Up to the present time the teaching has been desultory and the results inappreciable. Some teachers are earnest and enthusiastic on the subject, many take hold of it in a cold, perfunctory way, and many, I fear, neglect it altogether. Some teachers, when the law was passed, found themselves unprepared to do anything in that line, and, not having the fear of an examination before them, failed to make any adequate preparation. Some of the county boards very properly required an examination of their teachers in this subject and entomology before issuing renewals of certificates. The course of study suggested by the State board of education supplies the data for some years only.

I would suggest that county superintendents give this subject a more prominent place at their institutes and in their teachers' examinations and that pupils be examined thoroughly in the work prescribed for each grade; also, that by legislative enactment scientific temperance be added to the branches in which applicants for teachers' certificates must be examined, and that the words "intemperate habits" be added to the clause bearing upon the revocation or suspension of certificates.

If this were done the almost universal desire which I have observed among our superintendents and teachers to uphold the law would produce beneficial results in this direction.

SAN DIEGO.

Methods of instruction.-Eugene De Bum, superintendent of San Diego schools: In connection with the work in physiology, alcoholic drinks and narcotics are treated of as fully in each grade as the comprehension of the pupils will permit. The teacher talks with the class of the manufacture of alcohol, its uses in the arts, and the beverages in which it is found. A brief history of tobacco is givenwith the process of manufacture and the ways in which it is used. The descrip, tion, uses, and hygiene of each part of the body; the skin, the muscles, the bones, the stomach, the lungs, etc., are taught; the effects of alcohol and tobacco are given with the hygiene. Caution as to using other narcotics, as opium and morphine, is given the pupils. This work is not only laid out in the course of study, but it is done in the school room.

COLORADO.

Generally observed.-State Superintendent L. S. Cornell reports (1888): The temperance law passed by the last legislature has been generally observed throughout the State. In all of our schools instruction as to the effect of alcohol and narcotics on the human system has been given. The law, as passed, is somewhat vague and indefinite, yet it has been obeyed as the school boards understood it.

Douglas County reports (1890) the law as "generally enforced."

CONNECTICUT.

REPORTS OF SCHOOL VISITORS.

Lack of text-books and of interest.-The evident intention of our legislators in the law requiring the study in our schools of physiology as connected with alco holism is not being realized as it should be, owing to a lack of appropriate textbooks, as well as a lack of interest in all concerned. The devastation, moral, physical, and financial, resulting from the drink traffic, calls for a more full and clear understanding of the direful effects of indulging in alcoholic drinks, and also tobacco in its various forms, that those who persist in going the downward road may not present the plea of ignorance as an excuse. Statistics of classes pursuing a college course show conclusively that those who indulge in the use of the weed rarely attain to the highest position mentally or physically. Fashion and habit hold a tyrant's sway over the boys who think they have attained to manliness when they can sport a cigar, or flood the spittoon, the floor, or the walk with foul tobacco juice and we know the natural tendency of this habit is to lead on to the saloon. The moral obtuseness of those addicted to the use of strong drink is something startling to every thoughtful mind. The great majority of the accidents and crimes which are so appalling are directly traceable to alcohol, which is the provocative of nearly every sin in the calendar. I shall probably be accused of want of liberality in this matter, but when our law

makers in their wisdom have seen fit to place such a law on the statute book, it is well for us to heed it, especially when we are charged with the moral and physical, as well as mental, wellbeing of the young in our communities.-Plymouth, L. D. Baldwin, acting visitor.

Regularly and faithfully taught.-The subject of physiology and hygiene has been regularly and faithfully taught. A conscientious effort has been made to select and teach the facts best adapted to the mental status of the pupil, and to impress him with the importance of obeying the laws of health which a consideration of the body and its complicated machinery suggests. So far as practicable scientific terms are avoided, and the matter is presented in language within the comprehension of the pupil.

The composition and nature of alcohol and tobacco are studied, and the effects which they produce when taken into the system. The evils which flow from their long-continued use are pointed out, and the effort made to create an impression which will result in total abstinence.-Norwich Central District, N. L. Bishop, superintendent.

DELAWARE.

