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Teaching of hygiene and temperance in elementary schools
January, 1906]
Hygiene and Temperance in Schools
241
SIR THOMASFRASERWaS quite at a loss to know why security of tenure should not be extended to those who held the minor appointments, which were more perilous than the larger ones. He moved as an amendment that. the words " with the exception of Clause 2 which as at present drafted is too wide in its application " be left out. PROFESSOa SaUmDBY seconded, as it was the men holding small appointments who had most pressure put upon them by small and ignorant bodies. Those holding office under county councils or borough councils were not subject to the same amount of pressure. =DR. LINDSAY STEVEN said they had had the careful and deliberate opinion of Mr. Power, who was quite clear that, in view of the proposals which the Government had before them, it was desirable to make a change of this kind ; but it was equally clear that that change should be limited to men who devoted their whole time to public health work. The experience of the Local Government Board was that when a young man was appointed to a minor appointment in early years his work was done well ; that was because it was the chief work he had to do. But as years went p n , and his practice increased, the time that he had to devote" to public health work was correspondingly diminished; and, in view of the fact that the Local Government Board were desirous of combining a number of these smaller areas, there should be a limit of time ; if that were imposed, the Local Government Board would sanction and support the Bill. Without that he was certain the Bill would have no chance of passing. DR. BttUCE, in reply, said the difficulty of the amendment lay in the fact that it set the Local GoVernment BoaM at the head of a vast number of small appointments, and it would refuse to undertake such a heavy responsibility. He sympathized with the Local Government Board, and thought, if they hoped to do any good, they had better unload the ship. Sn~ THO~tAS FRASER was satisfied with Dr. Bruce's explanation, and, with the consent of his seconder and of the Council, withdrew the amendment. The motion was then put and agreed to.
TEACHING OF HYGIENE AND TEMPERANCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. I s December, 1904, the Kent Education Committee addressed a letter to the Board of Education on the teaching of Hygiene and Temperance in Public Elementary Schools, enclosing a draft syllabus drawn up by a Medical Committee, formed under the presidency of Sir William Broadbent for the promotion of these subjects, and adapted for children at each successive age from infancy to fourteen yeal~. The reply of the Board was received in February of last year. In it the Board expressed their opinion that such instruction might with advantage be given by properly equipped teachers in Training Colleges, but that some parts of the Syllabus demanded a m o r e minute acquaintance with advanced physiology than was necessary for the ordinary teachers in Elementary Schools, and that such subjects being unnecessary in the case of the teachers, their omission from the school curriculum would 17
242
Horses and Diphtheria Antitoxin
[~b~o~:o~:t:,
be imperative. Simple rules as to diet, clothing, cleanliness and fresh air, the evils of alcohol and of the use of tobacco by the young, afforded scope for some elementary scientific instruction, but must, for the most part, be accepted on the authority of the teacher. " Reasoned instruction " on the laws of health, however simple, was, they maintained, unsuited to infant schools, where its place should be taken by the inculcation of habits of cleanliness End order, in which the co-operation of the parents should be secured. The first part of the syllabus proposed for infants' classes would, however, furnish an admirable list of points to be impressed on the teachers by the circulation of leaflets insisting on the importance of proper food, clothing, cleanliness, sleep, etc., while those subjects contained in the first three sections of the syllabus might be taught as they often were, by object lessons in school. They proposed a revised and more elementary syllabus, some of the subjects in which would be given as preparatory lessons to courses of Domestic Economy, Laundry Work and Cookery, and others as lessons in Common Things. In a later communication Mr. Cyril Jackson, Chief Inspector, expressed the sympathy of the Board, but insisted on the necessity of simplicity in the instruction, and of the adaptation of the course to ~he character and circumstances of each school.
THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF HORSES IN THE PRODUCTION OF DIPHTHERIA ANTITOXIN. Ho~sEs do not all react alike in response to inoculations with diphtheriatoxin for the purpose of producing antitoxin, and no method is yet~known by which high-test horses can be selected without being submitted to the tedious process of immunization. Every horse has a maximum antitoxic limit, which cannot be increased no matter how much toxin is employed. Dr. William R. Hubbert states (Jour. oi Exp. Med., vol. vii., No. 2, p. !76) that in order to obtain the best results in the production of diphtheria-antitoxin, young animals are usually to be preferred. More than one half the number of such horses can be made to yield 300-unit serum, while one-third will yield 500-unit serum. High-test horses require a shorter time for immunization and will yield a potent, serum for a longer period than will low-test horses. The maximum antitoxin value is attained within from two to ten months from the beginning of treatment, the average being about four months. Serum of marketable value may be obtained,for a few months longer, about five months on the average, when the decline begins, usually never to rise again. If the serum of a new horse does not test 300 units by the end of the fourth month after treatment has begun, it may be regarded as nearly certain that the animal is not suitable for the purpose in view. A horse is usually at his best during the fourth month after immunization, Horses attaining a high antitoxic strength exhibit a longer period of usefulness than do lower-testing horses, but usually at the expense of a much lower unit value. A horse that has attained a maximum antitoxic height begins to sufger a decline in antitoxin, which is usually as rapid as was the ascent, and it is unaffected by subsequent injections of diphtheria-toxin.
