Part 54 (2/2)

Of mechanics' shops? 838. Is repet.i.tion necessary to make a durable impression on the mind? Why? 839. How is it with physical education?

840. What follows, according to this principle?

841. ”The best way is to begin at the proper age, and to persevere till the end is attained. This accustoms the mind to sound exertion, and not to _fits_ of attention. Hence the evil arising from long vacations; and also the evil of beginning studies before the age at which they can be understood, as in teaching children the abstract rules of grammar, to succeed in which, implies in them a power of thinking, and an amount of general knowledge, which they do not possess.”

842. _The skull is susceptible of fractures from slight blows._ This occurs most frequently when the blow is given on the side of the head above and anterior to the ear. Here the bone is very thin, and often quite brittle. For these reasons, no instructor, or any person, should punish a child by striking upon any portion of the head.

_Observation._ A few years since, a teacher in one of the Middle States gave a pupil a slight blow upon the head. It fractured the skull and ruptured a blood-vessel of the brain, causing a loss of consciousness, and finally death.

843. _Concussion of the brain may be produced by blows, or by violently shaking a person._ As the brain is of pulpy consistence, the atoms of which it is composed, and the circulation of blood in its minute vessels, may be disturbed by the vibration from a blow on the exterior of the skull-bones. This disturbance of the cerebral organ is attended with unpleasant sensations, dizziness, loss of memory and consciousness. These may be followed by headache and inflammation of the brain. Concussion of the brain, and the results above mentioned, may be produced by the sudden motion attendant on the violent shaking of a scholar. Consequently, a child should never be seized by the arm and shaken violently as a method of chastis.e.m.e.nt.

841. What is the best way of learning the sciences? 842. Why should not a child be struck upon any portion of the head? What observation in this connection? 843. How may concussion of the brain be produced?

What is the effect of each upon the brain of the child?

_Observation._ Most persons have experienced a disagreeable sensation and dizziness, caused by falling from a slight elevation, or by jumping from a carriage. This is the result of a moderate concussion of the brain.

844. In injuries of the brain, from blows and falls, the symptoms are usually alarming, and all should possess some information for such contingencies. In general, such accidents are attended by insensibility; the skin and extremities are pale and cold, the pulse is very weak and feeble, and the circulation is less vigorous; the respiration, also, is less frequent and full.

845. When these symptoms exist, the individual, in the first instance, should be placed in pure air, and friction and dry warmth should be applied to the pallid and cold skin. This should be a.s.siduously persevered in until heat and color are restored to the skin and limbs, and due action of the heart and arteries has been established. Mild stimulants may also be used internally, with much advantage. The sympathizing friends should not be permitted to stand about the patient, as they vitiate the air. There should be no bleeding until the skin and extremities become warm. Send for a surgeon without delay.

Give an instance where moderate concussion of the brain is produced.

844. What are the symptoms when the brain is injured from blows and falls? 845. What treatment should be adopted?

CHAPTER XLI.

THE SENSE OF TOUCH.

846. SENSATION is the perception of external objects by means of the senses. There are five senses, namely, _Touch_, _Taste_, _Smell_, _Hearing_, and _Vision_.

847. TOUCH is the sense by which the mind becomes acquainted with some of the properties of bodies, and enables us determine whether their surfaces are smooth or rough, their relative temperature, and, to a certain degree, their form and weight.

848. Some physiologists make a distinction between the sense of touch and tact. Tact, or feeling, is more general, extending over the whole surface of the skin and mucous membranes, while touch exists chiefly in the fingers of man and in the noses of certain quadrupeds.

849. ”In the exercise of these functions, tact is considered pa.s.sive; as, when any part of the system comes into contact with another body, a sensation of its presence is given, without the exercise of volition. On the contrary, touch is active, and is exercised voluntarily, for the purpose of conveying to the mind a knowledge of the qualities or properties of the surfaces of bodies; as when we feel of a piece of cloth to ascertain its qualities, or a polished surface, to prove its smoothness.”

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