But let me again impress the fact, that this adenoid mass is a real foreign body in the nasopharynx, frequently productive of serious conditions, especially such as affect the ears. Its early recognition and thorough removal becomes an imperative duty to the surgeon.

THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG GIRLS; THE MODERN SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND ITS DE

MANDS UPON HEALTH.

BY WILLIAM E. FITCH, M.D., SAVANNAH, GA.

The first thing I ever saw in my life was a woman. It seems that the physician who was awaiting my coming had promised that I would be a girl, and when I arrived on the scene of action he was very much disappointed and looked very angry at me; whereupon, if my memory serves me aright, I got mad and twisted up my little face and hollered at him as loud as I could. This little defence seemed to bring him to his senses, for he apologized and said I was a fine boy. We shook hands, and I was handed to a motherly nurse to have my first toilet made. From that day until this I have been on most excellent terms with women. The fact is, that I like them so well, that soom after I graduated I came to the conclusion that it was not well to always live in single blessedness. You will believe me then, when I tell you I have their best interests and welfare at heart, and this paper is written with the hope that some of the modern educational methods now in vogue may be so changed as not to overwork the child during puberty. The law of growth in the human body is one which has not always been considered in relation to the development of girls. The energies of the body rise and fall in each individual with a certain rhythm. Each swell of physical growth is designated to bring about certain morphological and functional conditions, and when these conditions are not secured at the time nature is accustomed to bring them about, there is absolutely no possibility of their completion and perfection in subsequent years. The maturity of the sexual apparatus and its function in the girl must be secured

in that stage of development known as puberty. It is of all the periods of growth of the woman the most important, for her future health, both physical and mental, depend upon the instruction received at this period. Therefore, it is the one above all others which should be considered in the education and training of the girl. All the intelligence and care that it is possible for teachers and physicians to bestow upon her should be given at this time. Not only the motherhood and subsequent health, but sanity and lifelong happiness are dependent upon the perfection of pubescent growth and function. It does not seem unreasonable, therefore, that the customs and prejudices of the time should be entirely laid aside in considering the proper education of the girl in and before pubescence. In the first place, it is to be recognized that our present educational methods, in both private and public schools, for young ladies are productive of imperfect women. From my own study of this subject I have come to the conclusion that many radical changes must be instituted in the care, rearing and education of young girls. My observation leads me to assert that a girl should not be sent to school until she is eight years old, and then kept in school until she is twelve years old, as it is at or about this age the American girl begins budding into womanhood, and progresses with great rapidity until she reaches the fifteenth year. During this period of pubescence the girl's moral and physical nature needs as much, if not more attention than is usually given. The mothers of this country are ruining the health of their daughters by rushing them through the preparatory schools, being ignorant of the harm they are doing. The young lady during this period of pubescence should have her studies so planned that she will not be overworked, have light tasks, light literature, be under her mother's constant careful instruction; yet at or about this time (the fourteenth year) the girl, having been rushed by overwork through the preparatory school, is sent away to boarding-school or college. And after carefully examining catalogues from the most prominent colleges in the United States, the following is found to be the routine of duties:

7 a. m. Rising bell.

7:45 a. m.-Down to chapel for prayer.

8 a. m. Breakfast.

8:30 a. m.-Up-stairs to study hall.

9 a. m. Down to recitation room.

10 a. m.-Up-stairs to music room, piano.

11 a. m. Recitations, history, etc.

12-Dinner.

The afternoon and evenings are spent in similar manner. It is apparent to all that the young lady is run up and down-stairs from 7 a. m to 9 p. m. Just think of the tax upon her energy, at a period in life when she should have nothing to do except light studies, reading, etc., and be allowed time and opportunity for maturation and development. In female schools it is the yearly history among the girls the ever increasing number of breakdowns, nervous prostrations, menstrual disorders, ocular troubles, and hysterical insanity. Neurasthenic states are extremely common during puberty; especially are they met with in high school girls, who are overburdened with the work put upon them. I have often been astonished at the work which some of these girls have to bear. The hours of continuous application which the less mentally able among them have to put in daily are frequently greater than are usually demanded of seasoned adults, and the truly heroic efforts which they often make to bear their burdens are simply pitiful. They are spending more vital force than their income. Breakdowns are the result. Such breaks are sometimes fortunate, for the attention is then directed to the condition and needful rest is afforded; but many, indeed the majority, manage to carry these burdensome tasks, at least apparently, and the damage done is not so readily detected, but it is none the less real. Headaches, irritable tempers and hebetude are but the indices of the neurasthenic state, which, if neglected at this age, will a few years later be recognized as nervous prostration; it is because the enormous strain to which they are being subjected is not recognized. While the insanity of puberty is a well recognized condition, it is usually considered unBut in its milder forms it certainly is not unVarious delusions recognized as such by the victim occur frequently, but are fought under and concealed from a false sense of shame, to be disclosed later in life when a broader mental horizon permits the former victim to realize that there was nothing dishonorable in the matter. The psychoses of this period, I have reason to believe, are much commoner than is generally supposed. The interesting feature is that they disappear as the active pubescent changes cease. A case illustrative of pubescent neurasthenia came under my care some two years ago. The patient, a high school girl of twelve, who had just begun to menstruate, had an attack of hives. The disorder itself was trifling enough, but her great depression, and her weird expression of countenance told of a deeper trouble. Upon questioning her I found that she was always tired at the end of the day, and greatly depressed at the end of the school week, and not always refreshed at the beginning of the next week. Deeming that the forces antagonistic to