Their importance is recognized in the mechanical world. The intellectual and moral spheres have indeed been slow to acknowledge their worth. Manual habits enable the mechanic to produce the finished article; moral habits the boy or girl to maintain a blameless character under every circumstance of life. Sound knowledge of moral truth is good, but sound habits of moral action are better.

It is perhaps universally true that parents have devoted themselves assiduously to the instruction of their sons and daughters rather than to the establishment of habits. The natural and most effective means has thus been neglected.

Fifth. The last stage is the purification of the child's taste. All children are born with impulses and desires which are capable of unlimited education. In the early years of youth they are the controlling factors of the child. Intelligence and conscience assert their sway later. Not only are there natural tastes, but there are acquired ones. The latter are much more numerous, and are the direct production of environment. According as one's tastes are pure and noble so will be the life. Much can be done to surround the growing soul with such influences as will make for strong, vigorous, noble manhood or womanhood.

Sixth. For the evolution of the ethical consciousness nothing is perhaps better than the arousing of the religious sentiments.

Seventh. He who would lead must walk in the way himself.

Eighth. Love and faith are worth more than knowledge or specific forms of government.

EYE DEFECTS IN STUDENTS AND CHILDREN.

Professor Swift,' of State Normal School of Stevens Point, Wis., gives the condition of eyes in young people engaged in study. The tests were made by Dr. Alcorn. They were (1) the ordinary tests of each eye for vision; (2) the card test for astigmatism; (3) the Maddox multiple rod test for muscle trouble; and (4) the diagnosing errors of refraction by means of the ophthalmoscope. The one undergoing examination was 20 feet from the test chart. The type used was Hermann Snellen's. The type which a normal eye should read at a distance of 20 feet was 9 millimeters square. This represents normal vision and is designated by twenty-twentieths. Over 300 of different ages were examined.

Table 41 shows that the percentage of pupils with normal vision in both eyes is much greater in the grammar grades than in the normal department. There seems to be a steady decrease in the acuteness of vision of pupils from the lower grades to the higher. About 50 per cent of the pupils have at least one eye whose vision is not normal.

As a normal eye reads a letter 9 millimeters square at a distance of 20 feet, the twenty-thirtieths type is 13 millimeters square, the twenty-fortieths 18 millimeters, twenty-sixtieths 26 millimeters, twenty-sixtieths 26 millimeters, twenty-eightieths 35 millimeters, twenty one-hundred-and-twentieths 52 millimeters, and twenty twohundredths 87 millimeters square.

Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. V, No. 2, October, 1897.

PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDREN'S INTERESTS.

In order to gain some criterion of the value of educational work by ascertaining the attitude of children toward the different subjects of the curriculum, Dr. Joseph S. Taylor, principal of a public school of New York, had the following four questions submitted to the pupils:

"1. What subject or subjects did you particularly like in your last class?

"2. Why did you take them?

"3. What subject or subjects did you particularly dislike?

"4. Why?"

If it be admitted that a suitable subject properly taught should interest a child, it would seem that where interest is wanting the fault must be either in the course of study or in the teaching, or in both. Such was the point of view of Dr. Taylor in making this investigation.

The number of pupils examined was about 1,000, but only 756 papers were available. The results were tabulated by ages, grades, subjects, and classes. In Tables 42 and 43 are given the results by age and grade.

Two more investigations were undertaken, aggregating with the former study returns from 2,137 pupils. In Tables 44 to 47 are found the results of these studies. No children below the third grade were examined. Table 42 shows an increased interest of the pupils as they advance in age and grade; this is in a boys' school of New York. But in Table 44, representing a mixed school, there is a noted decline of interest, beginning at age 13, for both boys and girls. This seems to be due to the teaching in the fifth grade. In preceding grade 60 per cent of the girls liked arithmetic, here only 20 per cent.

In the following tables the figures at the top represent the ages of the pupils and the grades from which they had been promoted ten weeks before. The next row of figures shows the number of pupils examined in each age and grade. All other figures are percentages, showing what proportion of pupils like or dislike the several subjects of study.

