girls.

Clothing should be loose for girls or boys. Girls to be kept warmer than boys. Few girls comfortable, at home or abroad. Going out of warm rooms into the night air. How it proi motes disease 84—85

CONTENTS.

Chapter V. Cleanliness

Physiology of the human skin. Of checking perspiration. Diseases thus produced. " Dirt " not " healthy." How the mistake originated. " Smell of the earth." Effect of uncleanliness on the morals. Filthiness produces bowel complaints. Changing dress for the sake of cleanliness. . 87 — 94

Chapter VI. Bathing

Practice of savage nations. Rather dangerous. Mistake of Rousseau. Plunging into cold water at birth may produce immediate death. Hundreds injured where one is benefited. Spirits added to the water. First washings of the child — should be thorough. Rules in regard to the temperature of both the water and the air. Washing an introduction to bathing. Hour for bathing changes with age. Temperature of the water. Size of a bathing vessel. Unreasonable fears of the warm bath. How they arose. A list^of common whims. Apology for opposing cold baths. Dr. Dewees's eight objections to them. Does cold water harden ? Cold bath sometimes useful under the care of a skilful physician. Its danger in other cases. Rules for using the cold bath, if used at all. Securing a glow after it. General management. Proper hour. Coming out of the bath. Dressing. Singing. Bathing after a meal. Local bathing. Tea-spoonful of water in the mouth. Its use. The shower bath. Vapor bath. Medicated bath. Sponging. Conveniences for bathing indipensable to every family. General neglect of bathing. Attention of the Romans to this subject. We treat domestic animals better than children 95 — 114

Chapter VII. Food

Sec. 1. General Principles.

The mother's milk the only appropriate food of infants. Unreasonableness of some mothers. The tendency to ape foreign fashions. Nursing does not weaken the mother. 115 — 119

CONTENTS.

Sec. 2. Nursing, how often.

Children should never be nursed to quiet them. Stomach must have time for rest. Regular seasons for nursing1. Once in three hours. Difference of constitution. Indulgence does not strengthen. Feeble children require the strictest management. Nothing should be given between meals. . 119 — 121

Sec. 3. Quantity of Food.

Errors. Repetition of aliment. Variety. Children over-fed. Appetite not a safe guide. Training to gluttony. Illustrations of the principle. Mankind eat twice as much as is necessary 121 — 123

Sec. 4. How long should Milk be the only Food ? First change in diet. Objections of mothers. Choice bits. Ignorance of the nature of digestion. What digestion is. Food which the author of nature assigned 124—- >126

Sec. 5. On Feeding before Teething. When feeding before teething is necessary. Diet of mothers. Substitute for the mothers7 milk. How prepared. Variety not necessary to the infant. Milk best from the same cow. Vessels in which it is used should be clean. Sweet milk not heated too much. Not frozen. Disgusting practices. Pure water. If not pure, boil it. Best of sugar. Is sugar injurious 1 When the state of the mother's health forbids nursing. Use of sucking-bottles. Feeding should in all cases be slow. Jolting children after eating. Tossing. Sucking-bottle as a plaything. Evils of using it as such. Dirty vessels. Poisonous ones. Character of nurses. Nursing at both breasts. Age of the nurse. Parents should have the oversight, even of a nurse 126—136

Sec. 6. From Teething to Weaning. Proper age for weaning. Cullen's opinion. Proper season of the year. When the teeth have fairly protruded. First food gpven. New forms of food. Animal broth 138 — 140

10 CONTENTS.

Sec. 7. Dming the Process of Weaning. The spring the best time for weaning. Should not be too sudden. The process— how managed. Exciting an aversion to the breast. What solid food should first be given. Buchan's opinion. Health of the mother. She should — if possible — avoid medicine 141—144

Sec. 8. Food subsequently to Weaning. Views of Dr. Cadogan. Half the children that come into the world go out of it before they are good for anything. Why ? Owing chiefly to errors in nursing, feeding, and clothing. Simplicity of children's food. Picture of a modern table. Every dish tortured till it is spoiled. Plain, simple food, generally despised. How bread is now regarded. How it ought to be. Mr. Locke's opinion in favor of bread for young children, and against the use of animal food. Does not differ materially from that of most medical writers. Vegetable food generally preferred to animal. What is true of youth, in this respect, is true of every age, with slight exceptions. Who require most food . Mere bread and water not best. Bread the staple article of diet. Best kind of bread. Objections to it. How groundless they are. Fondness for hot, new bread not natural. Fondness of change. What it indicates. How it is caused. Train up a child in the way he should go. We can like what food we please. Second best kind of bread. Other kinds. Plain puddings. Indian cakes. Salt may be used, in moderate quantity, but no other condiments. Of butter, cheese, milk, &c. Potatoes, turnips, onions, beets, and other roots. Beans, peas, and asparagus. No fat or gravies should be used , 145 — 176

Sec. 9. Remarks on Fruit.

