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Open-Air Schools at Milan
1014.
PUBLIC HEALTH.
W a t e r and water supply are fully treated, except that the effects of an insufficient or impure supply might have been given in more detail. W e do not know what is meant by " a n ordinary sized well" ; in India they vary within very wide limits, and the amount of permanganate of potash required to purify the contents in case of suspicion requires to be stated with more precision than "4- oz. for an ordinary sized well." In the description of the Jewett filter (p. 3:8) no mention is made of the use of a coagulant, which is an essential part of the process. T h e chapter on food is excellent. In the chapter on infectious diseases a bare mention is made of the existence of the Pasteur Institutes at Kasauli and Coonoor ; it would have been useful to have given precise directions for the procedure to be followed in case of need. W e have ventured to call attention to some omissions and slight inaccuracies; as to the excellence and value of the work as a whole, we have no hesitation in strongly recommending it as a most valuable guide to all concerned with the maintenance of the public health in India. It is very well printed and got up, but there is no index. TExT BOOK OF GERMAN SCHOOL HYGIENE. Handbuch der Deutschen Schulhygiene. Prof. Dr. H u g o Selter (Bonn). Publisher: Theodor Steinkopf (Dresden and Leipzig), 1914. 759 pages. Price 28 marks. Prof. Selter has been fortunate in obtaining the co-operation of some half-dozen of the most eminent school-hygienists in G e r m a n y in the compilation of this work. T h e volume is published under the editorship of ProL Selter, who himself contributes important sections, while large portions of the book are from the pens respectively of Drs. Drigalski (Halle), Flachs (Dresden), Fr6hlich (Bonn), Graupner (Dresden), Leubuscher (Meiningen), Schmidt (Bonn), a n d W e h r h a h n (Hanover). The product of their combined labours is a book of great interest and value. The subject-matter is divided into five sections, dealing with th~ hygiene of the school, of teaching, of the child, of the teacher, and of the defective child. E a c h section is further divided in methodical manner. Thus, in the section dealing with the structure of tile school, the writer considers in turn the site, type of building and building materials, ventilation, lighting, heating, cleansing, and type of school desk. T h e whole section is admirable and should prove a useful guide to those whose business it is to seek economy with efficiency in the provision of suitable schools. The excellent photographs given of typical German schools give, by contrast, an impression that the average public elementary school in Great Britain falls far short of the ideal in charm of appearance. T h e minuteness of the detail given may be judged by the fact that the
~43
rules for cleansing schools are discussed fully and a scheme set out which should be a model to all schools. In the second section, which deals with the hygiene of teaching, a short abstract of the physiological principles involved is followed by a good account of defects of speech, hearing, reading and writing. T h e subject of stuttering is specially well treated. In the section dealing with the hygiene of the school-child a good summary is given of the characteristics of the chief infectious diseases affecting children. The opinion is expressed that true pulmonary tuberculosis is a rare and a serious disease in the young. T h e final section, which deals with the various G e r m a n " Hilfschulen" for the mentally and the physically defective, is exceptionally interesting and should be of value to those studying this aspect of school hygiene in the country. It is impracticable here to consider in detail a book which has been clearly and carefully written and edited. The editor is to be congratulated on a minimum of overlapping and of hiatus, and the book m a y be unreservedly recommended as a standard work of reference on school hygiene. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS AT MILAN.--In the Giornale della R. Soc. ttal. d'Igiene (Jan. 3 k, 1914, Vot. 36, No. I), Dr. Albertini, in introducing a discussion on the subj ect of open-air schools, described the various types of such schools in use. H e divided them into three main t y p e s - - t h e German, or Waldschule, a light wooden or D6cker building situated in a wood at some distance from, but in good communication with, centres of population; the French, or sanatorium type, in which the buildings are of more elaborate and substantial type ; and the Italian type, less defined in method of construction, and readily adapted to the variations of climate and of other factors which cause variation in the particular needs of the district. Italy would appear to have advanced far on the road towards establishing a satisfactory network of such schools. INFANT
MORTALITY
IN NEW
YORK.
E have received a reprint of a paper on infant mortality in New York City, containing several points of interest, which Dr. \¥itliam H. Guitfoy, the Registrar of Records, Department of Health, New York City, read at the International Congress on Hygiene and D e m o g r a p h y held last year at Washington. T h e paper includes two charts illustrating the decline in infant mortality in that city in the period i89o-1911. Dr. Guilfoy compares the mortality of infants living in the first with that in the last quinquennium, and states that the reduction in
w
PUBLIC HEALTH.
