THE MEDICAL INSPECTION OF CHILDREN ATTENDING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

178 MEDICAL INSPECTION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

from the ordinary extract of kola in containing onlytraces of free caffeine, though from 8 to 9 per cent.

of caffeine was present in the form of a complexchemical compound, probably the glucoside kolanin. The

extract possessed medicinal properties equal in intensityto those of fresh nuts and afforiedan excellent illustration

of the value of employing drugs in the fresh state whenpossible and of preventing those changes which are inducedby the presence of oxydases. M. Perrot suggests that furtherinvestigations on the same lines may lead to the discovery ofbetter methods for the manufacture of galenical preparationswhich shall be wholly representative of the drugs from whichthey are made. -

THE MEDICAL INSPECTION OF CHILDRENATTENDING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

ON July 16th Mr. A. Birrell, President of the Board oiEducation, received a deputation from the British MedicalAssociation and from the Manchester and Salford SanitaryAssociation. Mr. Tennant, M P , who introduced the

deputation, said that the members thereof were anxious thatthe clauses in the Education Bill now under discussion con-

cerning medical inspection should be made compulsoryinstead of voluntary. Sir Victor Horaley and Sir William H.Broadbent both spoke in support of the aims of the deputa-tion. Mr. Birrell adopted the stereotyped form of reply uponsuch occasions. He had every sympathy with the desires ofthe deputation but he could not see his way to grant theirrequests. There was the spectre of the rates and he had re-ceived a deputation from ratepayers who did not share theviews of the deputation which he was then receiving. All the

same, every pressure would be put by the Board of Educationupon local authorities to make such arrangements as theycould. We have upon various occasions, notably in our

issue of Feb. 24th, p. 536, and in that of April 21st, p. 1123,given the opinion that medical inspection is most desirable.As we said in the article referred to in our issue of

Feb. 24th, the State compels parents to send their childrento school, or at least to have them educa’ed, and this beingso it is surely the duty of the State to find some way inwhich children attending school shall be prevented frombeing failures on account of their own ill-health or physicaldeficiencies or a source of danger to their fellows. In thecourse of the debate on the Bill during the same day in theHouse of Commons Mr. Tennant moved an amendment to

one of the clauses to secure compulsory medical inspectionof the children. Mr. Birrell said that he was in the

hands of the House. He was willing to put downfor the report stage an amendment to the followingeffect: "It shall be the duty of every local authority toprovide for the medical inspection of every child on its

application for admission to a public elementary school andon such other occasion as the Board of Education may director the local education authority may think fit." The matterwill therefore be further discussed during the report stage ofthe Bill and we hope that in addition the question of the pay-ment of the inspecting medical men will come up. Govern-ments have a way of ordering people to send for medicalmen, without making any provision for the payment of themedical man sought for. An example in point is the Mid-wives Registration Act.

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MICROCEPHALICS AT THE HIPPODROME.

FROM time to time the enterprising management of theHippodrome includes in its programme items which havean interst not only for the morbidly curious but also forthe genuine anthropologi-t. Last year it secured a groupof pygmies from Central Africa-a race never before seen inEngland ; they became an attraction for "society " and thesubject of an elaborate memoir (not yet published) by acommittee of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain

and Ireland. Some months ago a Russian gentleman took hisplace in the programme ; he was over eight feet in height;he was huge in every respect excepting the cranial or brain.containing part of his skull which was of very ordinary pro.portions. His face was massive and very placid ; his voice wassepulchral, but he was so obstinate and suspicious in naturethat he absolutely refused to be examined or measured. Atthe present time three very remarkable individuals are beingshown. They are supposed to be representatives of a nativerace of America (Mexico ?) which is now almost extinct. No

history can be obtained beyond the fact that the Germangentleman who now guides their destinies discovered them irGermany whither they had been brought from America by acitizen of the United States. They provide, therefore, a veryinteresting problem for an enterprising physical anthro’

pologist. The cranial parts of their heads are uncommonlysmall ; the determination of the exact size of their brains isa matter for Professor Karl Pearson, but from measurementsmade of their heads their brain weights may be estimatedto range between 500 and 600 grammes, considerably lessthan half that of the average individual. Their headshave the typical microcephalic form. Their skins are

rather deeply pigmented-a brown tint, but the pigment ispeculiarly superficial in deposit and apparently not per-manent. The sex in each case is probably female but thebreasts are not developed ; the palates are narrow and

vaulted ; the state of their dentitions shows them to beunder 20 years of age. The colour of the iris scarcelymatches the complexion of the skin and indicates a veryclose relationship with one of the lighter-haired Europeanraces. The hair is tied in a bush-like mass on the crown ofthe head, thus emphasising the peculiar smallness of the skull ;the coiffure is one which we do not remember to have seenbefore in a native race. Their manners are polite and easy;they shake hands in the approved European fashion ; in fact,it must be concluded that their native manners have been

entirely replaced during their short stay in Germany. Theyspeak no language and the only words which they seem tounderstand belong to the German form of speech. As will be

seen from the brief account just given, these "representa-tives of an almost extinct native race" are of interest not

only to students of anthropology but also to those of humannature.

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PRESERVATIVES IN MILK.

WE are glad to see that the Local Government Board isdrawing the attention of the authorities who are responsiblefor the administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs Actsto the fact that the use of preservatives in milk is not a sineq1u), non to the trade. The Board, in a circular recently issued,states that in certain boroughs in London and elsewhere inwhich samples of milk are systematically tested for preserva-tives, the presence of substances at any time of the year hasbeen found to be exceptional and there is evidence to showthat a very large number of milk vendors conduct theirbusiness without the use of antiseptics, even in thoseinstances in which the milk comes long distances by rail.Proceedings instituted against vendors of milk containingpreservatives have usually been taken under Section 6of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act. Conviction has

followed, it being held that when the purchaser whoasks for milk is supplied with milk plus a preservative hedoes not receive an article of the nature, substance, andquality demanded and is prejudiced thereby. The Board

suggests that analysts should record in their quarterlyreports the number of samples of milk which have beenexamined with the view of ascertaining the presence of pre-servatives and should report at once to the council concernedthe facts as to samples which proved on analysis to contairan added preservative. It is further suggested that pro-ceedings should be taken in all cases where such a