Diversity of opinion. The cholera. Fruits useful. Seven plain rules in regard to them. Other rules. A mistake corrected. Fruit before breakfast. Four arguments in its favor. Particular fruits. Apples. Why fruits brought to market arc generally unfit to be eaten. Are good, ripe fruits difficult of digestion ? Cooking the apple. A man who lives entirely on apples. Cutting down orchards. Pears, peaches, melons, grapes. Mixing improper substances with summer fruits. 176 — 190

CONTENTS.

Sec. 10. Confectionary.

Confectionary sometimes poisonous. Case in New York. All, or nearly all confectionaries injurious. Physical evils attending their use. Intellectual evils. Moral evils. The last most to be dreaded. Slaves to confectionary are on the road to gluttony, drunkenness, or debauchery — perhaps all

Sec. 11. Pastry.

Dr. Paris's opinion of pastry. Various forms of it. Hot flour bread a species of it. Produces, among other evils, eruptions on the face. Appeal to mothers 194 — 196

Sec. 12. Crude, or Raw Substances. Sallads, herbs, &c. — raw — cooked. Nuts, spices, mustard, horseradish, onions, cucumbers, pickles, &c. None of these should be used, except as medicine 196—198

Chapter VIII. Drinks

Infants need little drink. Adults, even, generally drink to cool themselves. Simple water the best drink. Opinions of Dr. Oliver and Dr. Dewees. Animal food increases thirst. Only one real drink in the world. The true object of all drink . Tea, coffee, chocolate, beer, &c. Milk and water, molasses and water, &c. Cider, wine, and ardent spirits. Bad food and drink the most prolific sources of disease. Children naturally prefer water. Danger of hot drinks. Cold drinks. Mischiefs they produce. Caution to mothers. Extracts. Drinking cold water while hot 199 — 208

Chapter IX. Giving Medicine

H Prevention " better than " cure." Nine in ten infantile diseases caused by errors in diet and drink. Signs of failing health. Causes of a bad breath. Flesh eaters. Gormandizers. General rule for preventing disease. When to call a physician 209—214

CONTENTS.

Chapter X. Exercise

Sec, 1. Rocking in the Cradle.

Objections to the use of cradles. Under what circumstances they are least objectionable 215—217

Sec. 2. Carrying in the Arms.

Carrying1 in the arms a suitable exercise for the first two months of life. Danger of too early sitting up. Improper position in the arms. Mothers must see to this themselves. Motion in the arms should be gentle. No tossing, running or jumping. Infants should not always be carried on the same arm. 217—222

Sec. 3. Crawling.

Crawling useful to health. Why. Go-carts and leading strings prohibited. The longer children crawl, the better. Their progress in learning to stand. Let it be slow and natural. Let it be, as much as possible, by their own voluntary efforts 222—226

Sec. 4. Walking.

Walking- in the nursery. Walking abroad. Hoisting children into carriages. Walks should not become fatiguing. 226 — 228

Sec. 5. Riding in Carriages.

Carriages useful before children can walk. Their construction. Should be drawn steadily. Position of the child in them. Falling asleep. How long this exercise should be continued 228—230

Sec. 6. Riding on Horseback.

Never safe for infants. Riding schools. Objections to riding on horseback, while very young. Tends to cruelty and tyranny 230—232

Chapter XI. Amusements

Universal need of amusements. Why so necessary. Error of schools. Error of families. Infant schools, as often conducted, particularly injurious. Lessons, or tasks; should be

CONTENTS.

short. Mistakes of some manual labor schools. Of particular amusements in the nursery. With small wooden cubespictures — shuttlecock— the rocking-horse — tops and marbles — backgammon — checkers— morrice— dice — nine-pins— skipping the rope — trundling the hoop— playing at ball — kitesskating and swimming — dissected maps — black boards— elements of letters— dissected pictures. 233 — 246

Chapter XII. Crying

Its importance. Danger of repressing a tendency to cry. Anecdote from Dr. Rush. Physiology of crying. Folly of attempting wholly to suppress it 247 — 250

Chapter XIII. Laughing

" Laugh and be fat." Laughing is healthy. A common error. Monastic notions yet too prevalent on this subject. . . 251 — 252

Chapter XIV. Sleep

General remarks. A prevalent mistake. A hint to fathers. Few Catos. Everything left to mothers 253 — 255

Sec. 1. Hour for Repose.