Growing more and more popular.-Superintendent James H. Ward, of Sussex County, reports: The study of physiology and hygiene is growing more and more popular every year. Three years ago these two branches were introduced into our schools. During the first year comparatively few schools used the book, but now nearly all the schools in the county are making use of it; and very soon none, we think, will be without it. The teachers prove themselves in the examinations to be much more conversant with these subjects now than they were three years ago, and their interest will, of course, to a great extent assure us of the interest and advancement of the pupils in this part of a popular education. We feel gratified that the people begin to show themselves interested in this work, and begin to feel that the laws of health should be taught in our schools, and that the principles of temperance instilled into the children's minds should be considered a part of a good, substantial education.

ILLINOIS.

State Superintendent Richard Edwards (1890): During the last session of the legislature a law was passed requiring that instruction be given in the laws of health and in regard to the effect on the human system of narcotics and alcohol. Whatever opinions may be held concerning the liquor traffic, every intelligent man will welcome all honest efforts to enlighten the people in regard to the physical effects of narcotics and intoxicants.

IOWA.

[From Report of State Superintendent Henry Sabin, 1888-89.]

Scientific temperance instruction.--The law requiring that regular instruction shall be given in all the public schools of the State having special reference to the effects of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics upon the human system has been the subject of much thought and attention. I believe the law has been steadily growing in favor, and that its provisions are generally complied with by our teachers. Not only has the attention of teachers been called to the absolute necessity of obeying the letter of the law, but in most of our county institutes valuable instruction has been given in methods of teaching this branch and in the arrangement of the subject-matter, so as to make the teaching most effective.

In response to many inquiries, in May, 1888, the following circular was distributed among the teachers for their guidance and direction:

To county superintendents and teachers of Iowa:

We are often asked as to the limit of instruction in the branch of scientific temperance instruction.

The evident intent of the law is to place the teaching of the nature and effects of stimulants and narcotics upon the same basis as other branches taught in our public schools. The pupil gains his knowledge of arithmetic by successive steps; he must pass an examination in one part of the subject, and show his familiarity with it before he is advanced to the next division. Scientific temperance instruction should be treated in the same manner. One portion should be thoroughly mastered before the next is entered upon. If this is well done, the teacher will often find work enough in one part of the subject to employ and interest the pupils during a whole term. Careful consideration will convince us that the work in this branch of study is too superficial in many of our schools, because we are attempting more in a given time than can be done well. Temperance instruction needs to be reduced to a system.

We suggest the following plan:

In the first division, intended for little children, let the work be entirely oral, and confine the subject-matter largely to the simple rules of health, as cleanliness, exercise, and habits of eating and drinking, with but little of physiology or anatomy.

In the second division, instruction should still be given orally, but an advance may be made, in that the pupil should be required to carefully reproduce what has been given him, and to commit to memory facts and principles, so as to make them his own. The department of hygiene may be enlarged, and something of the mechanism of the body may be added. It is to be noticed, however, that this oral work should be very carefully prepared, with method and thought, in order to adapt it to the capacity of the pupils. It is of especial importance in these two divisions that you give, if possible, a strong bent to the child's mind against the use of liquor and tobacco.

In the third division the use of the text-book should begin. Here more individual study and work on the part of the pupil is necessary. It would not be well to endeavor to cover the whole ground of physiology and hygiene. The functions of the more important organs only should be thoroughly studied and explained. The action of stimulants and narcotics upon these organs should be faithfully impressed upon the child's mind.

In advanced divisions the whole subject of the human body, its mechanism, its needs and protection, may be carefully studied. At this stage a few of the more important technical names may be learned, and the functions of the various organs more minutely described.

In all your work care should be taken to give instruction in accordance with the spirit of the law. Total abstinence should be taught as the only sure way to escape the evils arising from the use of alcoholic drinks and tobacco. This systematic plan, if carefully followed, will insure a more thorough understanding of the subject, and teachers will not complain that they have used up all their material.

Allow me to suggest to county superintendents that you give this study, especially as it has reference to the effects of stimulants and narcotics upon the human system, the attention which it deserves at your coming institute; and that at examinations you submit to your teacher short but comprehensive questions to test their knowledge, as required by section 3 of the law. *

Reports from every county in the State indicate that there is a very general desire to administer the law faithfully. Considering the difficulties naturally arising when a new branch is introduced into the course of study, the progress made is very encouraging. The attention the subject received last year in institutes greatly assisted teachers in their work. Our confidence in the fidelity of the school officers and instructors of Iowa to any trust imposed upon them makes us certain that much more will be accomplished during the coming year. To assist in this important work the hearty coöperation of all is invited. HENRY SABIN, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

DES MOINES, May 20, 1888.

