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PHYSIOLOGY IN EDUCATION.
884
Annotations. "Ne
quid nimis."
THE LATE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE. THE death of the Duke of Cambridge has shown that the affection of the country for the simple old soldier who for two generations was the head of our army was deep and sincere. He lived to see the British army entirely transformed, to see traditions which he most cherished abolished, and to see himself superseded, and on all hands it has been allowed that his combination of good sense and good nature enabled him to accept the situation with dignity. He was an admirer of old customs, and had been bred in the faith of ancient traditions, but he was When he could not appreciate not an obstructionist. measures of reform he ;would still accept them as evidences of progress which he was compelled, if only by the circumstance of his years, to watch rather than to forward. We had personal relations with the late Commander-inChief, now some 36 years ago, and know that above all things the welfare of the soldier in the ranks was his care. The occasion was the rebuilding of Knightsbridge barracks, which in 1868 had fallen into a condition of desperate disrepair. The Barrack Commissioners had reported in most uncompromising terms upon the defects of the buildings, the residents in the neighbourhood had openly complained of them as a common nuisance, officers had deplored the want of decency that the lack of proper sanitary accommodation entailed upon the men, and Members of Parliament had asked questions. But nothing was done until THE LANCET, with the’private sanction of the Duke of Cambridge, sent two Special Commissioners to make a report upon the buildings. A surprise visit was paid by night to the barracks. No opposition was made by the authorities and the whole lurid story was made public.l At once it was seen that re-erection of the buildings The Duke of Cambridge urged that the old was necessary. site should be used and pledged his word that economy should be observed ; the necessary money was granted by Parliament; and the measures for a reform, the urgent necessity for-which had been obvious to all thinking persons for years, were set in motion at once.
PHYSIOLOGY IN
EDUCATION.
UNDER the above heading Mr. R. Brudenell Carter, F.R.C.S. Eng., delivered a lecture on March 15th at the Owens College, Manchester, by invitation of the Medical Faculty. In the opinion of the lecturer the increased control over
national education which the recent Education Act
had
brought within the reach of the public furnished an opportunity to the members of the medical profession of which it was their duty to avail themselves. They were the only people, generally speaking, by whom physiology was studied and it was time for them to assert their position as guides to the uninstructed. In his opinion the art of education at the present day was in much the same position as the art of healing as described by Moliere. Physiology should now apply herself to investigate what was necessary to be done in education. There were three problems of primary importance as regarded educa. The first was to ascertion before the physiologist. tain the greater or less strength of the force generator (the brain) as a whole; the second, assuming that every healthy child was adequately endowed at birth with brain cells in a rudimentary state, was to ascertain what were 1 See THE LANCET Special Commission on the State of the Barracks of the Household Cavalry at Knightsbridge, THE LANCET, June 20th,
1868.
the conditions which called those cells into activity or which condemned them to remain only partially developed ; and thethird was to ascertain what circumstances determined development in one direction rather than in another. When physiology had solved these problems she would be able to teach mankind to what extent the growth and activity of the brain might be modified by external agencies. As to the nature of these agencies it was not inconceivable that certain forms of nutriment and the power to assimilate such forms might hold a place among them. From this point it was but a step forward to inquire how far physical and mental degeneration were due to the improper selection and improper preparation of food, to preserved provisions, to chemically made beer, to imitations of jam and sweetmeats, to the advertised substitutes for household cookery, and to the excessive consumption of tobacco. One very important question which as yet had not been answered was, Could an underfed child be taught without sustaining injury from the process ? If it could not the State had no right to insist upon such a child being taught. Mr. Carter went on to urge the importance in elementary schools for the working classes of early and systematic development of the senses. Speaking generally, the aim of the school should be to give to each individual the stimulus or guidance best calculated to develop his powers or to protect him against his weaknesses. It might be objected that schools were large and that schoolmasters must deal with the mass rather than with the individual. To this he answered that dealing with boys in the mass was unskilled labour and that every schoolmaster who had made a name for himself had done so by reason oi his power of dealing with individuals. So ended a very interesting lecture and no on can doubt that Mr. Carter spoke words of wisdom. We have insisted again and again that education to be of any use at all must be a process of development and to develop an ill.nourished brain from the psychical side is impossible. True, there have been geniuses like Chatterton and Schubert who did their best work when they were in bitter poverty but that is a different matter to the case of a starving child. Mr. Carter’s remarks about foods are worthy of all praise. Jam is always popular and it should be nutritious. But the great majority of bought jams-in fact, we think that we may say all those consumed by the poor-are made with commercial glucose-i.e., invert sugar-a substance which has not a tithe of the nutritive power of even beet sugar, to say nothing of cane sugar. As to sweets it is well known that there is a large trade in condemned condensed milk for the purposes of confectionery. Mr. Carter’s thesis supplies one more argument for the necessity for a revision of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. All jams should be labeled with a definite statement as to whether they are or are not made with cane sugar. As to the question of individual attention, we fear that in these days of enormous classes it is almost impossible. But if school boards would cut down the number of subjects which they try to teach by at least one half the classes could be made smaller. It is for the medical profession to lay Mr. Carter’s words to heart and to insist upon education being conducted upon sound physiological principles. The ideal schoolmaster should form himself on the model of Thring, of whom it was said, "So he fed them with a faithful and true heart and ruled them prudently with all his power." THE VICTORIA HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN. WE understand that a bazaar in aid of the Victoria Hospital for Children, Titestreet, Chelsea, will be held at the Royal Albert Hall on June 21st to 23rd, under the immediate patronage of Her Majesty the Qaeen who has consented to be present on the opening day. New wards have been built at the hospital and it is expected that they will be open for the reception of patients before long. The
Annotations. "Ne
quid nimis."
