Evening star., 1907-11-17

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EDITORS NorE.-In this second article of the series
on the Child written by Doctor Hall for the Sunday
Magazine the foremost living authority the subject
tells astonishing facts about what people didn't know
about the folk and the bitter preudices, from
college professors to equally sincere equally misguided
1t startling be told that certain notions of Boston
children cruder than those Of any known savage
other kind OF children it wouldn but Boston!
You will realize that Doctor Hall packs his articles
full of facts significant important facts worth study
ing Also you may have noticed how, in the offhand
way of the college president, he occasionally uses
word that bowls most of us over But we are likely
to take surreptitious peep into the dictionary and
sraightway proceed to swat the first possible victim
with superior knowledge. For instance there was
scensc doesn't it, As matter Of fact it is one Of
the oldest, useful words in the language, and
simply stock root. family race. Then there's
pedology that isn't in the dictionary at all but there
pedeutics and other less useful words from similar
roots. Doctor Hall explains what 1T means. The new
diction aries will have it.
You see, Doctor Hall writes with exactness, hits the
nail the head he careful to the words that
express his precise meaning thereby saving much
valuable space. He has, perhaps, been tr1tie too
scientific for persons who want prescriptions tor par
tcular children but has laying the broad
the succeeding articles, which he will get
down close to every day lie.
He will tell how to some of the most perplex-
ing problems. But these coming articles will be
valuable than this to those who think. And
children worth little thought, are they not:
"HE United States has proud record in the
i development of the science of child
study, the oogy that deals with the
ctild, ,-padology. Perhaps there is no other new
scientific departure that this country has done
much to create. Let us glance at the best things
that have been done here and in historical order.
The venerable Henry P. Bowditch, long pro-
fessor of physiology and dean of the Harvard
Medical School, deserves to be called the father
of the metric method of studying children. ust
thrty-fve years ago he had the height ar
weight of thousands of Boston school children
all ages taken in order to find the rate of annu
growth. Since then scores of such measurement
have been made and compiled in every civiliz'
land. From these studies, with their many techr
cal details of curves and tables, the following We
important practical results have been established
Children do not grow uniformly, but are retard'
in the rate at which both stature and weight i
crease from ten to twelve years of age; but late
from thirteen to fifteen there is a veritable ou
burst of growth averaging two or three inches
height and from eight to fifteen pounds in weig
a year for from to three years, and then Il
rate slows down again toward maturity. Duril
these years of rapid increase children tend to
less active than before after, and easi
injured by work or strain. Some children gro
from four to six and even inches in a sing
year, and those who achieve their pubescent grow
suddenly are far likely to suffer from owe
pressure or strain. The maxmal growth in heig
precedes that in weight by year or two.
When Girls Outstrip Boys
IN girls this sudden increase of size comes from Oh
to Ri how hat