THE -OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL. , PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING. AUGUST 17. l9!3:
Copyright, Ull. by the Star Cfompanr, ureat Britain Rights Reserved.
A LL 71
ri m tw nam it it a a ' m w uh m m isi m m , ri -r n rii
SURPRISING
How the
CHILD
BECOMES
A MAN
By Dr DAVID FORSYTH.
Charing Croat Hospital,' London.
ON examining the skeleton of a baby the peculiar
ity first noticed Is the striking difference be
tween Its relative proportions and those of an
adult The baby's head is remarkably large, and la no
less than one-fourth of the child's total height, while
the head of an adult is only one-eighth of the height
Baby's legs, on the other hand, are relatively short,
measuring only about three-eighths of the height as
compared with one-half In the adult The ratio' of head
to legs Is therefore two to three in the baby tond one
to four in the adult This is why babies look as though
their bodies were too big for their legs, and their heads
too big fjr their bodies. :"
Another remarkable thing about the baby's skeleton
Is the size of the cranium, or bony structure "Milch
holds the brain, and the small size of the face. This
Is due partly to the fact that a baby's braba4s rela
tively larger at birth than at any subsequent age, and
Ways of Fighting Summer Pests
CHANGES
Which Take Place in the Bodies of GROWING CHILDREN
also to the fact that the face develops slowly, and does -not
attain its full size Until quite late in life.
The lower Jaw, with its milk teeth and ts muscles
of mastication still Immature, Is particularly small, and
this makes the distance from the mouth to the point
of the receding chin very short The upper Jaw is also
undeveloped, the teeth not yet having been cut Slnce
the baby's face is largely composed of the upper and
lower Jaws, it is completely overshadowed by the
cranium.
As soon as a baby begins to walk Its weight is
transmitted along the spinal column to the bones of
the pelvis, and thence through the legs to the ground.
The force of gravity acting on the baby's skeleton
for several hours dally-1 quickly modifies its form, and
changes its infantile characteristics. The spinal col
umn, which at birth runs almost straight from the' base
of the skull to the pelvis, gradually develops the curves,
which persist throughout life. The pelvis, which is
very small in proportion to the child, increases in size,
and the arches of the feet begin to shape themselves.
All. these changes are due to" the force of gravity,
which begins to aot parallel to the length) of the body
as soon as the child walks, and also to the child's
muscular efforts to hold Itself erect, move about and
protect Its little body from shocks.
Atmospheric pressure Is another force which has a
pronounced effect on the baby's skeleton. This effect
is particularly noticeable in the thorax, which grad
ually loses its funnel shape.
The child's growth In helgnt Has two periods ot
maximum- Intensity. The first period covers several
months immediately following birth; 'the second begins
fn girls about the twelfth year and In boys a trifle
later. Between these two periods the growth is much
more gradual. At the close of the
second period the rate of growth
diminishes again. Boys, as a rule,
cease to grow tall at the age of
seventeen and girls at the age of
fifteen.
After a child has passed the In
fancy stage its Increase In height
is subject to many variations. For
example, the growing boy or girl will
measure over one-third of an inch
taller In the morning than In the
evening of the same day. This Is
!due to the fact that the erect
posture during the daytime puts the
body's weight on the spinal column,
compressing its segments, increasing
its c&rves, and lowering the arches
of the feet on which the weight
eventually falls. A night's rest in a
horizontal position overcomes this
change, and by morning this
body has returned to its full
height
The season of the year is another
Important factor Influencing a child's
- increase in height The increase is
fastest from April to July, and slow
est from August to December. Growth
Is retarded by school work, but quick
ened by play, particularly If It In
volves open-air exercises.
The child's increase in weight fol
lows a curve which rises rapidly at
first but becomes less and less 'steer
In This Illustration the Figure of a Baby Eleven
Month Old Ha Been Enlarged to Equal in Height
That of an Adult. A Comparison of the Two
Figure Show the Profound Change In Form
and Relative Proportion That Are Gradu
ally Effected During the Year of Growth.
until adolesence is completed. It speeds tip perceptibly
in girls at about the twelfth year, and in boys about
two years later. t
The average weight of -a baby at birth Is seven
pounds. A healthy baby will double this weight In nvj
months, treble it in another seven and quadruple it 14
another eighteen. During the first weeks of life the1 .
