The Grange advance., 1874-06-10
Sex In Education. Or, = Fair Chance
for Girls.
Osgood & Company. - Sod By d. D.
Merrill, St. Paul, Minn.

This valuable little book has created
among teachers and readers in the East
an unusual degree Of interest. The sto.
ry Of its origin is told in the Preface.
DR.. Clark accepted an invitation to make
an address in Boston before the New
England's women club. He discoursed
upon the relation Of sex in education,
The lecture at once became the subject
of an unusual amount of discussion in
magazines and papers. This led the au-
thor to put his arguments together in a
small volume to prevent misrepresenta-
tion or misinterpretation. The book
awakened so much interest that the en-
tire edition was sold in a week.
The subject matter of the work is a
protest against the present system Of ed
ucating girls, and the protest is well
sustained by arguments both physiolog-
lcal and chemical The author takes
ground that girls are so conditioned that
girls, without risking their future health
and happiness, cannot endure continuous
school labor as boys can. That the best
educational training for a boy is not the
best educational training for a girl, nor
that of boy for girl.
We quote a short passage to give a
cue to his argument:
1.-The delicate bloom, early but rapidly
fading beauty and singular pallor Of Amer
lean girls and women have almost passed
into proverb. The first observation of
. European that lands upon our shore is,
that cur women are feeble race, not of
women only, but Of men as we'll. "Inev
er saw before so many pretty girls togeth-
er," said Lady Amberley to the writer, af-
ter visit to the public schools of Boston,
and then added, they all look SICK"
Circumstances have repeatedly carried me
to Europe, where l am always surprised
by the red blood that fills and colors the
faces Of ladies and peasant girls, reminding
one Of Murillo and Rubens; and am al
ways equally surprised on my return by
crowds of pale, bloodless female faces that
suggest consumption, scrofula, pneumonia,
and neuralgia. To large extent our pres
ent system Of educating girls is the cause
of this pallor and weakness. How. our
schools, through their methods of educa-
tion, contribute to the unfortunate result {;
and how our colleges that have undertaken
to educate girls like boys, will be pointed
out in another place."
Of course argument like this, coming
from such an eminent source brought
all the learned educators, male and fe-
male, to their feet, and they fired off
their pop-guns at the doctor pretty live
ly. These answers have also been put
in book form and sold by D. D. Merrill.
Such as become interested in the sub.
ject will probably read both sides, and
will perhaps reach the conclusion that
with all this clatter they have only fur
ther illustrated the truth of DR.. Clark's
argument.
Sec az Education is one of the most
valuable contributions science has con.
tributed for the amelioration of suffer.
ing humanity. 1t is new starting
point, out Of which will spring Il new
theory for the education and manage.
ment Of the growth and development Of
young women that eventually will check
the maternal physical degeneracy.
To every mother, who wishes the aid
of the highest order of intelligence in
bringing up her family of daughters
who can appreciate arguments addressed
to her sense Of understanding and proprie
ty,we recommend the book, and at the same
time notify the extremely fastidious that
thebook dealsin plain language. The med
ical man who is graphing with an evi
which is destroying the healthy devel
ment of the race is more anxious about
facts than in delicacy Of expression.-
He uses the language which sense fur
nishes.