MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HYGIENE. To regard the matter from another view-point, hygiene may I* also divided into mental and physical. The former will necessarily include ninny questions that belong to the latter, for the healthy action of the mind depends to a great extent upon the health of the body. A sufficient amount of sleep ought to be taken to refresh the powers of the mind, as well as those of the bod. and that sleep ought not to be much disturbed by dreams. Of course there are those whose occupation demands varied, sometimes excessive exertion, and who must be 'a law unto themselves.' The great time for practically applying the laws of mental hy giene is during the years of childhood and youth. The method of teaching the child should he of the simplest, as well as of the most compreh•n sive character. and the periods should he fre quent during which its mind is completely re lieved of all scrim; study, and allowed to come to a perfectly natural and passive condition by mirthful and affectionate enjoyment. The school
rooms should be commodious, and well ventilated, and they should not be overcrowded. Too many studies should not be required, so that hours which should be given to recreation or sleep will not be occupied with laborious efforts of study, which often do little more than produce a dis turbed and unrefreshing sleep, and pervert or de stroy the appetite for wholesome food. In the matter of school hygiene, great importance is attached to the amount, arrangement, and dis tribution of light in the class-rooms; the con struction of the seats and desks; the type and paper used in making the text-books, etc. Care lessness in these matters is known to be one of the most fruitful sources of imperfect sight, such as myopia, as well as of various deformities, especially spinal curvature.