dally gain in weight Is about one ounce; from the third
to the fifth week three-fourths of an ounce; from six
to eight weeks one-half ounce, and from then until the)
end of the first year, two-fifths of an ounce. ,
As is well known, the, first few days of a baby's1
life are marked by a loss of weight This loss is mostt
pronounced during the first twenty-four hours; and 18
Is usually not before tbfi end of the first week that thej
original birth weight wfli be regained.. s
Of course, all of these figures are only average!
and do not apply to every child. Sometimes a child '
loses weight perceptibly during the night The reason
for this is that frequent feeding during the daytime
adds to the child's weight At night its meals are less;
frequent and do not add to its body enough material ,
to counterbalance the loss of water hrough the lungs,
skin, etc. f
One thing parents and nurses should remember If
that Increase In weight does not necessarily mean
growth. It may represent merely an extra deposit of
fat 'which is sometimes very undesirable.
Badly fed children, when first given suitable food
show9 a rapid rise in weight, but this Is an indication
of fat deposit rather than growth.
Although a baby's brain is very Inactive at birth,
its rate of growth is extremely rapid, and by the sixth,
month its weight will have nearly doubled. After the
sixth month it grows slowly, and by the end of the
seventh year it will weigh not quite twice what it did
at the six months period. v
The Town Where the CYCLONES ARE BORN
FIES are the king of midsummer .pests
and their contemptible majesties may
rule or ruin our health and comfort
Like mosquitoes, these buzzh irritants are
sensitive to oils or strdng odors. Dip a
brush into oil of sarafras and paint the door
and window frames with it Or wet a cloth
in a half pint of warm water -into which you
have poured a dozen drops of dllof lavender,
and wash the windows and screens with It
An effective fly trap can be made by mixinr
one teaspoonful of cream, one teaspoonful of
brown sugar and a teaspoonful of black pep
per. Place the mixture in a shallow dish and
then leave the flies to their fate. The cream
and Bugar will be the decoys and the pepper
the exterminating agent
Another trap for unwary flies Is made of a
teaspoonful of dissolved gum arable and the
same quantity of honey and brown sugar. A
pinch of alum added to this puts the finishing
touch to the fly's career.
Where flies have been there inevitably fol
low fly marks. To remove them is likely to
deface the picture frames or toilet silver upon
which they have settled. Better than removal
Is prevention. Wash the articles in water In
which onions have been boiled and the flies
will give them a wide berth.
Ants are not only troublesome, but some
varieties, notably the large red ants are dead
ly. A child that was left alone tried to find
amusement In a hill of red ants found Instead
death. The Insects literally stung film to
death. A lump of camphor will keep ants out
of your clothes closets.
A simple way of causing the evacuation of
an ant city in your yard or garden is to dig
a hole near it and place a bottle filled with
water In the hole. The ants will swarm about
it and despite their reputation among scien
tists for sagacity will climb to the rim; hesi
tate for an instant, then, undeterred by the
sight of the floating bodies of their comrades,
plunge to their death. The popular theory 1b
that the smell of water maddens them. Cer
tainly it appears that it has the power to turn
their ant heads. 'v
If ants have made inroads into your home,
find ' the hole or crack through .yhich they
come, fill it with quicklime and1 then pour
boiling water over It Pulverized borax
sprinkled about their haunts sometimes drives
them away. Smearing molasses upon jars
and other vessels infested with ants is a good
but not a neat way of trapping them: A most
effective method is to pour a half and half
solution of carbolic acid down the hole or
crack through which they came.
The stings of bees, gnats, waspa or hornets
may be successfully treated by applying to
the affected part, either with a piece of clean
muslin or a sponge, a mixture of equal parts
of ammonia and of castor or olive oil. A
strong solution of salt and water will be
found helpful in alleviating the pain.
SCIENCE hfts at last placed its finger upon the exact
birthplace of the cyclones which from time to time
work devastation through the West. According
tb Dr. Emil jSchildenkrantz, an eminent German meteor
ologist, who has been visiting this country, the cradle
of the,, cyclone lies in the town of Yuma, Colorado."
There is born and nurtured the whirling tornado the
deadliest type of destructive wind, a veritable dancing
dervish of the gales.
Yuma lies about 138 miles east of Denver, in the foot
hills of the Rocky Mountains. Its altitude Is forty-one
hundred feet
It Is generally agreed among the weather experts
that the destructive whirling winds are caused by a
vacuum which forms in the air and produces a dark,
funnel-shaped cloud that whirls about with tremendous
force in the manner of a Summer-resort merry-go-round.
As soon as this vacuum forms, the air rushes in to
fill It, because, as the text books say, nature abhors a
vacuum. The air is then apt to swirl about In a circle
or spiral which results In a twisting wind or cyclone.
