it without raising the shoulder. The seat should be sufficiently deep
to support almost the entire thigh, and close enough to the floor to
allow the soles of the feet to rest firmly on it. The back of the
chair should be arched so as to support the hollow of the back, and
should reach just above the lower part of the shoulder-blades, and so
make it easy and comfortable for even a weakly child to sit upright.

If the seat is too high, the feet do not rest on the floor, and so the
girl does not get the proper aid from the legs and feet to maintain an
erect position. If the desk is too high, the elbow can rest on it only
by curving the spine and raising the shoulder. The work is brought too
close to the eyes and causes extra strain. If the desk is too low, the
child stoops over it and becomes round-shouldered, and there is a
tendency to become short-sighted.

The pupil should sit erect with the weight equally borne by both
buttocks; the legs should be straight before the trunk, and the feet
firmly resting on the floor. The book should be held about twelve
inches from the eyes.

Spinal Curvatures.-- It should be distinctly borne in mind that
lateral curvature of the spine is a distortion of growth. The
deformity appears and is developed during the growing years. It is
more common in girls than in boys, for two reasons: that at the age
when lateral curvature is first seen, girls grow more rapidly than
boys; and their muscular system is less well developed.

In most early cases the faulty attitudes are clearly the result of
muscular weakness. The growth in size has not been accompanied by a
corresponding development of the muscles. This condition is most