W a t e r and water supply are fully treated, except that the effects of an insufficient or impure supply might have been given in more detail. W e do not know what is meant by " a n ordinary sized well" ; in India they vary within very wide limits, and the amount of permanganate of potash required to purify the contents in case of suspicion requires to be stated with more precision than "4- oz. for an ordinary sized well." In the description of the Jewett filter (p. 3:8) no mention is made of the use of a coagulant, which is an essential part of the process. T h e chapter on food is excellent. In the chapter on infectious diseases a bare mention is made of the existence of the Pasteur Institutes at Kasauli and Coonoor ; it would have been useful to have given precise directions for the procedure to be followed in case of need. W e have ventured to call attention to some omissions and slight inaccuracies; as to the excellence and value of the work as a whole, we have no hesitation in strongly recommending it as a most valuable guide to all concerned with the maintenance of the public health in India. It is very well printed and got up, but there is no index. TExT BOOK OF GERMAN SCHOOL HYGIENE. Handbuch der Deutschen Schulhygiene. Prof. Dr. H u g o Selter (Bonn). Publisher: Theodor Steinkopf (Dresden and Leipzig), 1914. 759 pages. Price 28 marks. Prof. Selter has been fortunate in obtaining the co-operation of some half-dozen of the most eminent school-hygienists in G e r m a n y in the compilation of this work. T h e volume is published under the editorship of ProL Selter, who himself contributes important sections, while large portions of the book are from the pens respectively of Drs. Drigalski (Halle), Flachs (Dresden), Fr6hlich (Bonn), Graupner (Dresden), Leubuscher (Meiningen), Schmidt (Bonn), a n d W e h r h a h n (Hanover). The product of their combined labours is a book of great interest and value. The subject-matter is divided into five sections, dealing with th~ hygiene of the school, of teaching, of the child, of the teacher, and of the defective child. E a c h section is further divided in methodical manner. Thus, in the section dealing with the structure of tile school, the writer considers in turn the site, type of building and building materials, ventilation, lighting, heating, cleansing, and type of school desk. T h e whole section is admirable and should prove a useful guide to those whose business it is to seek economy with efficiency in the provision of suitable schools. The excellent photographs given of typical German schools give, by contrast, an impression that the average public elementary school in Great Britain falls far short of the ideal in charm of appearance. T h e minuteness of the detail given may be judged by the fact that the
~43
rules for cleansing schools are discussed fully and a scheme set out which should be a model to all schools. In the second section, which deals with the hygiene of teaching, a short abstract of the physiological principles involved is followed by a good account of defects of speech, hearing, reading and writing. T h e subject of stuttering is specially well treated. In the section dealing with the hygiene of the school-child a good summary is given of the characteristics of the chief infectious diseases affecting children. The opinion is expressed that true pulmonary tuberculosis is a rare and a serious disease in the young. T h e final section, which deals with the various G e r m a n " Hilfschulen" for the mentally and the physically defective, is exceptionally interesting and should be of value to those studying this aspect of school hygiene in the country. It is impracticable here to consider in detail a book which has been clearly and carefully written and edited. The editor is to be congratulated on a minimum of overlapping and of hiatus, and the book m a y be unreservedly recommended as a standard work of reference on school hygiene. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS AT MILAN.--In the Giornale della R. Soc. ttal. d'Igiene (Jan. 3 k, 1914, Vot. 36, No. I), Dr. Albertini, in introducing a discussion on the subj ect of open-air schools, described the various types of such schools in use. H e divided them into three main t y p e s - - t h e German, or Waldschule, a light wooden or D6cker building situated in a wood at some distance from, but in good communication with, centres of population; the French, or sanatorium type, in which the buildings are of more elaborate and substantial type ; and the Italian type, less defined in method of construction, and readily adapted to the variations of climate and of other factors which cause variation in the particular needs of the district. Italy would appear to have advanced far on the road towards establishing a satisfactory network of such schools. INFANT
MORTALITY
IN NEW
YORK.
E have received a reprint of a paper on infant mortality in New York City, containing several points of interest, which Dr. \¥itliam H. Guitfoy, the Registrar of Records, Department of Health, New York City, read at the International Congress on Hygiene and D e m o g r a p h y held last year at Washington. T h e paper includes two charts illustrating the decline in infant mortality in that city in the period i89o-1911. Dr. Guilfoy compares the mortality of infants living in the first with that in the last quinquennium, and states that the reduction in
w