The times., 1897-04-04
Auuntic Gymnasium for Girls.

gain a supply Of water that should be
! better to swim in than ans that came
! from the pipes through which the water
Brooklyn drinks and bathes in passes. II
is So pure that the physicians who are
-altachet 60 Pratt inyJuute dGclarc that
the properties ii contains, or IA ther the
lack Of properties, cause the yery fact Of
| immersion in it to he beneficial.
The poru f. not open to Iue punnC in the
| sense OF the word that any one and every
one VINO happens TO belong TO the sex
that is sometimes called the weaker can
gain admission. TO enjoy the swimming
privilege woman must either be regu'
larIy enrolled as a pupil a the institute,
or secure permission from a member Of the
faculty having the pcol in charge The
swimming classes vary greatly N size,
owing to the transientS that enjoy OK eFtise
in the limpid water All who do take "A
swim. however. have to undergo certain
course of instruction even if it only be for
one day.
The greater percentage Of the girls and
women who take advantage Of the Pratt
Institute pool were when they first com
menced their visits. totally unable to swim.
This is why a regular course Of instruction
is pursued, and if pupil cares to she may
become an expert swimmer in n very
short time. Continued attendance at
school nerfccts a pupil in the art so thor
oughIy that she could encounter quite Il
heavy surf without danger Of being car.
ried away hy it, To bring this state Of
affairs a',uut is one Of the aims which was
in mind when the pool was established
Every Brooklyn girl goes down to Coney
Island. which is located on tire northwest
erD extremity OF Long Island, aud accessi-
bic for Brooklyn by both the trolley and ell
evated roads. The majority of these take
a dip in the surf and the most Of those who
dip cannot swim. This fact was so appar-
ent two seasons ago and there were so
many narrow escapes from death. that the
idea was broached which reaches is per-
fection in the Pratt Institute school.
1t is held that the school will lessen the
danger to which the female bdthers from
Brooklyn have been subjected each year
fully 75 per cent. The only requisite which
the institute really requires OF its pupils is
responsibility and industry. The swim
ming school is not a playground, any more
than the other courses Of the institute are
for purposes of pleasure. Every pupil when
she enters is told exactly what she viii
have to do. First she must secure some
sort OF a bathing nit, one which will permit
OF the utmost freedom of movement and
can be utilized as a gymnasium suit should
occasion demand. In order that there may
be no loss of clothing or displacement Of
garments by careless persons, each pupil
is given locker with a key thereto. InthiS
locker, the pupil, when she dOns her bath
ing suit, must place all her clothing, neatly
folded Nothing can be left outside, not
even the pupils hat. Then the locker is
pushed into place, the key turned, the
string to which the key is attached placed
by the pupil around her own neck, and
everything is ready for dip in tie pGol.
The pupils battle in relays, Just after the
fashion that classes are heard, and the
instructor puts them through course of
exercises in the water which are Sus-
piciously like the movements that are
known on land as calisthenicS. They are
really the regular gymnastic exercises,
and their aim $ to secure the symmetrical
development Of the body, to increase the
by making the muscles more
by giving the circulation of the
blood an impetus, and giving aid to the
respiratory powers. All these are sup
posed to develop agility and grace. The
exercises are designed to remove much OF
,he' embarrassment. nervousness and falter-
ing characteristics of those who have not u
well-developcd control over the body.
Like the majority of swimming POOLS,
the Pratt Institute affair varies in depth
from two to twelve feet. Thus the novice
can paddle about if she wishes in shallow
water, while the more confident and more
expert pupil may swim az fun and free as
she desires in the water that is several
feet over her head In pool of the size
of this one it might be supposed that it
would be difficult to permit many per-
SONS to disport themselves, but thus far