The code should be amended so as to require the teacher to include in his register, which he files with the secretary at the close of his school, a certificate that he has fully complied with the provisions of the law. Section 1745 should also be amended, so that the secretary should be required to furnish the county superintendent with a transcript of the action of the board, as required by laws of 1886, and also with the names of those teachers who have and those who have not filed the required certificate.

The attempt to teach the children and youth the injurious effects of stimulants and narcotics promises great good to the cause of temperance. The aim of such instruction should be to fortify the child against the formation of bad habits in his youth, and to lay the foundations upon which to build the higher, work of strengthening the will, so that he may be able to resist temptation from whatever source it may come. In this connection I am free to say that I believe there should be upon our statute book a law making it a misdemeanor, punishable by a heavy fine, to sell tobacco in any form to a minor under 16 years of age. The necessity of such a law is becoming more apparent every day, and we ought not longer to delay its enactment.

Statistics.-Reports from the township boards indicated "that the law had been complied with in its spirit" in every township without exception; also that the teachers were "skillful in giving the instruction required by law." In 1890, out of 15,762 schools, the effects of stimulants and narcotics were taught in 15,097.

KANSAS.

We should unite to make the teaching a success.-State Superintendent J. H. Lawhead (1886): A vigorous mind inhabiting a healthy body can do more for the State than the same mind can in a body that is weak and diseased; and as the public school is sustained at public expense upon the theory that the permanency of the State depends upon the intelligence of its citizens, the State claims the right to have those branches taught in her schools that will best secure these results. Now a thorough knowledge of the human system is essential to its preservation and highest development, which can only be secured by a study of its physiology and hygiene, and the effects of such substances as may be deleterious to its growth and the healthy exercise of its various functions; and it has

been decided by the best medical authority, as well as by universal observation of mankind, that both alcoholic stimulants and narcotics exert a baneful and destructive influence, not only upon the body and its various functions, but it likewise destroys the intellect and deadens the moral sensibilities. In view of all these results, we, as school officers and good citizens, should unite to make the teaching of the effects of alcoholic stimulants and narcotics upon the human system a success. We should supply our teachers with all the necessary appliances to secure the best results, and furnish our schools with the best maps, charts, and books, to enable the teacher to perform his part in this great work. I am pleased to note that teachers throughout the State have, in most instances, taken hold of this subject with an earnestness that is full of promise for good results.

MAINE.

Obstacles to the execution of the law.-State Superintendent N. A. Luce reports (1890): The results of the law requiring instruction in the hygienic effects of stimulants and narcotics have not been fully up to what was hoped and expected when enacted. Three obstacles have stood in the way of such results:

1. In the smaller rural schools where failure has been most general, the incompetence of the teachers has been the cause of such failure. In such schools of necessity the instruction must be largely oral because of the primary character of those to be taught, and such instruction to be efficient presupposes teachers of higher professional grade than is required to give instruction from textbooks. Efficient oral work, except in rare cases, can be done only by those trained and practiced in such work.

2. The unwillingness of parents to purchase text-books has hitherto been an almost insurmountable obstacle not confined to any class or grade of schools. While oral teaching in this as in other branches is most efficient with primary classes, it is otherwise with those more advanced. With these the text-book is a necessity.

3. The inertia of public opinion-a quite general feeling that this instruction is of minor importance-has not only been in large measure the producing cause of the two obstacles already cited, but an obstacle in and of itself. Schools both in their instruction and supervision are quick to respond to the condition of public opinion. Had there been sharp public demand that every child in every school should be taught as the terms of the law require, a demand watchful and exacting, there can be little doubt that cases of utter ignoring of law would have been rare, and that pupils and teachers would everywhere have been affected by that demand.

The first of these obstacles can be removed only by such reform in our system as will lift these poorer schools out of their present condition. The second has been largely removed by the furnishing of free books. The third will disappear only as the result of a campaign of education." To bring this instruction up to the efficiency desired by those who believe in its vital importance, calls not for law but for labor. Law can not create public opinion, but public opinion will compel the observance of law. Labor with teachers is needed to awaken them to deeper interest and more earnest effort; with school officers to force them to full exercise of their authority; and especially with the people to educate them to an intelligent appreciation of the value of the results sought. Such labor is the privilege, and the duty as well, of those by whose efforts the law was enacted and of all others who believe in its wisdom.