Night the season of repose, generally. Infants require all hours. Sleeping in dark rooms. Excess of caution. Habit of sleeping amid noise 255 — 256

Sec. 2. Place.

Where the infant should sleep. Why alone. Poisoning by impure air. Illustration. Proofs. Friedlander. Dr. Dewees. Destruction of children by mothers. Anecdote. Moral reasons for having children sleep alone. Sleeping with the aged. Sleeping with cats and dogs 257 — 262

Sec. 3- Purity of the Air.

Nurseries. Windows open during the night. Lowering them from the top. Habit of Dr. Gregory. Going abroad in the open air 263—265

CONTENTS.

Sec. 4. The Bed.

No feathers should be used. They are too warm. Their effluvia oppressive. Other objections to their use. Mattresses. Air beds. Beds of cut straw. Soft beds. Testimony of physicians. The pillow. Dampness. Curtains. Warming the bed. Beds recently occupied by the sick 265—270

Sec. 5. The Covering.

Light covering. Mistakes of some mothers. Covering the head with bed clothes 270^-271

Sec. 6. Nighi Dresses.

As little dress during sleep as possible. No caps. No stockings. Loose night shirt. No tight articles of night dress. Frequent exchanging of clothes 272 — 274

Sec. 7. Posture of the Body.

Sleeping on the back — on the sides. Position of the head. The infant's bedstead. Sir Charles Bell Darkening the room. 274—276 Sec. 8. State of the Mind.

Mental quiet favorable to sleep. Crying to sleep. A good father. All anxiety should be avoided 276—278

Sec. 9. Quality of Sleep.

Soundness of our sleep. Nightmare. How produced. Late reading. Late suppers. Influence of religion on sleep. Different opinions about sleep. Truth midway between extremes. Effect of silence and darkness on our sleep. Of sleep before midnight. Light unfavorable to sleep 278—282

Sec. 10. Quantity.

Infants need to sleep nearly the whole time. Number of hours required for sleep. Opinions of eminent men. The author's own opinion. Statements of Macnish. Estimates on the loss of time by over sleeping. Hint to young mothers. 282—286

Chapter XV. Early Rising

All children naturally early risers. Evils of sitting up late at ' night. Excitements in the evening. The morning, by its

CONTENTS.

beauties, invites us abroad. Example of parents. Forbidding children to rise early. Keeping- them out of the way. How many are burnt up by parental neglect. " Lecturing " them. What is an early hour? 287—292

Chapter XVI. Hardening The Constitution

Mistakes about hardening children. Their clothing. Much cold enfeebles. The Scotch Highlanders. The two extremes equally fatal — over-tenderness and neglect. An interesting anecdote from Dr. Dewees 293—300

Chapter XVII. Society

Duty of mothers in this matter. Children prefer the society of parents. Importance of other society. Necessity of society illustrated. Early diffidence. Selecting companions for children. Moral effects of society on the young. Parents should play with their children 301—306

Chapter XVIII. Employments

Influence of mothers over daughters. Anecdote of Benjamin West. Anecdote of a poor mother. Of set lessons and lectures. Daughters under the mother's eye. Why young ladies, now-a-days, dislike domestic employments. Miserable housewives. Not to be wondered at. Mistake of one class of men. Mr. Flint's opinion 307—512

Chapter XIX. Education Of The Senses

Extent to which the senses can be improved. Case of the blind. The Indians. Julia Brace. Tailors, painters, &c. , 313 — 315

Sec. 1. Hearing, Injury done by caps. Syringing the ears. Anecdote of deafness from neglect. Means of improving the hearing. . . 315^-316

CONTENTS.

Sec. 2. Seeing.

Importance of seeing. Near-sighted people, why so common. Heat of our rooms. Very fine print. Spectacles. Reading when tired. Rubbing the eyes. Cold water to the eyes. 316—319

Sec. 3. Tasting and Smelling.

Benumbing the senses. How this has often been done. The teeth. How to preserve them 319—320

Sec. 4. Feeling.

