The Portland daily press., 1888-05-01
THE MAKING or THE PERFECT MAN.
What Colby and BowdoIn are Doing
for Physical Culture.
Compulsory Exercise under skilled
instructors Insisted Upon.
How Small Lungs and Weak Muscles
Grow Bigger In College.


which is tenanted by two young men, who
are doing In Maine very interesting work
In very interesting way. Their room is
not furnished as are the rooms Of the rank
and file Of college students. Ropes and
weights and pulleys and bars are quite as
common as books; and in place Of the regu-
latiOn college fish horn. you will find blow
ing machine that registers the lung capacity
of the blower in figures and letters instead Of
by the brazen groaflings so terrible TO hear In
Brunswick or Watervllle by night.
The young men, both natives Of Maine and
college graduates, are now studying the hui
man frame and its nature and capacities in
the Maine Medical school. They have al
ready taken courses on study In Prof. Sar-
gents school for physical culture. They
are f. n. Whittier Of Pennington, and Q. L.
Adams OF Bangor. MIR. Adams Is the in
structor in physical exercise In Colby Uni
yersity; Mr.. Whittier Is the instructor in
BOwdOin. They are the pioneers in the
work Of developing scientifically the bodies
Of Maine college boys, as the trss Presidents
of BOwdoin and Colby were the pioneers In
the work of higher development Of the minds
Of the boys. Bowdoin and Colby have very
recently possessed themselves OF the COM
plete gymnastic apparatus necessary for de-
veloping, not athletes and prOdigies OF mus
cular strength. but men whose bodies shall
parts, whose lungs shall be as strong as their
legs, whose loins shall be able TO bear grace
fully the shoulders and head above, who
shall be in short like the deac0n's
WONDERFUL ONE HORSE SHAY,
with each part as strong as the other; and
some Of whom. perhaps, in the work which
is cut for the college men Of the future, may
be able, like the old chaise, to fill out a CEN
tury Of life.
The desirability Of cultlyatlng the body
with the mind has been recognized almost as
long as there have been on earth men intelli
gent enough to realize that the mind and the
body are alike susceptible TO cultivation. The
Greeks recognized 1t in their magnificent
way, and the Romans perpetuated the rec
ognitiOn In an immortal motto that has be
come almost as much household possession
as the sayings about the weather. But
tutions OF the country are apparently just
recognizing the principle so well understood.
For scores Of years at Bowdoin and Colby
the faculties have held that the intellect and
the moral nature OF the college boy need con-
slant watching, careful handling and rigid
discipline; and they have taken care that
their ideas were carried into effect. But In
the care and development of his body, (which
during college days often develops even
faster than the intellect or the conscience,
tion and scarcely any disciplinary regula-
ti0ns, has been thought sufficient. There
was an excuse for this neglect Of the body,
for the problem Of its development had not
occupied the minds Of educators as II has
within few years; and the facilities for
physical culture alongside Of mental culture
were not possessed by the colleges.
But Harvard, with the advantage Of the
labOrs Of Professor Sargent, has led the way,
and the colleges Of the country are following
with an eagerness which shows that the way
has long been sought. In this state Bow.
who now enters either Of these institutions
is examined, not only mentally but physi-
cally. His
BODILY DEFICIENCIES
are noted with even greater care than the
deficiencies In his mental training; and he Is
set to work to repair both under competent
instructors. The method Of this physical
culture Is that worked out by Professor
Sargent. Il Is applied at Colby and Bow
doin precisely as 1t Is applied at Harvard.