Statistics.-In 1889, out of 3,894 ungraded schools, 2,557 had classes in physi

ology.

In 1890, out of 3,909 ungraded schools, 2,426 had classes in physiology.

MASSACHUSETTS.

Object and methods of the instruction-Exaggerated statements to be avoided.-G. T. Fletcher, agent of the State board: This is required to be given in connection with physiology and hygiene, which are to include special instruction as to the effects of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics on the human system." Right and faithful teaching in this line may prove of great value to the Commonwealth, and the subject should secure careful consideration from school officials and teachers. The reports of school committees seem to indicate that some effort is made in every town to comply with the requirements of the law.

My personal observation convinces me that the methods and results are not satisfactory. Many teachers desire to do justice to the subject, but they plead,

as an excuse for neglect, lack of time and knowledge. Perhaps a brief consideration of the object of the instruction may suggest a method.

The teaching is to lead the child to form temperate habits of living. His knowledge of the danger of indulgence in the use of narcotics and intoxicants must lead to a development and exercise of will power sufficient to enable him to resist temptation. The education must be intellectual and moral, to induce the habits of thought and action necessary to good citizenship. The instruction should be true, simple, and earnest, largely objective; illustrations may bə drawn from life, pictures, and recorded facts. Personalities and allusions that will wound the feelings of children should be avoided. No exaggerated statements of the evils to be shunned should be made; they are not wholly true, and they will react against the cause.

For young pupils good temperance stories are valuable. I am inclined to think that most temperance teaching should be oral, the school being supplied with such books and charts as will be helpful to teacher and pupils for reference. Truths from scientific investigations, and facts and figures from other reliable sources, may prove valuable. Not so much for school as for life the children need temperance instruction, and the teacher should honestly, faithfully, as well as intelligently, endeavor to make lasting impressions.

Begin with the teachers.-State board of education: The statutes require that physiology and hygiene shall be taught in all the public schools as a regular branch of study, and that the teaching shall have special reference to the effect of stimulants and narcotics upon the human system. The board has instructed its agents to make particular inquiry as to the manner in which this requirement is met. They report that the disposition is very general to comply with the law, but that very much of the teaching under this head is defective and of little value, owing to the inability of teachers to deal with the subject. In the judgment of the board, therefore, especial attention must be given to the training of teachers to teach this branch of learning before the results expected from its introduction into the schools will be produced.

MICHIGAN.

Overteaching is perilous.-State Superintendent Theodore Nelson (1886): In my opinion it is the design of the law to give to this class of studies the same status it gives to other practical topics, such as reading or grammar, i. e., that somewhere in his course the pupil shall be taught the physiological and moral effects of narotics and alcoholic stimulants upon the whole being of man. To my mind this is quite enough. Less would be insufficient; more would be unnecessary, and possibly harmful. It is to be regretted that in any public school the full requirements of the law should suffer neglect; yet it would be a mistake quite as serious to give to these special studies a disproportionate, unequal place in the school curriculum-to coordinate them, as some extremists insist upon doing, with every other subject from the low zones of a, b, c up to the high regions of calculus. Overteaching upon a subject which relates to moral conduct, espe cially if it concerns the appetites or passions, is really perilous. Too constant dwelling upon topics of this character has a tendency to invoke morbid conditions in the mind of the youth which either provokes or fascinates him to attempt dangerous experiments. Were you to teach a boy the flagrant wickedness of burglary it would not be expedient, nor would it be necessary, to induct him into the mysteries of picking a lock. The specialist finds a peculiar charm in the ugly spider; he sees a thousand beauties in the bright colors and sinister eyes of a loathsome snake. We may well fear the consequences of making our boys and girls too familiar with nauseating details of any evil which we desire them to shun. The teacher or parent can not be too earnest to enjoin correct principles, to give warning of penalties, and to himself exhibit a blameless example: which having done he can effectively add nothing further, except to devoutly leave the result with God.

Statistics. In 1890, out of 10,810 school districts, 5,701 reported physiology taught, and 4,768 reported physiology not taught; 341 districts failed to report.

MINNESOTA.

Temperance in the broader sense.-State Superintendent D. L. Kichle (1888): The reports from the counties indicate a purpose to honestly execute the law. The subject is doubtless as well taught as others are. The children are easily