ironing room; and on either side of it is fixed a “Radial” drying or
airing horse. The stove heats at one time 54 irons. The advantage
of the radial horse on each side of the stove is that the heat is
utilised for airing and stiffening the ironed articles, a large
quantity of which can be hung upon the radial arms.
In some steam laundries gas irons are now employed; where these are
used exclusively, it is necessary to provide a steam-heated airing
closet for airing and stiffening the finished work before it is taken
to the packing room.
The packing department (Fig. 155F) has on all sides convenient
latticed wooden racks or compartments, ranged in various sizes for
different sized washings, the name, address, and mark in coloured ink
(representing the coloured cotton mark on the goods) of each customer
being placed over each rack. Body-linen, shirts, collars, and finery
are all sorted in the racks, but house linen, which is of course much
heavier, is sorted on separate shelves, dresses and other starched
work being hung upon rails overhead, in close proximity to the racks
to which they belong.
[Illustration: 155F.]
In the centre of the room is a hot table or closet with open shelves,
in which is a steam coil. This is used for airing the house linen and
other things before they are sorted away. There is also round the
room and underneath the racking a steam coil for warming the room.
The linen is conveyed from room to room as required, by means of
clothes wagons and barrows running upon rubber tyred wheels.
On emerging from the packing room we found ourselves in the entrance
hall, immediately opposite the door leading to the sorting room,
showing that we had made a tour of the laundry, from one department
to the other, without going over any part of the ground twice. The
different doors we then noticed had each a name upon its outside,
as “sorting,” “receiving,” and “marking” room, next “general
wash-house,” next “ironing room,” and, upon the door through which we
had just passed, “packing and delivery room.”
The offices, private and general, are placed at the back of this
entrance hall, and command a view of the reception and dispatch of
all work and of the entrance or departure of visitors or workpeople.
A general sight is also obtained from here over the working
departments (with the exception of the private wash-house).
The building generally is lofty and well ventilated; and we were
pleased to note that the proprietors, in addition to having well
considered the arrangement of workrooms, have provided a spacious
dining and recreation room, fitted with cookery range and every
convenience for the use of the workpeople. This is on the first
floor, over the entrance hall.
_Public Institution Laundries._--Most of the large public
institutions, such as hospitals, workhouses, infirmaries, and asylums
throughout the country, are fitted with Bradford’s “Vowel” washing
machines, and for hospital purposes the washing compartments are made
of metal, and can be used for special cases where desirable.
One of the first important washing plants constructed by Messrs.
Bradford was fixed in the London Hospital, Whitechapel Road, London,
in 1867, and it is still working in this institution.
Architects and others interested in steam laundry apparatus will do
well to consult Messrs. Bradford & Co. when arranging their plans.
_THE SCHOOLROOM._
_The Room._--Provided that the room fulfil all the ordinary
conditions of sanitation, the foremost question then for decision is
the lighting of the room. As remarked by Dr. Power, the amount of
light, both day and artificial, supplied in schools is a matter of
great importance, for the feebler the light the closer is the object
instinctively brought to the observer to be recognised, and amongst
the various suggestions of a practical nature that have been made
is one by Hoffmann, of Wiesbaden, that in every schoolroom a set of
Snellen’s test types should be suspended, and as soon as they are no
longer legible by the healthy at a normal distance the school should
close. In school buildings the windows should, if possible, look to
the south or east, a much greater amount of light entering with equal
window space from those directions, especially in the earlier hours
of the day, than from the north, whilst type of a given size is read
at a much greater distance with south than with north light. Cohn
and Javal alike think that it is almost impossible to get too much
light in a schoolroom, the latter maintaining that there should be
sufficient light in the darkest part of the room to read easily and
well even on dark days. The size of the window must manifestly exert
a great influence upon the amount of light admitted, and Cohn has
laid down the rule that there should be at least 1 sq. ft. of window
pane for every 5 sq. ft. of flooring, and in some recent Parisian
models there is actually 1 ft. of window to each foot of flooring.
The height of the window from the floor is of importance, since a
room is always dark with high windows, owing to the obliquity of the
entering rays and the loss by reflection; the sill of the window
should not be lower than 1 ft. from the ground. The light should
enter from the left hand, since it enables the letter that has just
been formed in writing to be distinctly seen; whereas, if the light
enter from the right, the last written letters are in the dark. The
total area being the same, 3 windows are better than 2, for since the
illumination obtained from a given light diminishes as the square of
the distance, more light will be obtained in the remoter parts of the
room with 3 than with 2 lights.
