CHILDREN AND BRAIN WORK.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1946, 25 December 1884, Page 4

CHILDREN AND BRAIN WORK.

Is concluding a letter to the London Times, of the 13th of October last, Dr J. Crichton Biowne wiites :— " I am asked 'If the st.mcd children would be better fed if tiu-y weie woise educated ? And the answer to that nielevnnry is that they would «nffer less than they do fioin the effects of stai ration if they weie exempt fiom enfotced bi am acthity. To a Stan ins animal or a starving human being w oik of any kind is detumenti.il, and almost cci tain to hasten death, and the way in which half-starved children in London schools aie stirred up and goaded on to pass examinations is both, I think, haish and lia7aidous Lst any one who doubt* this tiy the cxpciimcnt of abstaining from food for two or tluee days, and then applying himself to mental labour. The pain and wretchedness which theciTott will induce, the headache and giddiness by which it will be iollowed, to say nothing of its futility, will speedily convince him that if; is not good for the brain to work when the blood is impoveiished. And in children whose brains at e growing the deletenous ellecU of forced eerebisil activity in states of innutrition is far more serious than it is in adults. The shelter and waimth piouded for half starved child ten in schools aie, of course, eminently protective, but it may be questioned whether the benefits that accrue fiom them are not more than counterbalanced when they can only be obtained at the price of much brain work and brain woiry. Education is an excellent thing, but feeding comes befoie it. Exercise in the open air is an excellent thing, but clothing comes befoie it, and it would seem as reasonable in a climate like ours to turn crowds of childien out of doors iv winter weather in a state of nudity, in older that they might have the benefit of exercise in the open air, as to drive troops of breakfa«tli'?s and dinneilesa children into schools, where they aie, while pinched by hunger, taught a gieat vaiiety of subjects in ouler that they may have the benefit of education. It is under such cii en instances that that partial chronic congestion of the giey matter of the hemispheres of the biain, which was described by Dr. Rjellberg, of U[,'sala, afc the international Medical Congiess in August, as due to excessive school ■woik, is particularly apt to be induced— a chionic congieshon that is expressed by headaches, insomnia, spasmodic movements, hallucinations, and intellectual and physical torpor, and thnt is most pernicious in its effects on development."

Hr.nK Fischer, a farmer in Silesia, ha 1 -, since IS7I, conducted his farm without live stock, sa\e n fevv miloh cows, because theie is a good demand for fodder and straw in his di&tiict. Commercial inannies have, therefore, been substituted for far my ai d manure, but he do"s not consider the practice advisable unless theie is a s-pccially good maiket for fodder and straw. He considers bonemeal to be tlio most important fertiliser after farm yaid manure, and it lias been paiticulaily favourable to clover in his neighbourhood. Potash salts have j ielded very variable results ; in one experiment with potatoes, potash salts gave even better lesults than guano. Herr Fischer uses phosphoric matunes for ceieals, and for gteen crops he employs nitiogenous, and, when required, potash manures. He is well pleased with the results, and sa\s his f.irn. produce has been steadily incie.ising since the banishment of cattle. 'IheU. S. Foreign Office has issued a white paper, containing .1 preliminary agi cement for the renewal of relatious between (heat Biitain and Mexico. The agreement, which was signed at Mexico on August 6th, pledges both Governments to examine impartially all the pecuniary claims of Biiti&h and Mexican citizens against each of the two countries, based on acts anterior to the date of the exchange of the ratification of the preliminary tieaty. It also notifies that the high contracting paities have agreed to extend to each other reciprocally for six yeaiß " the treatment of the most favoured nation in all matters whatsoever." This ycai'b bottling of the leading brands of champagne is estimated as follows : Moet and Chandon, 4,500,000 ; G- H. Muinin & Co., 3,000,000 ; Perrier Jouet, 2,000,000 ; Pommery, 2.000.000 ; Heid s i e ck, 1,500,000 ; Roederer, 1,000,000; and Clicquot, 600,000. In the French champagne district alone something like 43,000,000 bottles are delhered every year. Each bottle, with its cork, its wire, its mark and its packing costs at least twenty pence, and that, too, without counting the carriage and cUity, and, of course, not the contents. '• Augur " writes to the Canterbury Press :—": — " Mr Byron Moore informs me that the profits of the late V.R.C. meeting are something like £3000 more than they were last year. With this satisfactory result, it is to be hoped that further additions will still be made to the stakes. Many members' are again complaining of the want of separate stands for themselves and families, but I don't sympathise with them, because they have not the moral courage to move in the matter. A members stand could easily be erected on the ground , now occupied by the luncheon pavilion, and the lower portion could be devoted to those who provide tboir own hampers. , While the, Works Committee are on the war path, I hope they will do something to improve the cinder, track, which in its present condition is positively danger-