Corpulence and slovenliness. Sense of touch. The blind — how taught to read. Hint to parents. The hand. Neglecting the left hand. Physiology of the hand and arm. Evils of beinsr able to use but one hand. Both should be educated. 320 — 324

Chapter XX. Abuses

Bad seats of children at table and elsewhere. Why children hate Sunday. Seats at Sabbath school — at church — at district schools. Suspending children between the heavens and the earth. Cushions to sit on. Seats with backs. Children in factories. The evils it produces. Bodily punishment. Striking the heads of children very injurious. Beating across the middle of the body. Anecdote of a teacher. Concluding advice to mothers * 325—332

Preface

There is a prejudice abroad, to some extent, against agitating the questions — "What shall we eat? What shall we drink? and Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" — not so much because the Scriptures have charged us not to be over "anxious" on the subject, as because those who pay the least attention to what they eat and drink are supposed to be, after all, the most healthy.

It is not difficult to ascertain how this opinion originated. There are a few individuals who are perpetually thinking and talking on this subject, and who would fain comply with appropriate rules, if they knew what they were, and if a certain definite course, pursued 2

PREFACE.

a few days only, would change their whole condition, and completely restore a shattered or ruined constitution. But their ignorance of the laws which govern the human frame, both in sickness and in health, and their indisposition to pursue any proposed plan for their improvement long enough to receive much permanent benefit from it, keep them, notwithstanding all they say or do, always deteriorating.

Then, on the other hand, there are a few who, in consequence of possessing by nature very strong constitutions, and laboring at some active and peculiarly healthy employment, are able for a few, and perhaps even for many years, to set all the rules of health at defiance.

Now strange as it may seem, these cases, though they are only exceptions (and those more apparent than real) to the general rule, are always dwelt upon, by those who are determined to live as they please, and to put no restraint either upon themselves or their appe-

PREFACE.

tites. For nothing can be plainer — so it seems to me — than that taking mankind by families, or what is still better, by larger portions, they are most free from pain and disease, as well as most healthy and happy, who pay the most attention to the laws of human health, that is, those laws or rules by whose observance alone, that health can be certainly and permanently secured.

But these families and communities are most healthy and happy, not because they live in a proper manner by fits and starts, but because they have, from some cause or other, adopted and persevered in habits which, compared with the habits of other families, or other communities, are preferable ; that is, more in obedience to the laws which govern the human constitution. Not that even they are " without sin" or error on this subject — gross error too — but because their errors are fewer or less destructive than those of their neighbors.

PREFACE.

Now is it possible that any intelligent father or mother of a family whose diet, clothing, exercise, &c. are thus comparatively well regulated, would derive no benefit from the perusal of works which treat candidly, rationally, and dispassionately, on these points? Is there a mother in the community who is so destitute of reason and common sense as not t6 desire the light of a broader experience in regard to the tendency of things than she has had, or possibly can have, in her own family? Is there one who will not be aided by understanding not only that a certain thing or course is be ter than another, but also why it is so?

It is by no means the object of this little work to set people to watching their stomachs from meal to meal, in regard to the effects of food, drink, &c; for nothing in the world is better calculated to make dyspeptics than this. It is true, indeed, that some things may be obviously and greatly injurious, taken only

PREFACE.

once; and when they are so, they should be avoided. But in general, it is the effect of a habitual use of certain things for a long time together — and the longer the experiment the better — which we are to observe.

A book to guide mothers in the formation of early good habits in their offspring, should be the result of long observation and much experiment on these points, but more especially of a thorough understanding of human physiology. It should not consist so much of the conceits of a single brain — perhaps half turned — as of the logical deductions of severe science, and facts gleaned from the world's history.

Here is a nation, or tribe of men, bringing up children to certain habits, from generation to generation, — and such and such is their character. Here, again, is another large portion of our race, who, under similar circumstances of climate, &c. &c, have, for several hundred years, educated their children very

PREFACE.

differently, and with different results. A comparison of things on a large scale, together with a close attention to the constitution and relations of the human system, affords ground for drawing conclusions which are or may be useful. If this book shall not afford light derived from such sources, it were far better that it had never been written. If it only sets people to watching over the effects of things taken or used only for a single day, instead of leading them from early infancy to form in their children such habits as will preclude, in a great measure, the necessity of watching ourselves daily, then let the day perish from the memory of the ATriter, in which the plan of bringing it forth to the world was conceived.

But he is confident of better things. He does not believe that a work which, to such an extent, gives the reason why, will be productive of more evil than good. On the contrary, it must, if read, have the opposite effect.

PREFACE.