_Desks and Benches._--The form of the desks and school furniture
is a point that has been almost entirely neglected in England. The
slope of the table is of importance. If a book be placed vertically
in front of us, we can see well, and no inclination of the head is
required. If it be placed at such an inclination as to form an angle
of 45° with the horizon, we can still, by turning the eyes down,
read well without inclining the head; but if the book is placed
horizontally, the head is naturally bent downwards to relieve the
exertion of turning the eyes strongly downwards, and this tends to
congest the vessels of the head. Hence the desk should be inclined,
and not flat; but an angle of 45° would be too much, the books, &c.,
would slide off. A rise of 2 in. for each 12 in. of table breadth is
sufficient. Fahrner considers that the first movement of the child in
leaving the normal position consists in inclining his head forward
and to the left, and that this apparently unimportant movement is the
root of the whole evil; for it in the first place causes the centre
of gravity of the head to fall in front of the vertebral column. The
muscles of the neck are consequently called into play; they soon,
however, become fatigued, and transfer the work to the muscles of the
back, and thus at the expiration of a few minutes the head sinks upon
the left arm, and the eyes are brought into very close proximity
with the paper. All physicians are now agreed that the desk should be
a little higher than the elbows when hanging naturally, and that the
size of the child should be taken into consideration.
The distance between the edge of the desk and the front edge of his
seat must be 0, or they must even somewhat overlap each other; the
difference in height between the bench and the desk must be as great
as the distance of the elbow from the bench when the arm is hanging
freely down 1 or 2¼ in.; every school bench must have a proper
back, which must not be the back of the desk behind. There is much
difference of opinion amongst high authorities as to the best form
of back, some preferring a high back, others a T-back of moderate
height, and others again a low back. The high back supports the
lower part of the dorsal region of the spine, and thus relieves the
lumbar (or loins) region of part of the superincumbent weight. The
moderately high T-back supports the sacrum or the lower lumbar
vertebræ, fixes the pelvis, and renders the sitting position one of
rest. The low back fits into the curvature of the loins, and fulfils
the purposes of both the other forms partially. It is the form which
is generally regarded as being the best. It is on the whole best that
each seat should have its own back, since with continuous backs,
overcrowding, which should be religiously avoided, may occur. The
back should be curved to suit the form of the body, and be firmly and
solidly constructed.
[Illustration: 156. Varrentrapp’s School Desk.]
The bench on which the scholar sits should be hollowed out
continuously with the back, and be either flat or a little raised
in front. Its breadth should be, in accordance with the size of the
child, 9-13¼ in. The height of the bench should be such that the knee
is bent at right angles to the well-supported and resting thigh, and
that the soles of the feet may be planted flat on the ground or on a
foot-board. The table-top must be broad enough to support books and
papers, and to allow them to be pushed forward so far that they do
not interfere with writing: 12½-15½ in. are the right dimensions. The
desk-top must, moreover, form an inclined plane; nothing conduces so
much to stooping as a flat desk. The limit is that the ink should
not flow back in the pen; but this is much too great, since books
and papers would slide off unless prevented by a raised edge at the
bottom of the desk, and such edges are objectionable, since they hurt
the arm in writing. An inclination of 2 in. in 12 is about right.
For reading, the desk inclination may be as steep as possible, but
this is not easy to manage in school desks. The height of the desk
is from a medical point of view secondarily determined as soon as
the height of the bench and the difference between the bench and the
desk is determined. If the feet are to rest on the ground, the height
of the desk will have to be different, according to the size of the
child, which may be inconvenient to the teacher. The difficulty may
be overcome by having a movable latticework for the feet to rest on.
The desk lastly should be sufficiently broad (19½-23½ in.) for each
child. Arrangements require to be made to allow of standing as well
as sitting. A typical form (Varrentrapp’s) of school desk and seat is
shown in Fig. 156. The dotted lines of the seat give the position and
dimensions suitable for older scholars. The distances _a b_ (14 in.)
and _c b_ (2¾ in.) remain the same for all children; the difference
_b d_ is slightly increased with the age.
_Type of Books._--Much attention has lately been directed to various
points in printing, shown to exert an influence on the vision.
First, in regard to the letters themselves. No one can compare the
Gothic with the modern Roman letters without being struck with the
superior legibility of the Roman type. The flourishes of some of the
letters, the close similarity to one another of others, as of the “h”
and “k,” the “f” and “s,” the “u” and the “n,” all render a closer
examination of the print requisite in the one case than in the other.
Javal, to whom we are indebted for much interesting observation on
this subject, says that the increased number of myopes (shortsighted
persons) noticed in Elsass since the annexation consequent on the war
of 1870 is due to the introduction of German type and writing into
that province. Weber considers that the absence of fine upstrokes
in the Roman form of type is a distinct advantage, and, further,
that the arched, instead of the pointed, shape of the letters in the
Roman type renders them more easy to read, and therefore require less
earnest fixation. Weber maintains that a child 8 years of age who has
read and worked with Latin or Roman type for 3 months is in advance
of a child who has read the Gothic type for 2 years. The size of the
short letters, such as “m” or “n,” should not be less than 1·5 mm.
and the interspaces between two words should be somewhat greater, 2
mm. or 2·5 mm. It is considered that letters smaller than this are
injurious. The leader of the _Times_ has a height of short letters of
this size, and that is a very legible print to the ordinary eye at a
distance of 12-15 in., while much smaller type can be seen.