Bearing these things In mind, Dr. Schlldenkrantz
determined to locate the spot where natural conditions,
made the formation of vacuums most likely. He studied
the, trail of the recent cyclone that swep through
north Kansas and expended Its chief fury on the city
of Omaha and followed it to Its mysterious beginning
in Colorado. He, was not satisfied until be came to
Yuma, the little town on the eastern slope of the Oreat
Divide.
Careful study of the environment of this town soon
convinced the scientist that his task waft completed
he had found the cradle of the cyclone.
Dr. Schlldenkrantz gives two reasons for his conten
tion that Yuma was the birthplace of the recent cyclone
and was probably responsible for many previous ones.
In the first place, be observed that the climate has
sharp alternations of heat and cold. This is one con
dition making directly for the creation of vacuums in
the air. The days are intensely warm in Summer.
Last month, for instance, the thermometer climbed sev
eral times to 10S degrees. Yet the nights were always
cool. Sometimes they were bo cold that the townspeople
found it necessary to close the doors and windows and
to build fires in the stoves and fireplaces.
In the second place, the soil at Yuma is covered with
the short, crisp, curling grass named after the buffalo,
because it resembles the hair of his coat Like the
buffalo, buffalo grass is becoming extinct but in and
about Tuma it still grows in profuse quantities. This
grass, curling close to the earth, the scientist avers,
reflects the heat more strongly than any other natural
medium. Dr. Schlldenkrantz says the dreaded paving
stones of the city streets have only half the reflective
power of this closely curling grass. A walk about the
prairies covered with it will confirm his theory, for it
flings back the heat so strongly that it causes the face
to become sunburned even on a cloudy day. The grass,
by forming a blanket covering the earth, prevents the'
absorption of the heat by the earth. The burning sun's
t 1 A u i v. l I .1 .. M :
are flung back by the grass into the air, twice heating; t
it and so creating the vacuum that is the preparation
for a cyclone.
During his visit there in weather which the oldest
citizens pronounced ordinary and moderate, he studied
the air with his telescope and distinctly saw through
that magnifying medium the formation of three tiny but)
unmistakably funnel shaped clouds,
. Yuma itself, Dr. Schlldenkrantz says, is like a typhoid '
germ carrier, of whom we have examples occasionally:
in a community. While diffusing germB of typhus these
persons never suffer from them and while breeding and
cradling tornadoes and cyclones, Yuma is Itself peace
fully Immune from them.
Yuma Is situated In the middle of a wido prairie. It
enjoys the cool breezes that sweep downward through,
the canons of the Rockies. It Is vaunted by its four,
hundred inhabitants, and justly boasted, a natural sani
tarium. Asthmatic patients, convalescents and neuraa
thenlcs flock there for cure and find it; but Yuma, like .
its human prototypes, has faults, and its fostering of
cyclones is the chief. -
TERRAPINS to Be Grown on FARMS
How a Natural Pond Can Be Utiltced as a Terrapin Farm. A The
Pondv.. B Fence. C Egg Bed. D Outlet of Pond. E Enclot-
ure for Young Terrapin. F Fence Around Laying Bed.
THE experts of the Government Fisheries Bureau
have found out that terrapin can be successfully
and profitably bred under artificial 1 conditions
fThere is money in ihe business.
Terrapin cannot be raised in the back yard. There
nust be salt water, with a rising and falling tide. The
water must overflow the breeding ground (barring the
egg bed, as presently to be explained), and there must
be a suitable enclosure to prevent the turtles from get
ting away.
In plenty of places along the Atlantlo Coast are nat
ural tidal ponds which might easily be converted Into
terrapin farms by inclosing them with a tight board
fence. The fence
should be set back
from the margin to
prevent shlpworms
from attacking the
Yinnrrin. which OUKht
to he seven feet
Iong and driven
three feet into the
ground. At one end
there should be a
sloping bed of sand
for egg laying, built
up twelve inches
above the extreme
high-tide level. It will
HOI QO iu UlLVKJ
overflow fhe egg
Across the tidal outlet of the pond should be a gate
of small Iron bars set close together In a wooden frame
or a corresponding arrangement of heavy galvanized
iron netting to prevent the escape of the terrapin. Pro
vision must be made for the young turtles Jn a separate
lnclosure somewhere about the pond. It is necessary to
allow a water area of ten square feet for each adult
r In case a natural pond Is not available a fairly satls
oactory lnclosure can be made on almost any low piece
of ground to which salt water can be conducted by
ditches or through which a salt creek flows. The Ideal
situation for the purpose is a swampy area of consider
able size, all of which (except the egg bed) is covered
at high tide, hut from which at low tide the water does
not entirely disappear. This gives the terrapin an op
portunity to crawl about and sun themselves.
