| Number of subjects | Age in years | Stature in centimetres | Increase in centimetres | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | April | October | Winter | Summer | Entire year | ||
| 12 | 11-12 | 139.4 | 141.0 | 143.3 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 3.9 |
| 80 | 12-13 | 143.0 | 144.5 | 147.4 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 4.4 |
| 146 | 13-14 | 147.5 | 149.5 | 152.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| 162 | 14-15 | 152.5 | 155.0 | 158.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 6.0 |
| 162 | 15-16 | 158.5 | 160.8 | 163.8 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 5.3 |
| 150 | 16-17 | 163.5 | 165.4 | 167.7 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 4.2 |
| 82 | 17-18 | 167.7 | 168.9 | 170.4 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 |
| 22 | 18-19 | 169.8 | 170.6 | 171.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.7 |
| 6 | 19-20 | 170.7 | 171.1 | 171.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
In the "Children's Houses," I require a record of stature to be made month by month in the case of every child, the measurement being taken on the day corresponding to the day on which he was born in the month of his birth; in addition to which I keep a record of the total annual increase.
The ages of these children vary between three and four years, and they all belong to the poorer social classes.
MONTHLY AVERAGE INCREASE IN STATURE
In the "Children's Houses" (In millimetres)
| Cold months | Warm months | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | January | February | May | June | July |
| 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
Another factor of growth is
Electricity.—One of the most interesting discoveries of recent date is that of the influence of terrestrial electricity upon the growth of living organisms.
A series of experiments were made, by isolating cavies (a species of small Indian pig) from terrestrial electricity, and as a result they were found to be retarded in growth and to develop very imperfectly, much as though they had been suffering from rickets. In short, they manifested an arrest of organic development.
If, in electro-therapy, an electric current is applied to the cartilages of the long bones in children whose limbs have apparently been arrested in development, the result is a rapid increase in length, amounting to a luxuriant osteogenesis.