When the student enters either at BOwdOin
or Colby he Is very soon sent 10 the instruc-
tor in physical exercise. There he Is exam
ined most thoroughly. His full name Is reg
istered, the class TO which he belongs and
the department OF the college In which he
has entered. He is asked his own occupa-
ti0n, and his place Of birth, and the occupa-
tion of his father. Not only this; he Is re-
quired to tell the nationality Of his father
two grandmothers. The diseases that his
father and mother died Of. II both or either
of them are dead, are noted, and also the
hereditary diseases OF the family. The gen.
eral health Of the student and his resen-
blance to either father or mother are the
next subjects Of inquiry. These given, he
receives a list of twenty-nine Of the common
afflictions Of mankind, such as boils, quinsy,
pleuriSy, neuralgia, liver complaint,
shOrtness Of breath. colds in head or throat,
palpitation OF heart, splitting OF blood, bleed
ing at nose, habitual headache, ETC., and is
requested to mark such as he has had. His
answers are carefully recorded. He Is also
asked il he has ever met with an accident.
This done, the instructor has complete
knowledge Of the health, heredlty, and pre-
vious environment OF the student. These
facts will be Of great value In determining
the best methods Of developing the body
without risks Of injury. 1t will also be use
full in determining what the student should
do to ward off trouble impending from any
hereditary or acquired diseases.
This is not all. The college proposes not
only to take care Of the health OF the young
man. 1t proposes also to make him as
nearly
PERFECT PHYSICALLY
as possible. SO it is necessary to know
wherein he Is physically defective. To do
this variety of measurements are made.
Age and weight are first noted Then the
instructor measures the height Of the student
standing and sitting, the height Of his knee,
pubes, navel and sternum; the girth OF his
head, neck, chest natural and inflated, ninth
rib with chest natural and full, waist, hips,
thighs, knees, calves, ankles, insteps, upper
arms, elbows, fore arms, wrists; the depth
of chest, abdomen; the breadth OF head,
neck, shoulders, waist, hips, nipples, shoul-
der-elbOws, elbow-tips; the length Of the
feet; and the stretch Of the arms. These
measurements are made with the ordinary
tape measure. To measure the capacity and
the strength of the lungs an instrument IS
used which measures the force or amount OF
the students breath, expelled forcibly or
slowly. The strength OF back, legs and
chest, upper arms, and forearms are ascer-
tained by requiring the student to lift him
self a number of times In various
positions or to exert himself with various
apparatus fitted to measure his strength.
The strength OF the fore arm, for Instance, Is
found by a self registering spring which the
student grips. These measurements hiaae, MAJ
vision, his hearing, pilosity. color OF halr
and ewes and temperament The instructor
then knows his man. He knows wherein he
Is strong and wherein he is weak, and whac
must be done to make strong that whlch Is
weak and symmetrical that which Is out OF
proportion. All this Information Is aeeu-
rately written down In
BIG COLLEGE BOOK.
To do this, 1t Is quite necessary that the
student and instructor shall have before him
a model which shall serve as an ideal, or as
a mark to be reached. Professor Sargent's
labors have afforded such a model. He
measured a thousand young men ranging
from sixteen 10 thirty years Of age, in the
manner above indicated, and tabulated the
figures according TO age. From this he
dedueed the size, strength, symmetry and
of the typical young man, a
Young man who would have neither excess
siye weakness nor excessive strength In any
of his parts, but whose bones, muscles and
vital organs would be symmetrical In size
and development and harmonious In action;
a young man who would be likely to with
stand the inroads Of toll and disease, be-
cause no point more vulnerable than another
invites the attack Of the pale horSem9n.
The measurements made, the student re-
ceiyes from the instructor chart, called
IAN AnthrOpOmetrie Chart, showing the re-
latioR of the individual In size, Strength
symmetry aud development 10 the normal
Standard" /. G., to the typical man. by an
ingenious device the points OF measurement
on this chart are so arranged that sIalsnt
vertical line stands Tor the yplcal man.
Another line Is started from the top OF the
chart to represent the particular Individual.
Wherever In his measurements he falls
short of the normal standard his line moves
to the left Of the straight normal line, where
eyer he surpasses IL his line moves TO the
right. IL Is plain that the line thus drawn
TN ~ on upavau raQOQd limo for frnu,