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Show MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT. Xow that the school year has begun, parents and others in charge of children should give serious consideration to the question of the best development develop-ment of their mental faculties. But this result is not determined alone by the amount of time spent in study; in fact, too much time so spent will retard rather than advance the mental development of a child. One essential feature which is too often overlooked is the physical development. It is an old saying that a sound body is necessary to a sound mind. In order that the brain may be healthy and properly prop-erly developed, it is necessary that the body have plenty of fresh air and exercise. This is such plain common sense that it would seem to be unnecessary unneces-sary to state it, and yet it is frequently overlooked on the part of those who have the bringing up of children. The nations of the world illustrate this truism. The world is ruled by those nations whose men are best physically developed. This is not due to the power of brute force, but to the fact that the intellect intel-lect is hoat developed in those who minds are physically physi-cally s.. . ig. Japan was always a weak subject nation until their people took up pliysical culture, and after fifteen years of such culture they proved the superiors su-periors of the large but lazy Russians. There is no nation in the world more highly developed mentality men-tality than the Hindus and yet, on account of their lack of physical activity their mentality has become be-come erratic and they are a subject race todaj'. The question as to what kind of outdoor exercise is best depends upon circumstances. Any outdoor work is of benefit, but if circumstances permit t is much better to allow a portion of the time for sports or contests which are purely for pleasure. An investment in a baseball and bat for a boy will yield the largest returns of any which a parent can make. That is a sport which exercises healthfully health-fully every muscle of the body, without undue j strain or danger. Every pastime, such as ball, football, foot-ball, swimming, skating and bicycling, are sure to produce excellent results in the way of mental a- well as physical results of a child. Walking t. and from school is a splendid exercise and should be encouraged even if the distance be several mi'.-. It is only necessary to start a little earlier in th- i morning, and the student who does walk will much better all day than the one who rides in a stuffy street car. Games and contests are a strong factor in thu 1 moral wellbeing of a child. The desire to excel will be such that everything will be done to keep in good condition, and a boy will soon find out th.n he cannot keep in good condition if he indulges h smoking, drinking or other bad habits. j The results of physical development are sho-.-. -i in a more striking manner in the college graduati of the present time than of those a generation ago. Formerly all the attention was given to d.-. veloping the mind and the body was allowed, to remain undeveloped. The result was that oolliv graduates were notoriously inefficient and a diploma diplo-ma was regarded as a badge of incompetency j, the practical affairs of life. For the past ten f,r fifteen years, however, the colleges have dev"- . much time to physical development, and the resu!" is that the typical college graduate of today is m demand everywhere at high salaries to conduct th- business enterprises. - |