Other conditions deserve attention, and amongst them may be mentioned
quality of paper, character of type, excellence of impression. Now
and again the fount of type of one of our daily newspapers gets
worn out, and every one is aware of the unpleasant effects that are
produced by impressions of letters which are partly imperfect--when,
for example, _c_ cannot be distinguished from _o_ or from _e_, when
_t_ and _l_ become confused, and the rounds of _a_, _b_, _d_, _g_,
and _p_ become filled with ink. Such imperfections are greatly
increased by roughnesses and inequalities of the paper, and it is
only requisite to read a page or two of one of the cheap editions
of a popular author and then a page or two of an edition de luxe to
appreciate the influence of paper and printing. The introduction
of pictures is of decided advantage, since they both excite the
attention and relieve the eye.
Brudenell Carter advises, in the case of every child whose vision
is subnormal, to ascertain the cause and nature of the defect, and
to regulate not only the studies, but also, as far as possible, the
future career, in accordance with it. He would urge that the vision
of every new pupil should be tested, and that the tasks required
should be controlled in accordance with its capabilities; that all
lesson books for very young children be printed in large type, and
that the children be compelled to keep such books at a distance (the
type in which we often see texts of Scripture printed to be hung
up in railway waiting-rooms would be a good size for the purpose);
that many of the school-books now in use should be abandoned, and
that new editions should be prepared, in type of at least twice the
size, and twice the legibility (the latter depending much upon the
shape and design of the letters) of that now in use. It would be
useful, especially in cases where there is hereditary tendency to
shortsightedness, to teach by means of long slips or wall texts with
a picture at the head, sold by most stationers. The child should be
placed with his back to the light, and at a distance of 4-6 ft. from
the slip, the separate letters of which, as well as the details of
the picture, may be indicated by the teacher with a light wand.
_Writing._--Writing has a powerful influence in inducing
shortsightedness. Cohn has made the sensible suggestion that
stenography (shorthand) should be introduced into schools a little
above the lowest classes. The size of the type or symbols is, it is
acknowledged, smaller than that of ordinary writing, but not smaller
than the Greek. The acquirement of the art is easy, and the saving of
time is very great.
The question of the advisability of using slates for instruction
in writing has been considered, and developed some difference of
opinion. With the same amount of light and an equal degree of
sharpness of vision, letters of the same size written with ink and
with slate pencil are seen, the former at a distance of 4 ft., the
latter at only 3 ft., even when the unpleasant reflex from the
slate is avoided. Weber thinks that many of the difficulties and
troubles occasioned by writing are the same, whether slate-pencil,
lead-pencil, or pen and ink be used; but still thinks it desirable
that after the first half-year pen and ink should be preferred. Cohn
agrees with Horner, but suggests the employment of white artificial
tablets, made by Emanuel Thieben, of Pilsen, which can be written
upon with lead-pencil, and which he has found to be so far superior
to slate that writing which can be read at 6 yd. on the white slab
can only be read at 5 yd. on slate.
Writing is done with the least strain when the copy-book is tilted
towards the left; when the child is compelled to write with the
book parallel to the edge of the desk, he brings the base line
perpendicular to the down-strokes by turning his head towards the
right and twisting his spine. This contortion brings the eyes nearer
to the page, and the left eye nearer to it than the right. In a
discussion on this subject at the meeting of the Ophthalmic Society,
at Heidelberg, Laqueur and Manz favoured the slanting system of
writing with an oblique position of the book, on the ground that it
throws the work more on the flexor muscles of the forearm, which are
naturally stronger than the extensors, and Berlin dwelt upon the fact
that this system admits of greater rapidity of execution.
_Mental Training._--The object of the teacher is to teach to think.
The pupil thinks enough, but he thinks loosely, incoherently,
indefinitely, and vaguely. He expends power enough on his mental
work, but it is poorly applied. The teacher points out to him these
indefinite or incoherent results, and demands logical statements of
him. Here is the positive advantage the teacher is to the pupil. The
prevailing habit of slovenly reading is largely due to the slovenly
way in which children are taught to read at school. Be very careful
about this; teach scholars to read with precision and understanding,
thinking of every word, getting the sense of each sentence, and
grasping the full meaning of any piece that may be before them.