Hygiene and Temperance in Schools
241
SIR THOMASFRASERWaS quite at a loss to know why security of tenure should not be extended to those who held the minor appointments, which were more perilous than the larger ones. He moved as an amendment that. the words " with the exception of Clause 2 which as at present drafted is too wide in its application " be left out. PROFESSOa SaUmDBY seconded, as it was the men holding small appointments who had most pressure put upon them by small and ignorant bodies. Those holding office under county councils or borough councils were not subject to the same amount of pressure. =DR. LINDSAY STEVEN said they had had the careful and deliberate opinion of Mr. Power, who was quite clear that, in view of the proposals which the Government had before them, it was desirable to make a change of this kind ; but it was equally clear that that change should be limited to men who devoted their whole time to public health work. The experience of the Local Government Board was that when a young man was appointed to a minor appointment in early years his work was done well ; that was because it was the chief work he had to do. But as years went p n , and his practice increased, the time that he had to devote" to public health work was correspondingly diminished; and, in view of the fact that the Local Government Board were desirous of combining a number of these smaller areas, there should be a limit of time ; if that were imposed, the Local Government Board would sanction and support the Bill. Without that he was certain the Bill would have no chance of passing. DR. BttUCE, in reply, said the difficulty of the amendment lay in the fact that it set the Local GoVernment BoaM at the head of a vast number of small appointments, and it would refuse to undertake such a heavy responsibility. He sympathized with the Local Government Board, and thought, if they hoped to do any good, they had better unload the ship. Sn~ THO~tAS FRASER was satisfied with Dr. Bruce's explanation, and, with the consent of his seconder and of the Council, withdrew the amendment. The motion was then put and agreed to.
TEACHING OF HYGIENE AND TEMPERANCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. I s December, 1904, the Kent Education Committee addressed a letter to the Board of Education on the teaching of Hygiene and Temperance in Public Elementary Schools, enclosing a draft syllabus drawn up by a Medical Committee, formed under the presidency of Sir William Broadbent for the promotion of these subjects, and adapted for children at each successive age from infancy to fourteen yeal~. The reply of the Board was received in February of last year. In it the Board expressed their opinion that such instruction might with advantage be given by properly equipped teachers in Training Colleges, but that some parts of the Syllabus demanded a m o r e minute acquaintance with advanced physiology than was necessary for the ordinary teachers in Elementary Schools, and that such subjects being unnecessary in the case of the teachers, their omission from the school curriculum would 17
242
Horses and Diphtheria Antitoxin
[~b~o~:o~:t:,
be imperative. Simple rules as to diet, clothing, cleanliness and fresh air, the evils of alcohol and of the use of tobacco by the young, afforded scope for some elementary scientific instruction, but must, for the most part, be accepted on the authority of the teacher. " Reasoned instruction " on the laws of health, however simple, was, they maintained, unsuited to infant schools, where its place should be taken by the inculcation of habits of cleanliness End order, in which the co-operation of the parents should be secured. The first part of the syllabus proposed for infants' classes would, however, furnish an admirable list of points to be impressed on the teachers by the circulation of leaflets insisting on the importance of proper food, clothing, cleanliness, sleep, etc., while those subjects contained in the first three sections of the syllabus might be taught as they often were, by object lessons in school. They proposed a revised and more elementary syllabus, some of the subjects in which would be given as preparatory lessons to courses of Domestic Economy, Laundry Work and Cookery, and others as lessons in Common Things. In a later communication Mr. Cyril Jackson, Chief Inspector, expressed the sympathy of the Board, but insisted on the necessity of simplicity in the instruction, and of the adaptation of the course to ~he character and circumstances of each school.
THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF HORSES IN THE PRODUCTION OF DIPHTHERIA ANTITOXIN. Ho~sEs do not all react alike in response to inoculations with diphtheriatoxin for the purpose of producing antitoxin, and no method is yet~known by which high-test horses can be selected without being submitted to the tedious process of immunization. Every horse has a maximum antitoxic limit, which cannot be increased no matter how much toxin is employed. Dr. William R. Hubbert states (Jour. oi Exp. Med., vol. vii., No. 2, p. !76) that in order to obtain the best results in the production of diphtheria-antitoxin, young animals are usually to be preferred. More than one half the number of such horses can be made to yield 300-unit serum, while one-third will yield 500-unit serum. High-test horses require a shorter time for immunization and will yield a potent, serum for a longer period than will low-test horses. The maximum antitoxin value is attained within from two to ten months from the beginning of treatment, the average being about four months. Serum of marketable value may be obtained,for a few months longer, about five months on the average, when the decline begins, usually never to rise again. If the serum of a new horse does not test 300 units by the end of the fourth month after treatment has begun, it may be regarded as nearly certain that the animal is not suitable for the purpose in view. A horse is usually at his best during the fourth month after immunization, Horses attaining a high antitoxic strength exhibit a longer period of usefulness than do lower-testing horses, but usually at the expense of a much lower unit value. A horse that has attained a maximum antitoxic height begins to sufger a decline in antitoxin, which is usually as rapid as was the ascent, and it is unaffected by subsequent injections of diphtheria-toxin.