Good terrapin for breedlng.may usually be got from
dealers. But the females purchased should measure
six Inches along the middle of the lower shell and the
males four Inches. The male terrapin has a longer Ull
and a smaller head than the female, but does not grow
nearly so big. There should be twice as many females
as males in the turtle pond. - rl --
When the female is ready to lay she climbs up on
the sandbanlr and scoops out -a-jug-ehapedhole-elght;-lnches
deep with her hind feet. Then stae backs as far
as possible Into It and drops her eggs, eight or nine in
number. Finally she replaces the sand, packs it down,
conceals tha spot, by crawling hack and forth over it
and toes away.he never reylslta the place nor takes
the slightest Interest in her offspring after they are
hatched.' '"' " :
The laying season begins as soon as warm weather
arrives. Care must be takennot to disturb the eggs,. It
grill not do to dig them up or tramp over the bed. Rata
will eat them if they get a chance, so If rats are about
they must be trapped or poisoned- In eight or nine
weeks the eggs will hatch. The first young ones may
be expected to make their appearance about the middle
of August, and from that time on a few will be seen
from time to time crawling about the ed.
To prevent them from escaping the egg bed should
be Inclosed by a low fence with a cap board of smooth
dressed lumber, which affords the little terrapin no
foothold. Their climbing ability is astonishing. They
can ascend to the top of a rough board fence with ease,
and by selecting a corner in which to climb can make
their way over a concrete wall three feet high.
Tne young ones
that are noticed
crawling about
should be picked up
and placed in tubs.
Kept In the shade
and provided with
finely minced fish
for food. Most of
them -however, re
main in the nests
beneath the sand
and should not
emerge until the fol
lowing Spring. But
after time has been
allowed -for the
hatching of all the
eggs It Is best to dig
How Children Are Now Being Taught TO READ .
WITHOUT Learning Their A, B, Cs
up the little turtles, In order that they may receive
proper care. This may be done by scraping the sand
away with the hands to a depth of eight inches, start
ing at one corner of the egg bed.
Now, the little terrapin may be dealt witti in either
of two ways. They may be kept warm through the fol
lowing Winter and regularly fed, or they may be allowed
to hibernate. If the latter method be chosen a box
three feet long and half as wide, a foot in depth, Is pre
pared, with top, bottom and sides of galvanized wire net
It has a hinged cover. Sunk In the ground in a place
where drainage is good, bo that the top of It shall be
level with the surface, 11 Is filled with sand and the
small turtles are burled, in it at a depth of five inches.
They are left to take care of themselves.) When Spring
arrives they will come out r'
If they are to be fed through the Winter they must
be kept in a heated building, where the temperature will
not fall below 70 degrees in the coldest weather. Under
such conditions they show no desire to hibernate, and
they grow,' whereas the little terrapin fast asleep in
the sand remain the same size. When newly batched
they are a little over an inch long. In the following
year they add an Inch to their size and during the next
Summer another inch. Up to the third Summer it is
-Impossible- to distinguish 4he-Bexes,-butas that sea
MOST children know instinctively that
there is something wrong about the
uninteresting and stupid alphabet. It
doesn't seem reasonable to them, and they hate
it Now, It seems that they are right
Progressive educational students have hit
upon a plan to teach children to read by the
new and efficient method of sound reading,
which eliminates the necessity of learning the
A B Cs.
This new method is recognized as one of the
most important discoveries In modern educa
tional systems and bids fair soon to come into
general use.
The whole system of the English language is
based upon sound. Every word spoken Is made
up of one or more distinct sounds. No one
speaks a word without giving utterance to some
of these sounds. When we say cat we do not
name the three letters, as c-a-v, out we give the
sound of "c" end "at" blended together and
get "cat"
The child by this new sound-reading method
is taught to work out words by means of what
Is known as the family groups After learning
the sounds of the consonants the child takes up
different families, as the "at," the "an" and the .
"ill" families, and builds words as "c-at," "rat,"
Cm-af "m-an," Van," "Mil," "fill," etc., etc.,
adding little by little until a large vocabulary Is
acquired. This Is the foundation ofthe new
method of teaching known as the phonic method.
The first Important thing for the child to
learn Is reading, in order that it may be able to
gain information for itself. It Is therefore of
the greatest importance that the child be taught
this as soon as possible.
