The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-02-23
sCHOOL.RoOM DISEASES.
MyOpy or ShOrt.SightedneSS--Dia
Culties Orthe IIead.-Nose Dleeds
Ting. spinal D iseaSesssPnlDS n
nOnRry and scrofalouS

DOnATNA anu DckuluIO4b
Complaints. I'll
Tho celebrated German Psychologist,
DIR. Virchow, of Berlin, lately addressed
10 the Minister OF Public Education Of
Prussia, u report upon the diseases Incl.
dent to and connected with schoOl.roonls,
which is full of valuable information upon
this bjcct. "a leading disease, which, to
some extent, Is believed TO originate in the
sclioOI.room, Is inyopy or siort.sighted.
ness. Ofthe 10000 scholars In tie schools
near and in tho neighDorhOO,l of Brcslau,
the capital ofsllesia, II per cent arc near.
sighted. Tho smallest percentage Of dis.
eased eyes was found In the village
schools, and the largest in the highest
Glasses Of the colleges in the city. In the
Gymnasium" 90 per cent Of all the stu
dents were near-sightcd, while among
every hundred students Of tho university
the cye,sight of sixy-eight was impaired.
The causes Of this disastrous condition
were found, not only in the insufficient
light of the schOOl.room, but principally
in the permanent ncarncss Of the reading
matter to the eye, connected with the
bending forward Of tho heads. AlLcrna'
tons of light and shade arc also injurious
TO tic vision. Scholars shut up In
semi.darkncss find their eyes seriously
affected for some minutes after COM
ing into n strong light. This weak
ems the optic nerve, and reduces the
length of vision. The light should
be kept rs near medium in quaint.
" rs possible. Dizziness in tho head,
headache, and congestion of the blood to
the brain, arc set down US peculiar selo-
lastic diseases. In Newcastle, in Switzer.
land, 2OG pupils out Of 781, or upward Of
40 pcr cent, suffered from headache, the
girls being about twice as much affected
from It us the boys. In Darmstadt, 30V4
boys and girls belonging to public and
private schools were examined by COM
i,etcnt physician; 974 Of the number suffer-
cd from headache. In tho upper class Of
the college of that city, upward of 80 per
cent suffered from the same complaint.
Tue per Centage increased with the IN
crease Of studies and intellectual GXcrtion.
The Doctor attributes this class Of all
ments to bad ventilation, and heating
school rooms with iron stoves, which i'm
parts Il dryncsS TO tho air, and takes from
It It's lilG-giving principle. Bleeding from.
thcnOsc Is also rapidly on the increase In
German schools. This Is accounted for
from the causes Just given. The higher
classes are more disposed to this manitcs.
tatiOn than the lower. Increased mental
labor would account for the difference IN
the numbers. Curvature Of the dorsai
column is strikingly noticeable among the
pupils Of the schools, who have been In at
tendance for some years. 1t invariably
commences between the agc OF and "a,
and ~ the curvature Of the spine in Gl0
cases out Of 742 which were exam
ined, correspondent 10 the bending
of the spine as It Is caused in writ
Inc, figuring, drawing, and by almost eve
nv kind of nccilc.wOrk, 1t evidently can;
not be attributed to any other cause OK:
cent the llabitual DETECTION Of that part OF
the body. How trihing matter will
change the proper direction Of tho human
frame ut IN carly age mny be gathered
from the remark OF u skilIihl orthopedtst,
who found one shoulder Of almost every
girl OF u class higher than the other, In
Consequence of sitting one.sidcd upon
their garments, which by constantly en-
tcring into their seats on tho same side
were unequally SPREAD. Pulmonary dis
eases arc also ranked among those which
NAV he induced by the imperfect COnstruc-
ton Of scliOol.houscs. Poor ventilation,
dust in scliOoI.rOoms, and especially the
defective movements Of the lungs ind OF
the diphragm, must occasion many pull
monary diseases. scrofulOus taints arc
also developed and aggravated by causes
such MS those mentioned, while large
class Of abdominal complaints find tliGir
origin IN defective seats, improper continc-
niCnt, md false habits in the schools,
whereby the circulation Of tho blood In
the abdominal regions may become inter
ruptCl. These arc the ihcts underlying
tho report. They are intensely interest
Ing, md should lie studied attcHtiyGly and
thoroughly by the friends OF education in
this country. In tho large cities our
school houses have been vastly improved
within the lust few years. There is more
room, ventilation Is tfcer, light better, and
the heat distributed more equally. But
the end Of needed improvements has not
been reached. ldns9si Ra.