The Cecil Whig., 1881-06-18

sound, strong, and well built, knowing
well the measure of his or her strength
and what abuses it, and who having
earned these things, shows it in the train
ing of each and all of his or her pupils >
liere and there some light calisthenics
are insisted on. or some special game,
! developing but 4 portion of the frame, is
made popular. But if among each
teacher s qualifications a thorough knowl-
edge was required of the sort and amount
of exercise which would bring each pupil
up to good standard of strength and
vigo", and keep him up to it, which
would show him what would overdo or
tear down, and familiarizc him with what
every intelligent person ought to know
of the care and development Of his own
body, and were the teacher further re-
quired, as in other branches, even if
those other branches had to suffer, to
show certain progress in this direction at
the periodical examinations. would it be
long before the effect would be felt, and
most benefcially, throughout the land ?
But how can one tell what sort and
amount of work will bring up any given
muscle to the size and shape it should
have? There is no real difficulty in this.
Emerson rule that in all human ac-
tion those faculties will he strong which
are used, could wish no better example.
If one !ight arm measures either in the
| upper ol fore arm. an inch more in cir
cumicrence than his left. let him now in
ease 1T iii a Sling. As would if its bones
were broken. and let it lie idle for a
month. Now measure TIE two again,
and. especially if the mans occupation
has been such as to give the hand in SER
| vice at all heavy work, the inch will be
almost the other way, while the active
muscles will be and look full and firm,
| the passive, wiZered, shrunkcn, and
weak. What has enlarged the one ?
| Vigorous use. What has shrivellcd the
other: Disnse. Very well, then. to
bring up any particular muscle, use it
vigorously Use all the muscles vigor-
ousiy so often as experience proves most
beneficial, with abundant nourishing food
and quiet rest. and the increased bulk
and power and the improved shape will
surely come. Elegance of form in the
human figure says Emerson marks
some excellence of structure" and again.
ANY real increase of fitness to its end
i'll any fabric or organism is an increase
of beauty
The muscles of the calf of the leg, for
example, raise the heel. He who has
them small and poor, inclnes to walk
| flat footed, does not raise his heel high
enough as he steps, is not springy in his
ity, for instance, to leap over even the
seat of an ordinary chair, much more it's
back. Develop these muscles by raising
the heels high many times daily, and
with gradually increasing vigor and force
and soon they grow stronger and larger
as well. The exercises which will call
of course but few Of them can be sue
gested in an article like this. For de-
velopment of them which shall be easy,
simple, and sure, and which shall incur
no risk to any one trying it, perhaps no
exercise is more effective than simply
standing with the heels, say, six inches
apart, and then gradually raising ones
self till both heels are as high off the
floor as possible, and the whole weight
is on the forward part of the feet. After
remaining up moment. drow slowly
down, then rise again, then down.
twenty-five repetitions at time will
probably be enough daily, say, for the
first week. In the second let twenty-five
be tried each morning, and again each
afternoon. Keep it up faithfully every
day. The third week make the number
at each trial fifty. Now it will be found
that considerable strength has already
come, and that the hundred thus accom-
plished i'll day come no harder than the
first twenty-five did. Had this hundred
in all been taken ut once at the first. on
rising next morning there would have
been very conclusive evidence of what
muscles had been brought into play, by
a lively ache running pretty well through
each calf, all of which one avoids by this
safer and more gradual way. If further
proof is needed, just grasp the muscles
of the cali as the exercise is proceeding,
and find what an unmistakable swelling
and hardening is going on. Now the
fourth week make the number one hun
dred in the morning, and as many again
in the afternoon. Do not miss any day
or half day, but if you do, no matter:
keep right on and get all the rest. When
the first month is over, pass the tape
measure accurately, and note the result.
If Il similar measure were taken at the
start. now it will be found that there has
been nearly or quite quarter of an inch
gain, while one can hardly fail to notice
greater springiness and lightness of foot
than formerly. The second month let
the number be increased until the exer-
else is kept up continuously each morn
ing and afternoon for five or seven min
uteS. This is not long, but it may sud
denly feel uncommonly so. Now to get
further good out of this work. try some
thing with which all boys are familiar
hopping on one foot. Before. both feet
sustained the weight, now one has to
carry it all. Hop straight ahead, say,
hundred good springs. Then return on
the other foot Repeat this daily for the
first week, or nightly if day work is too
conspicuous. The next week double the
number, treble it the third, and quadru-
pie it the fourth. The time taken will
be very short, but to most persons the
work will prove rather hard. But keep
at it. and in another month quarter of
a mile can he done on one foot. There
need be no more uneasiness about weak
calves now. They have grown noticcably
already. Without increasing the amount,
continue daily the five minutes of heel
raising each morning and afternoon. and
tue Thousand continuous hops Oh each
foot once day, and at the end of the
year try the tape again. If there is
whole inch Of gain, it need cause no sur
prise, and if there is Il marked improve