. With the time-wasting alphabet, a child was
considered somewhat of a prodigy that could
master the letters and their order at the age of
five years. Many months were wasted by the
children in having those twenty-six characters
Implanted in their minds. It has been demon
strated by the new phonic system that children
can acquire the ability to read in much less
time than by the old A-B-C method, and advance
ment Is much more rapid.
Sounds and not names of letters should be"
mastered first for words are only sounds or com
binations of sounds. If the name of the letter Is
learned first as under the old method, it Inter
feres with the appreciation ,pf the sound element
In the word and unnecessarily complicates the
process of learning to read.
After the child has commenced to read and
has acquired a vocabulary and the ability to
recognize certain words, the names of the let
ters and spelling are introduced. The primary
work, however, Is to teach the child to read, and
a knowledge of the alphabet is not necessary, to
accomplish this.
By the phonic method the child Is taught t4
recognize the word and its name as a whole. Pot?
instance, the word dog is recognized, taken in
and absorbed by the child as one thing, in its
entirety, Instead of learning the three distinct
characters of which the word!s composed. It
Is just as easy for the child to do this as to Ye- .
sort to the old, cumbersome method of picking
out the three separate characters.
Many who are teaching reading by the old
A-B-C method think that is the best possible
way, but the Modern Progress League has shown
by actual practise that under the new plan chil
dren , can be taught to read quite intelligently
without knowing a single letter by name.
On of the- advocates of this system wa
questloned as to whether this phonlo reading
would not tend to make the child a poor speller.
He said: "I do not believe the new method
makes poor spellers. But I do think the old
system of striking out the silent letters In word
did affeqt the spelling. On tfee whole, I think
Children read and spell much better and in a
much shorter time when taught by the phonlo ,
system." t
Making Your Camping Trip Do You Good
progresses the difference becomes manifest: and the
females grow faster. .
The breeder may expect to have on band a few
salable specimens at the end of four years and a good
many by the end of the fifth year. The males have little
market value, and those not wanted for propagating pur
t noses should be got rid of as soon as their sex is posl
,4 tlyely ascertained. ,
One man can easily take. care of several thousand'
terrapin in a hatchery. .?
SELECT for your camp ground an eleva
tion beside a lake or stream, if possible,
where it will be exposed to the sun at
least a part of the day.
If you use a tent, pitch it so that when it
rains the water will drain away from it, and
have the front so placed that the sun will
shine as much as possible Inside. An open
camp, with theronf toward the sun, Is much
preferable to" a tent
Avery comfortable and healthful bed can
easily be made with balsam or cedar boughs
thickly spread upon the ground. If these are
not obtainable use spruce or hemlock boughs.
Take a short sun and air bath, the entire
body being exposed every day the sua shines.
Make it quite short at first, and M the "skin
gets" accustomed to the sun's rays make ths '
. exposure longer. The head should bs partially.
protected, at least until you become accus
tomed to the exposure.
During this sun bath exercise moderately,
and rub yourself all over, briskly with the
hands or a coarse towel.
This sun and air bath has a powerful effect
'upon the skin, strengthening it improving
circulation, and making It more active In its
work of removing waste matters from the
system. 1 " ' f '
Take moderate exercise of some kind every
day,- rain or shine. Walking, rowing and
climbing mountains are good kinds1 of exer
cise. Swimming is excellent , Avoid violent
or excessive exercises. .Too much Is worse
than none. You should conserve your vltal
t Ity during your vacation v and not waste it
-Eat plain, nourishing food, but do not sat
too much. Take time to chew, your food thor
oughly. Pea, bean and lentil flours are easy
to carry, and made delicious soups. They are
very nutritious and easy to prepare. Evapo
rated milk Is another desirable article. Choo
olate Is a very convenient and satisfying lunch
for long trips. Drink plenty of water, but be
. sure it is pure. ; 7, . .
Practise deep breathing early ; and often.
Get the habit and It will do wonders for your
ealthnjlitrieBgih,;,',: :'; ;'?K;?TFr';"
Those addicted to the habit of smoklnir. ,
and desirous of breaking themselves of It
can more readily do so while enjoying a va
cation of this kind than when at home amM
-their customary surroundings. Life In the
open air eliminates the craving for tobaroo,
and if once the habit is broken there f no
reason why it should ever be allowed to to !-. t
hold again,"''M'iw:-Vf;:3;;' '''''-"'lX -"' '''' ,'
..Above all things, leave all cares and ":-
les behind the minute, your tent 1 pltrt"
.3
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