either sex, could enjoy the advantages of unrestrained muscular exercise. If possible, it should also be surrounded by trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. A sterile enclosure is neither so pleasant nor so healthy as one covered by vegetation. Many of the best medical writers affirm that miasmatic exhalations, so fatal to the health of all classes in marshy districts, seldom if ever reach buildings surrounded by trees of a moderate height. This is probably true, for vegetables absorb many of the gases injurious to the health when mixed with the air inspired. Rows of trees, standing between swampy lands or wet prairies and family dwellings, often afford ample protection from the poisonous gases continually arising from the decomposition of animal and vegetable matter. But plants and flowers not only protect the pupils of literary institutions from the effects of deleterious gases; they also afford a healthy and varied prospect, while their appearance and study are calculated to excite the better feelings of the heart, and thus elevate the mind from the study of abstract propositions to the contemplation of the beauties of nature and the perfections of nature's God.

School-rooms should always be larger in proportion to the number of their inmates, than other buildings. The ceilings should be higher, and if possible there should be an opening communicating with the atmosphere without, in the most elevated portions of the different apartments. If the rooms were spacious they would contain a larger quantity of healthy air, while the openings would permit the escape of that which was too much heated, with many of the gaseous vapors arising from the lungs and external surface of the pupils. They should also be warmed by air from furnaces underneath, or where this is impracticable, the grates or stoves should be placed much nearer the floor than they usually` are. Fire-places are always preferable to stoves, and wood to coal, but as both are more expensive, the latter may be used safely with proper precaution. In all the churches, school houses, or even private dwellings, that have fallen under my notice, the fire is entirely too much elevated. It should be remembered that the specific gravity of cold air is much greater than that of warm, consequently when it is admitted into heated rooms it sinks at once to the lowest level. Rarified air also rises, so that when the fire is placed at a distance above the floor, the lower extremities are continually immersed in a cold medium, to the manifest injury. of the general health. This subject has thus far escaped the notice of writers upon hygiene, but it is certainly one of much importance, not only to the welfare of the inmates of schools and colleges, but also to that of public assemblies or private families.

Seats more or less elevated, should be provided for pupils, according to their respective ages. The heads of the smaller scholars should be as nearly as possible on a level with those of the larger,

for cold air is not the only fluid that descends in the school-room. Some of the gases thrown off from the system are extremely injurious to health, and if they form a large proportion of the air inhaled, they are speedily destructive. Among these may be mentioned the carbonic acid, which, being heavier than atmóspheric air, descends and forms a stratum upon the floor, more or less thick, according to the number of pupils and the length of time they are confined in the room. Small children, if placed on low seats, would therefore be exposed to the worst of consequences; while the larger scholars, from their elevated position, would remain entirely secure. This subject is also of sufficient importance to command the attention of those engaged in the education of youth.

Imperfect ventilation is too often a source of disease in crowded school-rooms, especially in the winter season, where many teachers think it advisable to keep them as close as possible in order to exclude the cold air from without; a practice which not only destroys the feeble in early life, but also implants, in the most healthy, the seeds of premature decay,

The blood, in its passage through the lungs, requires pure air for the expulsion of the poisonous matter which it accumulates in the course of the circulation. When it leaves the lungs, its color is a bright scarlet, but when it returns, it is changed into a dark modena, and hence it is termed black blood. The former is found

The red or arterial

in the arteries, and the latter in the veins. blood not only furnishes the materials for the growth of the body, but it also contains whatever is necessary to replace the worn-out particles which are continually escaping from every part of the physical system by means of the skin, lungs and mucous membranes, as well as the remainder of the organs of secretion and exhalation. On the other hand, the dark or venous blood is loaded with gases and salts, which render it poisonous to every part of the animal, except the tubes and cavities in which it is contained. Its composition must, therefore, be changed, before it can enter the arterial system, or perform any part in the grand process of animal nutrition. This can be accomplished only by an atmosphere containing the proper quantity of oxygen, and in order to provide this the lungs are continually calling for a fresh supply of pure air, for at every inflation, a part of the oxygen, entering the lungs, disappears, and its place is supplied by a poisonous compound which would speedily be destructive to the general health. It is, therefore, evident that a given quantity of atmospheric air will support life only for a limited period. When the oxygen it contained is removed, it becomes an engine of destruction, as the holds of prison ships and the confined apartments of captive soldiers too frequently attest. What therefore must be the condition of the pupils in a crowded school-room, where the doors and win

dows are kept so completely closed, that neither the air without can gain admittance, nor that within make its escape?

"But the consumption of oxygen and the consequent formation of cabonaceous and other gases, is not the only source of contamination in the atmosphere of the school-room. There is more or less that is equally injurious to health, passing off from the surface of the body, which mixes with the air already polluted, and thus the whole mass becomes more unfit for respiration. It is also probable that there is some change in the electric condition of the air of a close room, which renders it unhealthy.

Confinement in a close room will not alike affect all the pupils of a large school. Those inclined to disease of the lungs will suffer most, and it is quite certain that the seeds of consumption are frequently implanted in the lungs of those predisposed to the disease, by improper management during the period of their edu

cation.

School-rooms, crowded manufactories, and other places where persons are daily congregated, should therefore be well ventilated, even in the coldest weather. They should also be so arranged, that this ventilation would not be left to, the fancy or caprice of teachers or master workmen, for but few of either are aware of its paramont importance.

As healthy air should always contain a proper proportion of moisture, a vessel containing two or three gallons of water should be so placed, that a continued evaporation would be kept up when the room is occupied, especially if it be heated by close stoves. If warmed from furnaces beneath, the air should pass through a reservoir of water before it is admitted into the room.

