The National tribune., 1892-04-14
HEALTH HINTS
For Old and Young.
BY FELIX L. OSWALD. NJ. D.
CHAPTER CXXXVII.
CAUSES OF DEFORMITY.

CAUSES OF DEFoRMITY.
| Among the numerous semi military officials
Of ancient Greece there was functionary called
| a systarchus" and whose duties might be de-
| scribed as those of municipal inspector Of re-
cruits. The obligation Of military service being
! enforced irrespective of rank or wealth. every
boy of six sent to public gymnasium in
| Athens and Thebes, while in Sparta he was per-
manently removed from the care of his parents
and made to board and lodge at municipal
training school. Twelve years after he had to
report to the local systarchus.
Able. bodied recruits were enrolled at the
next garrison weakly and ill-trained ones
were sent back to train another year. Those
afflicted with any bodily deformity were rele-
gated to the reserve or left to choose some
handicraft not incompatible with their de-
fects.
The examinations, both as to athletic prof.
cheney and symmetrical development, were
alike less strict in time Of war, and yet it was
the opinion of Prof. jain, the founder of mod
ern German gymnastics, that very few young
men of the present age could have passed the
muster Of the lastna test, not to speak Of
the first After 1900 years of life blighting
Convent tortures and factory work we cannot
expect the average recruit of the present gen.
GRAFTON to jump his own hight and clear 80
feet at a horizontal Jump nor to trot with a
in what u modern Sergeant would call heavy
marching order" and which in those days
meant some so pounds of iron in arms or ar
NOR.
Not one modern young man Of thousand
could have acted up to the requirements of
that program, but tile systarchus would proba-
bly, have saved them the trouble of the attempt
and relegated them on general physiological
principles. One would have proved too narrow
chested, another too thn-legged or thin-armed,
another too short, another too shOrt-winded,
others too round shouldered, small-handed,
blear-eyed, or crooked-toed.
The standards of our latter day recruiting
Offices are by no means exacting. In France
the inmum of hight has been lowered thrice
since 1900; in Austria, Prussia and Italy
twice since 1920. Defective teeth and moder-
ately misshapen toes are no longer made an OBJ
lection; the color and quantum of hair are Sec
ondary considerations, except, perhaps, IN Rus
sa where the Cars bodyguards are said to COM
prise several regiments Of red bearded men,
while in another every mothers son is black
bearded and black-eyed.
Test feats of bodily strength are no longer
required, even in muscle worshiping Great
Britain, and yet veteran English recruiting
officer once told me that only one out of four
applicants can pass muster, and that not one
out of 10 wou!d-be soldiers dares to apply at
all. "Why don't you go and enlist, you miser-
able crook !" London merchant reprooVes
Celtic tramp trying to obtain Doodle under false
pretenses. "Sure, an if ye could see me legs,
ye would know that ye'ye answered yer own
question" says poor Paddy.
good many children are nowadays born
weak and deformed, and prominent hygienic
reiormer thus sums up the influence of home
education: The bad dressing which makes the
bad positions easy begins in infancy, with un-
comfortable and unnecessary swathing- bands.
Again, many mothers are careless whether the
clothing of their growing children SITS COM
fortably or not. They are careful to see that
their clothes have the right amount of en-
broidery, and the rutfles and founces which
fashion prescrbes and yet little chiid's dress
may be so uncom Portable in the armholes that
the wearer cannot exercise freely without fric-
ton of her tender skin, and to case the chatting
she keeps hitching up one shoulder until il be-
comes permanently higher than the other
Dressmakers cut by rule, and if the child's
form does not fit the model, so much the worse
for the child. Sissy may be frequently chided
for her ungraceful and disagreeable habit, but
il does not occur to the mother to seek for the
cause, much less does she realize that her
children may get deformed by her neglect.
The underclOthing, too, is sometimes lll-ftting
and uncomfortable, and the effects of this may
be even worse.
In large cities the eldest daughter is often
called upon to care great deal for each success
sive baby, often load too heavy for her
strength, and so her spine becomes somewhat
curved, thus raising the shoulder. Others are
deformed by continually carrying heavy
weights Of some kind with the right arm, as
pals of water, etc. If such tasks must be i'm.
posed, little forethought on the part of the
mother will prevent all damage. The same
amount of water, and more, can be carried with
greater ease if two small pals are substituted
for one large one.
Another cause of malrormation is the not I'M
common practice of compelling children to
sleep Oh high pillows better plan would be
to sleep with no pillow at all, but If one is
used, let it be very small one.
II-fitting and outgrown shoes are causes of
further mischief and sometimes defOrmity. If
a shoe will go on and hold together, the poor
child must wear it, no matter if in growing toe
nails, cOrns, and bunions are the result. Not
that mothers would willingly inlict such in
irmities upon their children. but they are
ignorant and careless ofconsequences. A child's
shoe should be changed, rule, as often as
every 81 Y months, no matter whether they are
worn completely out or not. Natural ease and
grace of movement is impossible if the feet are
hampered in tight, uncomfortable shoes, and a
mincng, crippled gait will almost surely be
acquired.
Young children should be able to run with
ease and grace, but notice one attired in q
Kate Greenaway costume, and see how she
waddles, and tries to walk around in her long
skirts! A permanently awkward gait, and
sometimes handy legs, cannot fail of being the
result 1t is nothing short of wickedness to
sacrifice native grace and activity for the sake
of senseless fashion.
Bad habits of sitting and standing are fear
fnllv common. Children nowadays read a
great deal when they had better be at work or
play, and they are allowed to sit by the hour
with cramped lungs and round shoulders.
Teachers in most schools are sadly neglectful
as to this habit, seldom insisting upon correct
sitting postures. Both In homes and schools,
tables and chairs are used for children which
are not of proper and comfortable hight. The
feet Of the little ones cannot touch the floor
when sitting, the spine is strained in conse-
ouence, and the head settles down on the
shoulders.
Mothers often say that they would rather do
their work alone than be bothered with q
child's help True, it may be easier during the
training period, but for the child's sake it
should be done patiently and cheerfully. The
wise mother will reap the benefit in after years.
The direct causes of malformations and physi-
cal debility may be summed up under tho
heads of lack of exercise, lack of fresh air, def
Gent sleep, and the more and more excessive
use of stimulants and indigestible condiments
which have begun to supersede the muscle