cases in loss of appetite and inability to perform work of any kind. In many cases the person becomes ill and unfit for duty. Four grams per day may be regarded then as the limit of exhibition beyond which the normal man may not go. The administration of three grams per day produced the same symptoms in many cases, although it appeared that a majority of the men under observation were able to take three grams a day for a somewhat protracted period and still perform their duties. They commonly felt injurious effects from the dose, however, and it is certain that the normal man could not long continue to receive three grams per day. In many cases the same results, though less marked, follow the administration of borax to the extent of two grams and even of one gram per day, although the illness following the administration of borax and boric acid in those proportions may be explained in some cases by other causes, chiefly grippe. The administration of borax and boric acid to the extent of one half gram per day yielded results markedly different from those obtained with larger quantities of the preservatives. This experiment, Series V., conducted as it was for a period of fifty days, was a rather severe test, and it appeared that in some instances a somewhat unfavorable result attended its use. On the whole the results show that one half gram per day is too much for the normal man to receive regularly. On the other hand it is evident that the normal man can receive one half gram per day of boric acid, or of borax expressed in terms of boric acid, for a limited period of time without much danger of impairment of health. It is, of course, not to be denied that both borax and boric acid are recognized as valuable remedies in medicine. There are certain diseases in which these remedies are regularly prescribed, both for internal and external use. The value which they possess in these cases does not seem to have any relation to their use in the healthy organism except when properly prescribed as prophylactics. The fact that any remedy is useful in disease does not appear to logically warrant its use at any other time. It appears, therefore, that both boric acid and borax, when continuously administered in small doses for a long period, or when given in large quantities for a short period, create disturbances of appetite, of digestion and of health. NUMBER 45, LAWS OF 1904. AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE BETTER CARE OF THE HEALTH OF PUPILS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont : Section 1. The State Board of Health and the superintendent of education shall prepare or cause to be prepared suitable test cards, blanks, record books and other needful appliances to be used in testing the sight and hearing of pupils in public schools and necessary instructions for their use; and the superintendent of education shall furnish the same, free of expense, to every school in the state. The superintendent, principal or teacher, in every school, during the month of September in each year, shall test the sight and hearing of all pupils under his charge and keep a record of such examination according to the instructions furnished; and shall notify in writing the parent or guardian of every pupil who shall be found to have any defect of vision or hearing, or disease of eyes or ears, with a brief statement of such defect or disease; and shall make written report of all such examinations to the superintendent of education as he may require. Sec. 2. The state auditor is hereby directed to draw his order on the state treasurer for such sums and at such times as the superintendent of education, with the approval of the State Board of Health, may require to carry out the provisions of this act. The total expense under this act shall not exceed six hundred dollars in any biennial term ending June 30. Sec. 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 1905. Approved November 17, 1894. The above act went into operation last September, when the first examinations of the eyes and ears and nose and throat of the school children of this state were made. This act did not contemplate the accurate determination of the form or character of the defects in these organs, but simply to determine if a child had any deviation from normal sight or hearing. To this end instructions were prepared and issued to the teachers of the state through the town superintendent. The examination having shown that a pupil's vision or hearing varied from the usual standard of children in general, notice was sent to the parent or guardian of such child, stating the fact, with the advice that they consult their family physician or a specialist. The results of these examinations are here given by towns and counties. The causes which have produced these defects are various-schoolrooms ill ventilated and deficient in light; the large amount of work put on blackboards for the pupils to copy has a tendency to produce eye strain; the fact that many books, magazines and newspapers are printed in small, imperfect type tends to weaken the muscles of accommodation, thus adding to the difficulty. |