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 CHAPTER V

THE CHILD-HAND TO-DAY

HE idea that manual work has a good effect on the whole body is certainly not new. Teachers saw the improvement long ago as a thing that could hardly be overlooked; and so when systems of work were drawn up for schools the delicate and defective children were not forgotten. There are special classes in woodwork arranged for these in various cities.

For years, then, before there was any talk of school doctors, teachers observed the good effect of some kinds of work; but they also noted the evil—the stunting effect of other kinds of labour.

For example, in Lancashire and Yorkshire there is still a large army of half-time and full-time children working in the mills. The conditions of factory life have been vastly improved in recent years, so from the point of view of sanitariness and humane 73