The South western news., 1888-08-01
Country W, Town Life.


for social pleasures, for vari'd
amuaements, FOR money-makihg, IN
towns, have drawn thither an enor-
nous proportion of the working
classes of the country, mechanics
and l4borers, as well as Others who
claim a place higher in the social
scale, It is we'll for US to consider
whether this general influx of pop
ulations into towns is a good thing
for the race and nation. Do the
advantages Of the town life com"
pensate wholly Tor its disadvanta-
ges? In this connection an address
made by DR.. J. Miner Fotherglll
before the recent meeting OF the
British association fol- the advance
aent of science, on the subject OF
country and town lie, is of much
interest The remarks which we
quote are especially commended to
the consideration of women, as in
ninety nine cases out of hundred
it is the mothers decision which
ioregoes the healthy surroundings
OF suburban cottage for the sake
Of the "snnveniencies" ofa city fiat
compared with country folks,
says DR.. FothergiIl, :" he denizens
OF large towns are small in bone
Light in muscle, short in stature
with chest measurement small IN al
directions.
The chilu in the country grow:
up healthy animal. Fresh al
blowing over soil covered with grass
and not with flags aid houses, /
hreathes. 1t can play on the swar(
around its home. Its hours 0
play are spent under the most ia
vorable circumstances. Its appe
tite is keen and it can digest 1t
food; it sleeps and grows leisureI,
into a stalwart adult. The bplanct
of nutrition is well maintained an,
there is no disproportion. 1t i
developing thews and sinews, anC
stable nervous system. Backward
Es compared with the young tow
dweller, the country child possesse
greater potentialities. Slower t.
develop, its ultimate development
is erander and more complete thar
that of the town dweller. In The
battle of life the countryman in
time overtakes the city man, and
ultimately leaves him tar behind in
the race.
Precocity in childhood is incom-
patible with capability in adult life.
Instead Of the quiet, monotonous
life OF the country, the town child
lives amid perpetual excitement.
The town child has too much of
the cake every day to have much
of it left to put by. The incidents
Of the street; the chat which con>
stitute so large a portion OF the
charm OF their lite to town chill
dren; the excitement Of places OF
amusement-all favors precocity i'll
the youngsters of the towns. The
nervous system is forced, as the
horticulturist forces his vegetables,
and with the same result-an infe-
rior product,
The precocious child may be the
delight of It's parents, and still more
of its grandparents, but the physi =
ologist looks upon it with suspicion.
The premature development of the
nervous system tells upon the
thews and sinews and upon the di-
gestion. The town dweller has, as a
rule, less perfect digestive organs
than the countryman.
Quetelet, in his well known trea-
tise, "On Man." pointed ont that
the growth of town children is
quicker than that of country chill
dren. The deman Is upon the nu,
tritive powers are larger; and, con,
sequently, we can understand how
it comes about that the educati0n9
burden is felt more by town chill
dren than their country cousins
He shows that the growth is NOR,
rapid in girls than boys, and prob.
ably the effects Of the labor of nc
curing education are felt NOR
than by the girls. How about thes
myriads of small, slight, petite VIC
men, of emotional temperament an,
feeble digestive power we encounte
on all sides, and especially on fash
ionable promenades2 queries Dl
Fothergill. They are dwarted or
ganisms-mediocrities 10 all meas
urements. They contrast with tn
stalwart "mothers of heroes" W
still see in the country; those sir