There can be no greater mistake than to imagine that all children
develop at the same rate during the corresponding years of their
existence. In a group or class of children, each of whom is 11 years
old, there will be many shades of difference of development. It
follows, therefore, that the drawing of a hard and fast line as to
acquisitions appropriate to any special year of a child’s life is a
mistake both from an educational and from a medical point of view.
To urge a child to great mental exertion while it is passing through
a period of bodily growth is to put an undue strain upon its powers.
A dull child will be rendered more dull and hopeless because it
cannot perform its task, and the urging to exertion may produce
nothing but a sullen resistance to authority. An eager, docile child
will respond to the impulse, and will exert itself beyond its powers;
and then an exhaustion will follow which may permanently injure both
bodily and mental health. It would, however, be unwise to conclude
that, because a child is unable to make great mental exertion while
growing, it is not to be required to make any exertion at all.
If an adult can apply himself to the acquisition of knowledge in one
direction for only 1 hour (and how much longer can an audience listen
to a lecture?), the child can evidently do very much less. At the
ages of 5 to 7 he can attend to one subject--a single lesson--for
15 minutes; a child from 7 to 10 years of age, about 20 minutes;
from 10 to 12 years, about 25 minutes; from 12 to 18 years, about 30
minutes. (Chadwick.) Hence great care is demanded to avoid engaging
the brains of pupils in work for more than very short periods, and
to provide intervals during which there may be rest of the centres
specially taxed. Much may be done by changing the kind of work
frequently. No growing child should be kept longer than ½-¾ hour
at even the same description of work. Again, the great centres of
relation should not be overtaxed. Vision, hearing, the speech
centre, and the centre specially concerned with written language,
whether in writing or reading, should not be wearied. Brain weariness
is the first indication of exhaustion. The faculty of “attention”
is perhaps one of the most easily vulnerable of all the parts or
properties of brain-function. It is the faculty which most readily
becomes permanently enfeebled, and, when weakened, entails most
trouble in adult life. In children it is difficult to catch and fix
the attention. No effort should be spared to secure this fixity of
thought; but in order to avoid weakening the power of “thinking” as
distinguished from “thought-drifting,” the teacher should not strive,
or desire, to hold the attention by any effort on his part longer
than it is voluntarily given by the child--the slightest indication
of exhaustion should at once be met by a change of task. If these
hints, general as they are, can be reduced to practice, there is
little fear of “overwork” or harm from brain activity. Desultory
and insufficient work is more to be feared by far than “overwork,”
because the brain, like every other part of the organism, grows as it
feeds, and it can only feed as it works. (_Lancet._)
Children, especially at the age of 10-17, should not be over-taxed,
and girls in particular should not be pressed to work at periods
when they are naturally languid and exhausted. The work to be done
should be mainly done in school; night-work and night-lessons should
be short. Nor should children be made to do much work in the morning
before breakfast, nor immediately after food. The books given to
young children ought to be light to hold in the hand; the paper
should be clean, white, and smooth. The letters should be large in
proportion to the youth of the child, well formed, and well printed.
The spaces between the lines and the interspaces of the words should
be relatively wide. The lines should not be too long. The light
should be abundant, and should enter from the left. In writing he
should sit upright and square to the desk. The desk itself should be
inclined, and there should be a due proportion between the height
of the desk and the bench or stool on which the child is sitting.
Reading small print by a dim light is to be discountenanced, and
reading should not be permitted in bed. The work given to girls to
learn sewing should not be too fine, and no black work should be
given, especially at night.
How vastly would the world benefit if the hours wasted on Bible
history, dead languages, and higher mathematics (except for special
objects, of course), were given to modern languages and useful (as
distinguished from pure) science. How many “educated” men know a word
of French or German, or a score of the physical facts which govern
our existence, or anything about the structure of their own bodies,
or of the names, properties, and uses of our native plants?
The work performed by girls, especially when young, is not beneath
the attention of the surgeon. There cannot be a doubt that every girl
should be taught the use of the needle and thread; but it is by no
means necessary that the work which is put into their hands should be
of a nature to make a severe strain upon their eyes. That such strain
applied to the eyes in this particular way is injurious is well known
from the effects of lace-making in Belgium and France, which is
admitted on all hands to seriously impair the vision of many workers
annually. In moderately fine calico there are about 72 threads to
the inch; and if two of these are taken up at every stitch, the work
is done to 1/36 in., which is even so very small. But finer kinds
of cambric run to 150 or more to the inch, and must be very trying
to the eye. Weber observes:--“Who need trouble himself about a girl
learning to knit a stocking requiring 35,000 or even 60,000 loops,
when the whole article can be finished by machine work in an hour
or two?” But, as Cohn remarks, if the girl is, instead of knitting
stockings, occupied with Greek characters or conic sections, she is
not much better off. On the whole, it appears that no child should
be given work to do which requires to be held closer to the eye than
1 ft., and with this all due care should be taken in regard to light
and other particulars.