Alt:THOUS OF INSTRUCTION. TWO methods of instruction are used in teaching the deaf and dumb: by the sign languayc, and by articulation. By means of the sign language, ideas are cone n.unicatetl to the pupil through posture, gesture, facial expression, and mimic acting by the teacher. Nothing is spelled with the hands, in this method, ac is erroneously supposed. Putting the hand to the head, as if putting on a cap. is the sign for 'man; for example. This is an arbi trary sign. An example of a natural sign is raising the hand to the mouth and then chewing, to express 'food.' The sign language is easily and speedily acquired. and is said to be under stood and used by the American Indians. The use of an elaborate sign language was carried to such extremes by the Abbe de Mike and his followers, Abbe Sieard and Abbe Storek, that their pupils relied entirely upon their memory, without any corresponding ideation. They Public day schools for the deaf now exist in California ( 1 ) . Illinois ( 12 ) , Ind iana ( 1 ) , 3Iassa ehusetts 1 11, Al iehig.an ( ), 31 issouri ( I ), Ohio (4), and Wisconsin (8).
Beside: those already mentioned, the names of the following Americans should be recorded as especially associated with the education of deaf mutes: Dr. F. A. P. Barnard, for many years president of Columbia College, New York City: William W. Turner. of Hartford: Abra ham H. Walton, of Philadelphia ; John Jacobs, of Kentucky; Dr. Samuel O. llowe. of Boston; and Thomas and Edward M. sons of the Rev. Thomas 11. Gallaudet.
Some very remarkable examples of acute per ception an] proficiency in deaf mutes have been recorded, notably the ea-es of Brace, proved to be incapable of composing sentences but simply memorized the gesture of the master. In some schools, after the pupil has become proficient in the sign inantml, the use of the alphabet is introduced. The one-handed and two-handed alphabets are shown in the figures. Almost all pupils find the acquisition of articulation, or lip-reading, easier than that of the manual alphabet. In teaching by articula
tion. the pupil watches the lips and tongue of the teacher, and, by imitation of the motions seen, is able to speak. Consonants are taught first, and then the vowels. During the pro nunciation of some sounds, the pupil grasps the teacher's throat and imitates the vibration and position of the muscles. This method is very slow, and pupils gain more general knowledge and with greater ease by the use of the sign language. In the celebrated Clarke school at Northampton, :Mass., the old method of articula tion was employed for a considerable time. but has been displaced by the Bell system. The method of teaching articulation by risible speech was invented by A. Alelville Bell, professor of vocal physiology in Edinburgh, who introduced it in 1848. It was perfected and first used in the schools of Great Britain in ISO. In 1872 it was introduced into the Northampton school by A. Graham Bell, the son of the inventor of the method. The Bell system consists of a series of phonetic characters based on the position of the vocal organs when in action. The charac ters suggest to the eye the mechanism of speech in the formation of every possible sound that can be uttered. The following explanation of the system and of the characters is taken from Bella English Visible Speech in noire Lessons (Washington. D. C., 1895). Dr. Bell adds that these explanations are for teachers only: for learners do not require to know the theory of system.
STATisrics. The number of deaf mutes hears a certain relation to the population, being far greater in countries wherein squalor, privation, or medical ignorance and unhygienie conditions prevail. The ratio of deaf mutes to population is as follows, for the different countries named: Sardinia, I to 700; Nova Scotia, 1 to 880; Ire land nail Norway, I to 970; France. I to 1200; Prussia, 1 to 1675; England, I to 1970; Holland, 1 to 2000; United States, I to 2400.