The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-05-19
S~TANDARDIZINC THE CHILD

ploy five assistants. Laboratory facni-
ties were greatly increased by the use
Of tents but after the first few lays II
was found that more room was needed
than was available. and throughout
the summer the children made their
appointments Tor examination d
month ahead.
In all cases the usual physical tests
are applied to the respiratory, circu-
iatorv. and digestive organs, and to
the nervous system. As a compile
,uent to this actual physical examine
| ton by professional assistants. each
| pupil in the city schools at the be-
ginning Of the year was gwen a list
Of fifty-Seven questions.
Bill OF Family Health.
TO these questions consti-
tute a bill of family statistics Of in
| dividuaI health and habits Take as
| an illustration of the general charac-
ter and purpose Of these questions.
the following: Have YOU ever had
ground Itch" Have you ever had
the hookworm treatment" Have
YOU plumbing in your home
Now, I dare say. not one parent in
| ten sees any relation between these
questions. But ground itch is the
| first stage of hook worm disease, and,
unless the person subsequently re
| ceiveS treatment, the chances are that
| the disease will progress to d -four
| ishing state in his system. It is
known tina the surface is
the main source of hookworm infec-
| ton: and the Investigators expect to
find that the majority Of children who
have had ground itch are from homes
without plumbing. Hookworm is a
cause Of the South's baCkWardness.
No one so afflicted car have energy
and ambition.
Tha Sa,,thNA o1nnatinno1 nrn11apo
is. therefore, to a considerable de-
gree. q problem of sanitation. Swat
the fly has become, as elsewhere, q
familiar SlOgan-so familiar, in truth
that its Importance is neglected III
the South. It has been almost i'm
possible heretofore to arouse lasting
interest in the subject. Southern
people have been accustomed to the
fly and its breeding place-the out
house-for generations.
Startling Means of Appeal.
One Of the fortunate development!
of recent sanitary work is the dis
cOvery of just such a startling mean:
Of appeal to public sentiment. One
discovery in connection with tn
sanitary work has furnished videnct
for d fresh Indictment OF the fly. ant
marks a starting point for the inveS
tigators. A test showing conclusive
ly whether a person has eaten foot
contaminated by human excreta ha
now been made in various parts o
the country, and Doctor Stiles has a
his disposal data from as far nortl
as Northern New York, as far soutl
as Southern Alabama. as far east a
Baltimore, and as far west as Sal
Francisco. The method Of demon
1 strating is both easy and practicable
2 INC depends on the presence of Ger
: tain protozoa in the human mites
tine. The stage of each form of thes
: PROTOCOL outside the body is a sport
The spores enter the body onl
1 through the mouth; and. althoug
there are several Ways in which tn
infection may come about, it seem
quite clear, both from experiments
and circumStantial evidence, that tn
most prolific danger is in transmits
sion by the fly.
: In the examination Of one hundre
: and eighty-Seven unsolicited person
chiefly city children, in q Certai
IA Southern county, twenty-three Pc
cent were found to have eaten foo
contaminated in the manner alread
stated. The percentage Of infectio
was ten higher for those living
: houses without any plumbing tina
for those living in houses connects
( with a sewer. When the fact
{ known that those with sewerage WEI
still not entirely immune, on accoui
Of the proximity Of surface Clubhouse
q the difference is even more startlin
Two hundred and ninety-three fiji,
were caught in a Hodge fly tra
y placed in one of these outhouses +,
y tW~enty-four hours, and during IL
: same tWenty-four hours S%evente
'e hundred and forty two flies We
N caught in another fly trap placed
,o a itch forty feet away.
ArOusing Father.
Many a Southern farmer is perfec
a. ~ willing to ignore the common pie
= for better sanitation. but a person
III letter to him saying that John
e Sally has eaten something worse thu
!. poison has been found a means
startle the most Indifferent faith
. into action.
The second portion of the woT
that is. the mental tests, is taken
largely during the winter mont
u when b experts can take advanta
IL of the school organization. Althou:
only tests which are and a
thcritative have been selected. ma
lis of them have never before been us