I do not deny that even after the formation of the best habits, there will be a necessity of paying some attention to what we eat and what we drink, from day to day, and from hour to hour; but only that the tendency of this work is not to increase this necessity, but on the contrary, to diminish it. In my own view, these occasions of inquiry in regard to what is right, physically as well as morally ', are one part of our trials in this world — one means of forming our characters. We are constantly tempted to excess and to error, in spite of the most firm habits of self-denial which can be formed. If we resist temptation, our characters are improved. And it is by self-denial and self-government in these smaller matters, that we are to hope for nearly all the progress we can ever make in the great work of self-education. Great trials of character come but seldom ; and when they come, we axe often armed against them ; but these little

PREFACE.

trials and temptations coming upon us every hour — these it is, after all, that give shape to our characters, and make us constantly growing either better or worse, both in the sight of God and man. But as I have repeatedly said, the object of this work is to diminish rather than to increase the frequency of these trials, useful though they may be, if duly improved, in the formation of virtuous, and even of holy character.

There is a sense in which every infant may be said to be born healthy, so that we may not only adopt the language of the poet, Bowring, and say

" a child is born ;

Take it and make it a bud of moral beauty/'

but we may also add — Take it and make it beautiful physically. For though a hereditary predisposition undoubtedly renders some individuals more susceptible than others to par-

PREFACE.

ticular diseases, yet when the bodily organization of an infant is complete, and the degree of vitality which nature gives it sufficient to propel the machinery of the frame, it can scarcely be regarded as in any other state than that of health.

Now if it be the intention of divine Providence (and who will doubt that it is?) that the animal body should be capable of resisting with impunity the impressions of heat, cold, light, air, and the various external influences to which, at birth, it is subjected, it may be properly asked why this primitive state of health cannot be maintained, and diseases, and medicines, and even preventives Avholly avoided.

But the reason is obvious. Civilized society has placed the human race in artificial circumstances. Instead of listening to the dictates of reason, making ourselves acquainted with the nature of the human constitution, and studying

PREFACE.

to preserve it in health and vigor, we yield to the government of ignorance and presumption. The first moment, even, in which we draw breath, sees us placed under the control of individuals who are totally inadequate to the important charge of preserving the infant constitution in its original state, and aiding its progress to maturity. And thus it is that though infants, as a general rule, may be said to be born healthy, few actually remain so. Seldom, indeed, do we find a person who has arrived at maturity wholly free from disease3 even in those parts of our country which are reckoned to have the most healthy climate.

It is indeed commonly said that a large proportion, both of children and adults, among the agricultural portion of our population, are healthy. But it is not so. There is room for doubt whether, on the whole, the farmers of this country are healthier than the mechanics, or much more so than the manufacturers ; or

PREFACE.

the whole mass of the country population healthier than that of the crowded city. The causes of disease are sufficiently numerous, in all places and conditions ; and this will continue to be the fact, not merely until parents and teachers shall become more enlightened, but until many generations have been trained under their enlightened influence.

If the children and adults among our agricultural population derive from their employments in the open air a more ruddy appearance than those either of the city or country who are confined more to to their rooms, or to a vitiated atmosphere, and to numerous other sources of disease, and if they appear more favored with health, I have learned, by accurate observation, that these appearances are somewhat deceptive. Their active sports and employments in the open air give them a stronger appetite than any other class of people ; and the indulgence of this appetite, not

PREFACE.

only with articles which are heating or indigestible in their nature, but with an unreasonable quantity even of those which are considered highly proper, is almost in an exact proportion. And it is hence scarcely possible for the causes of disease and premature death to be more operative in factories and in cities than in farm houses and the country. Indeed it may be questioned whether the abuses of the animal part of man — more common in some of their forms in country than in city — though they may be less conspicuous, are not more certainly and even more immediately destructive than those abuses which, in city life, and bustle, and competition, affect more the moral nature.

Be that as it may, however — for this is not the place for the grave discussion of so broad a question — one thing, to my mind, is perfectly clear, viz., that until physical education shall receive more attention from all those who hold

PREFACE.

the sacred office of instructors of the young, humanity can neither be much elevated nor improved. Mothers and schoolmasters especially— they who, as Dr. Rush says, plant the seeds of nearly all the good or evil in the world — must understand, most deeply and thoroughly, the laws which regulate the various provinces of the little world in which the soul resides, and which, like so many states of a great confederacy, have not only their separate interests and rights, but certain common and general ones ; as well as those laws by which the human constitution is related to and connected with the objects which everywhere surround, and influence, and limit, and extend it.