Out of the 1,001 individuals described, 46 were named as "only children," though none of the questions in the syllabus asked about such children. This suggested further questions, and Dr. Bohannon gives the results of a special study of 481 children, based upon answers to the questions in the following syllabus:

Give age, sex, nationality, and describe the temperament, complexion, and general health of the child briefly. Has he brothers and sisters dead? If So, how many Is he the first born? How long did the others live? Does the child go to school? Regularly? Commenced, at what age? Get along well with other children and in work? How much time does he spend in play? The favorite games? What plays at home? What are the child's best traits? Worst traits? Is he precocious or dull? Has he any mental or physical defects? Name them. What subjects best in? What poorest in? What has been the home and school treatment? What treatment do you recommend?

Age of parents at birth of child. How long had they been married at the birth of child? Are the parents still living? Health, habits, occupations, temperaments,

This refers to instances where there is only one child in each family.

2 Ped. Scminary, v. 5, No. 4, April, 1898.

and position in life. How many brothers and sisters had they? Do they (brothers and sisters) have good health? In so far as above questions apply, describe twins, the only boy, the only girl, and the youngest child in families.

State anything else you may think to be due to the fact that they are the only child, only boy, only girl, the youngest child, or twins.

(Clark University, Worcester, Mass., March 30, 1896.)

Of the children, 381 are only children, 54 are only boys or only girls, 32 are the youngest children, and 12 are twins.

The average age of 134 girls is 12 years, of 86 boys it is 113 years, and for the 292 of both sexes it is 12. 2 years.

Out of 210, 190 were said to be American, 8 German, 5 English, 2 Jewish, 2 Scotch, etc. There were 50 of non-American parentage, 17 of whom are the results of marriages between persons of different nationalities or races.

Those with good health number 162, with fair health 98, and bad health 96.

The temperaments of parents are described as "nervous" in 131 out of 259 cases.

SUMMARY OF POINTS.

These only children are unmistakably below the average in health and vitality. Mental and physical defects of a grave character are much more common among them than among children generally.

The average length of time between marriages of the parents and births of the children is so great as to suggest a pronounced degree of relative sterility in the stock. This is much more strongly shown in the mothers than in the fathers.

The average age of the parents at the birth of girls is considerably greater than it is at birth of boys.

A greater proportion of the girls than of the boys have only child mothers, while on the other hand a greater proportion of the boys than of the girls have only-child fathers.

Nervous disorders seem to be unusually common in the families.

These children appear to enter school later than other children, and to be less regular in their attendance.

Their success in school work is below the average.

Not so large a proportion as of other children enter the public school.

They do not join in games so rapidly or often as do other children of corresponding ages. They prefer quieter forms of amusement.

Many of them have imaginary companions.

Very many manifest a decided preference for older associates, while not a few select younger companions, and often from the other sex.

A large number of them do not have as good command of themselves socially as does the average child. Their social relations are therefore more frequently characterized by friction.

Peculiarities in these children seem to be more pronounced than in others.
Precocity appears to be the most prominent trait.

Selfishness is the most frequently named of the worst traits, while affection is most often named among the best traits.

As a rule the home treatment had been that of unthinking indulgence, which generally develops in a child the habit of expecting concessions on all sides, and corresponding unwillingness on his own part to make them to others. A right appreciation of the conditions with which the child must be concerned outside the family life requires that he be given ample opportunity for companionship with children of corresponding ages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHILD STUDY.?

In addition to the titles taken from various works, the bibliography consists of selections from the following bibliographies: Bibliography of Child Study, by Louis N. Wilson; titles relating to the anthropometry of children in a preliminary report on Anthropometry in the United States, by Dr. Edward M. Hartwell; psychological indexes of The Psychological Review; Bibliographie der psycho-physiologischen

This refers to instances where there is only one child in each family.

The author was assisted much in the preparation of this bibliography by his mother, Mrs. Angus MacDonald.