As a committee has been appointed to report the best plan for the erection of school houses, at the next meeting of the College, I shall dismiss the subject, by remarking, that whatever may be the shape or size of such building, it should always be furnished with apertures for admission of pure air, and the escape of that which has become noxious. This may probably be done by dropping a sash on one side of the room, and raising another on the opposite. The pupils, however, should always be removed from the vicinity of the aperture which gives admission to the air, especially if it be either cold or damp.

As school houses are now erected, even the imperfect ventilation they receive is injurious to many of the pupils.. The temperature of the room is often so high that the inmates are thrown into a profuse perspiration, when the windows and doors are opened, and the house is filled with a flood of cold air, which contracts the pores of the skin, drives the blood from the surface, arrests the functions of the skin, and thus produces colds, pleurisies, or disorders of the lungs, which too often terminate in consumption or other disease equally fatal to the unfortunate pupil. Indeed,

consumption often commences at a very early period, and it is quite probable that the discipline of the school-room frequently pushes it onward to a speedy termination..

8. Cleanliness is every where an important element in the preservation of health, but in no place is it more necessary than in the school-room. If either the furniture, or the persons and clothes of the pupils are allowed to remain filthy, the functions of the system, corporeal and mental, must speedily suffer. The dust upon the floor is soon reduced to an impalpable powder, which mixes with the atmosphere, and thus finds its way into the lungs, where it either remains until it is ejected by coughing, or it sinks deeper and deeper into the bronchial tubes, which are soon rendered entirely impervious. When fixed it becomes a most destructive irritant, and the vis medicatrix naturæ exerts all its powers to procure its expulsion. A cough, more or less severe, immediately commences. At first it is short and dry, but eventually it is attended with a slight mucous expectoration; sometimes bloody, at others purulent. It fails, however, in its efforts; the cough increases, the cheeks become red near their centre, but pale and sallow elsewhere, the system is emaciated, fever and night sweatsoccur, respiration is short and difficult, the chest appears contracted, with a pain more or less acute in one of the sides, the teeth are white, and the eye glows with an unusual fire. Still the appetite remains good, and the unfortunate sufferer confidently expects at speedy recovery. The symptoms, however, continue to increase until death closes the distressing scene, and a promising youth falls a victim to the unhealthy condition of a neglected school-room,

All students will not suffer equally if placed in a dusty house. Those inclined to pulmonary disease will suffer most, and hence persons having narrow chests, or a chronic cough, should never be exposed to the dust. They should never be compelled to sweep, nor should they remain in their places while others are engaged

in it.

8. The attitude of the pupil in the school-room, is of much importance in the preservation of his health. Curvature of the spine is often produced by the unnatural position so frequently assumed by scholars engaged in writing, drawing, painting, or any thing else which admits of leaning forward, or laterally, or of the elevation of one of the shoulders above the other. When engaged in any of the above named exercises, or indeed in any thing else, the student should stand or sit erect, If he lean forward, with either his breast or side upon the edge of the desk, he may become the subject of a permanent deformity before he is aware of it. But this is not the worst. Curvatures of the spine continue to increase, during life, unless the subject of the disease submits to a most rigid course of medical treatment. The spine is composed of a number of short oval bones, with processes extending back

wards from the posterior surface. These bones are piled upon. each other and tied together by a movable intervening substance, and a dense ligament extending from one process to the other throughout its whole extent. When the body is bent forwards, the anterior edges of the bones press upon each other, and absorption follows. As it progresses, the centre of gravity is removed, the weight of the body is gradually thrown forward, and the absorption, and consequent curvature continually augmented until the deformity is complete. Sometimes the inclination is lateral, at others both lateral and forwards when the distortion is immense. The only remedy for this disease is a proper regimen and a continued horizontal position, which must be maintained until the defective bones regain their original figure. If the curvature is forward, the same object may be accomplished by resting on the hands and knees.

The pupils, in most danger of deformities of the bony system, are such as are predisposed to scrofula, or such as are slender in form, of sedentary habits, and take but little exercise. Females, from their organization and sedentary habits, are more frequently the subjects of spinal curvature than, males. In some countries, - and perhaps in some portions of our own, ten per cent. of the boarding-school misses are afflicted with discases of the spine, the result of mismanagement in the school-room. To prevent a catastrophe so fatal to the young female, she must take regular exercise in the open air, live on a wholesome nutritious diet, and stand or sit erect in the school-room.

But deformity of the spine is not the only evil resulting from leaning forward upon a desk when engaged in study. The pressure upon the breast bone decreases the cavity of the chest, and thus predisposes to diseases of the lungs and breast, which are equally as destructive to the well-being of the patient, although they are less obvious to the vision. If the student stand as much as possible when writing or drawing, the evils complained of will not only be obviated, but the tone and vigor of the muscular system will be increased, and the general health thereby improved..

9. The diet of the pupil, although mostly. beyond the control of the teacher, should be regulated with a special reference to his situation. It is unquestionably true that man requires a mixed diet, or one composed of both animal and vegetable food; but in early life, and especially when the youth is confined in the schoolroom, the latter should form the greater proportion. Some, however, require more animal food than others. If the temperament be sanguineous and the person is of a full habit, much meat will be decidedly injurious; but if it be lymphatic and the circulation and actions are sluggish, a larger quantity of stimulating food will be beneficial. The diet of children under twelve years of age should be decidedly vegetable, with a proper quantity of milk and its products.