THE LATE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE. THE death of the Duke of Cambridge has shown that the affection of the country for the simple old soldier who for two generations was the head of our army was deep and sincere. He lived to see the British army entirely transformed, to see traditions which he most cherished abolished, and to see himself superseded, and on all hands it has been allowed that his combination of good sense and good nature enabled him to accept the situation with dignity. He was an admirer of old customs, and had been bred in the faith of ancient traditions, but he was When he could not appreciate not an obstructionist. measures of reform he ;would still accept them as evidences of progress which he was compelled, if only by the circumstance of his years, to watch rather than to forward. We had personal relations with the late Commander-inChief, now some 36 years ago, and know that above all things the welfare of the soldier in the ranks was his care. The occasion was the rebuilding of Knightsbridge barracks, which in 1868 had fallen into a condition of desperate disrepair. The Barrack Commissioners had reported in most uncompromising terms upon the defects of the buildings, the residents in the neighbourhood had openly complained of them as a common nuisance, officers had deplored the want of decency that the lack of proper sanitary accommodation entailed upon the men, and Members of Parliament had asked questions. But nothing was done until THE LANCET, with the’private sanction of the Duke of Cambridge, sent two Special Commissioners to make a report upon the buildings. A surprise visit was paid by night to the barracks. No opposition was made by the authorities and the whole lurid story was made public.l At once it was seen that re-erection of the buildings The Duke of Cambridge urged that the old was necessary. site should be used and pledged his word that economy should be observed ; the necessary money was granted by Parliament; and the measures for a reform, the urgent necessity for-which had been obvious to all thinking persons for years, were set in motion at once.
PHYSIOLOGY IN
EDUCATION.
UNDER the above heading Mr. R. Brudenell Carter, F.R.C.S. Eng., delivered a lecture on March 15th at the Owens College, Manchester, by invitation of the Medical Faculty. In the opinion of the lecturer the increased control over
national education which the recent Education Act
had
brought within the reach of the public furnished an opportunity to the members of the medical profession of which it was their duty to avail themselves. They were the only people, generally speaking, by whom physiology was studied and it was time for them to assert their position as guides to the uninstructed. In his opinion the art of education at the present day was in much the same position as the art of healing as described by Moliere. Physiology should now apply herself to investigate what was necessary to be done in education. There were three problems of primary importance as regarded educa. The first was to ascertion before the physiologist. tain the greater or less strength of the force generator (the brain) as a whole; the second, assuming that every healthy child was adequately endowed at birth with brain cells in a rudimentary state, was to ascertain what were 1 See THE LANCET Special Commission on the State of the Barracks of the Household Cavalry at Knightsbridge, THE LANCET, June 20th,
1868.
the conditions which called those cells into activity or which condemned them to remain only partially developed ; and thethird was to ascertain what circumstances determined development in one direction rather than in another. When physiology had solved these problems she would be able to teach mankind to what extent the growth and activity of the brain might be modified by external agencies. As to the nature of these agencies it was not inconceivable that certain forms of nutriment and the power to assimilate such forms might hold a place among them. From this point it was but a step forward to inquire how far physical and mental degeneration were due to the improper selection and improper preparation of food, to preserved provisions, to chemically made beer, to imitations of jam and sweetmeats, to the advertised substitutes for household cookery, and to the excessive consumption of tobacco. One very important question which as yet had not been answered was, Could an underfed child be taught without sustaining injury from the process ? If it could not the State had no right to insist upon such a child being taught. Mr. Carter went on to urge the importance in elementary schools for the working classes of early and systematic development of the senses. Speaking generally, the aim of the school should be to give to each individual the stimulus or guidance best calculated to develop his powers or to protect him against his weaknesses. It might be objected that schools were large and that schoolmasters must deal with the mass rather than with the individual. To this he answered that dealing with boys in the mass was unskilled labour and that every schoolmaster who had made a name for himself had done so by reason oi his power of dealing with individuals. So ended a very interesting lecture and no on can doubt that Mr. Carter spoke words of wisdom. We have insisted again and again that education to be of any use at all must be a process of development and to develop an ill.nourished brain from the psychical side is impossible. True, there have been geniuses like Chatterton and Schubert who did their best work when they were in bitter poverty but that is a different matter to the case of a starving child. Mr. Carter’s remarks about foods are worthy of all praise. Jam is always popular and it should be nutritious. But the great majority of bought jams-in fact, we think that we may say all those consumed by the poor-are made with commercial glucose-i.e., invert sugar-a substance which has not a tithe of the nutritive power of even beet sugar, to say nothing of cane sugar. As to sweets it is well known that there is a large trade in condemned condensed milk for the purposes of confectionery. Mr. Carter’s thesis supplies one more argument for the necessity for a revision of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. All jams should be labeled with a definite statement as to whether they are or are not made with cane sugar. As to the question of individual attention, we fear that in these days of enormous classes it is almost impossible. But if school boards would cut down the number of subjects which they try to teach by at least one half the classes could be made smaller. It is for the medical profession to lay Mr. Carter’s words to heart and to insist upon education being conducted upon sound physiological principles. The ideal schoolmaster should form himself on the model of Thring, of whom it was said, "So he fed them with a faithful and true heart and ruled them prudently with all his power." THE VICTORIA HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN. WE understand that a bazaar in aid of the Victoria Hospital for Children, Titestreet, Chelsea, will be held at the Royal Albert Hall on June 21st to 23rd, under the immediate patronage of Her Majesty the Qaeen who has consented to be present on the opening day. New wards have been built at the hospital and it is expected that they will be open for the reception of patients before long. The