The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-28
A CHILD'S HEALTH.
The Chief Point is the Nerves-How
 to Siren rthen Them.

Florence Hull Winterburn. in her book on 'The Childrens Health" says a num- Der of interesting and useful things on the training of children's nerves. especially under the artificial condition in which they must be brought up in city.
 "The chief point in the physical train ing of children" she says. Ifs to educate their nerves. and the time to take this matter deliberately in hand is as soon as they are born. We may suppose the infant. upon entering the world. possess ed of a certain burden of energy held at the command of circumstances. The first suggestion made to his brain starts a portion of it of upon some path. This explorer beckons more to follow. Rapidly infallibly, the habit of energy flying in that direction is established. for nerve tissues have memory and tend to do over again the thing they have done before.
 50, it is of the utmost importance to make the first acts which we impose upon the infant and which 1t so automa- tically carries out a good example for it's nerves. Before babies have done any, thing they don't know anything to do. although they have more or less strong tendencies; but after we have set them in motion by our handling they know how to do some one thing. and quickly store up the knowledge in their brain as precedent. The absurdity of declaring that little babies know nothing. it makes no difference what sort of habits they are accustomed to at first, is at once ap- parent when we realize that memory Is not confined to the mental acts of per son. but relates to his physical acts also and it is no misnomer to say that his very fingers and toes. or his vocal cords have a memory of their own.
 "Conseuuently, by establishing good habits in the child's life. we are begin ming his nerve training in the right way. Everything that is natural is regular, ana acts in regular, methodical tashlon As nervousness is a revolt against law and order, against what is seemly ana appropriate to the individual. everything which is effectual in bringing nerves un- der the dominion of will power and reason is valuable in physical training.
 TWO great lessons are to be impressed upon the child's nervous system. quiet, or the power of refraining from acton, ana deliberate activity, which is carrying out rightly impulses which have been nor maIlv aroused. The first is the more dif- ficult, and belongs to more advanced stage of life. as it involves a greater degree of self-control. We must first cul- tivate the child's body to act rightly, and
 
 restraint which involves a comparison and choice between right and wrong. The physical and moral natures are so depen- dent upon each other, and the laws or each so intertwined, that 1t Is impossi- ble to speak of bodily things without in- troducing considerations which are ethi- cal. So. when I speak of training the chid's hody to act riC ltly. I mean to act in obedience to the laws of development, which it should know through having practised them long before a conscious acouaintance with them takes place.
 "All intellectual culture. all moral edu- cation. stands upon the basis of nerve training What are nerves? Threads or communication between our outward sur roundings and our brains. complicat- ed nervous system is a sign of fine or ganization. The complete perfected crea- ture of civilization is one whose every nerve is toned up to do its duty, re- sponsive to every call. like the notes of a fine piano. But unhappily. this acute sensibility is accompanied by the great disadvantage of liability to shocks from what is unpleasant and injurious. And particularly in America there are too many stimulants to nerve action. In the first place. our climate, with it's eX- tremes of temperature. A typographical map. showing the effect of different alti- tudes upon health. charges the northeast ern part of our continent with the sever est strain upon the nerves; the Middle States. west of the Mississippi River. are far less exigent, and the South and eN treme West are most favorable. Gener- ally moisture is conducive to phlegm. all though a high and dry climate. if equa-