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 172 IDIOCY with great difficulty. In geography they make more progress. In penmanship and drawing many of them are very expert, and most of the girls and some of the boys exhibit consid- erable skill in needle work. In moral training they have generally exhibited a remarkable sus- ceptibility for improvement. It is estimated that of idiots not affected by epilepsy, who are brought under instruction in childhood, from one third to one fourth may be made capable of performing the ordinary duties of life with tolerable ability. They may learn to read and write, to understand the elementary facts of geography, history, and arithmetic, to labor in the mechanic arts under proper super- vision, and to attain sufficient knowledge of government and morals to fulfil many of the duties of a citizen. A larger class, probably one half of the whole, will become cleanly, quiet, able perhaps to read and write imper- fectly, and to perform under the direction of others many kinds of work requiring little thought. This class, if neglected after leaving school, will be likely to relapse into many of their early habits. A small number, perhaps the most promising at entering, will make little or no progress. Nor can the result in any par- ticular case be predicted beforehand, and no methods of instruction yet adopted will in- variably develop the slumbering intellect, and confirm and correct the enfeebled or depraved will. According to Dr. Seguin, " not one in a thousand has been entirely refractory to treat- ment ; not one in a hundred who has not been made more happy and healthy; more than 30 per cent, have been taught to conform to social and moral law, and rendered capable of order, of good feeling, and of working like the third of a man ; more than 40 per cent, have be- come capable of the ordinary transactions of life under friendly control, of understanding moral and social abstractions, of working like two thirds of a man ; and 25 to 30 per cent, come nearer and nearer to the standard of manhood, till some of them will defy the scrutiny of good judges when compared with ordinary young women and inen." The insti- tutions generally, under the pressure of appli- cations, do not receive those afflicted with epi- lepsy, congenital insanity, paralysis, &c., and retain only those that promise improvement. The age of admission in most instances is from 6 to 14, and the term of instruction from 5 to 1 years. Dr. Seguin continued the instruction of idiots in Paris till 1848, a part of the time in a private establishment. In 1839 he pub- lished with Esquirol his first pamphlet, and in 1846 his treatise on the treatment of idiocy, which placed him at once in the front rank of living psychologists. In 1848 he visited the United States, and assisted in the organization and improvement of several institutions for idiot instruction ; and he now resides in New York. (See SEGCIN.) In 1839 Dr. Guggen- . buhl began the study of cretinism in Switz- erland, and in 1842 opened his school on the Abendberg. In the latter year Sagert, a teacher of deaf mutes at Berlin (now im- perial councillor and general inspector of the department of instruction of unfortunates in Prussia), began to receive idiotic pupils, and devoted himself to the study of medicine in order the better to understand their physiolo- gical condition. The school of Dr. Guggen- buhl was discontinued at his death in 1863. It is generally considered that his system was a. failure. At present (1874) there are three schools in France : that at the Bicetre, under the supervision of M. De Laporte, with about 20 inmates; that in the Salpetriere, under Dr. Delasiauve and Mile. Nichol, with 50 inmates ; and that in the insane asylum at Clermont in the department of Oise, superintended by Dr. Labitte, and having 15 inmates. In Bel- gium there are separate departments for idiots in the insane asylums at Gheel and at Ghent ; the former, under the superintendence of Dr. Bulckens, having 15 idiotic youth, and the lat- ter, under Dr. Inghels, about 40. In Switzer- land there are two private training schools for idiots : one in the canton of Bern, under the superintendence of Dr. Appenzeller, opened in 1868, and having 12 pupils in 1874 ; the other near Basel, under the charge of Dr. Iselin, opened in 1850, and having 15 pupils. In 1863 there were 15 institutions in Germany, mostly private, viz. : at Bendorf, Berlin (two), Hasserode, Neinstedt, and Scnreiberhau, in Prussia; Ecksberg and Neudettelsau, in Ba- varia ; Buschhad, Hubertsburg (two), and Mackern, in Saxony ; Mariaberg and Winter- bach, in Wurtemberg; and Langenhagen, in Hanover. At present there are 10 schools for idiots in Prussia, some of which are main- tained by the state and others by the prov- inces. The only asylum for idiots in the Netherlands is the medical asylum for idiotic youth at the Hague, opened in 1858, which took its origin from the day school for idiots, opened in 1855. The number of inmates March 23, 1874, was 48 (25 boys and 23 girls), while the day school, which is continued in con- nection with the asylum, and only receives children residing at the Hague, has 85 pu- pils. These institutions are supported by sub- sidies, by contributions, and by fees of pupils. They are under the charge of A. S. Moesveld as director or superintendent, who with his wife has 12 assistants, and of Dr. 0. W. Eiken- dal as physician. The number of teachers is 12, including one instructor in gymnastics and two in handicraft. In Sweden there are three schools for idiots in operation, viz. : at Skofde in the province of West Gothland, under the superintendence of Miss E. Carlbeck, opened in 1868, and in 1874 having 32 pupils; at Stockholm, under the superintendence of Miss W. Lundell, opened in 1870, and having 20 pu- pils ; at Stromsholm, in the province of West- manland, under the superintendence of Mr. R. Bruce, opened in 1871, and having 10 pupils. These schools receive only congenital idiots.