First lines of physiology / by Albert von Haller ; translated from the third Latin edition ; to which is added, a translation of the index, composed for the Edinburgh edition, printed under the inspection of Dr. William Cullen.

  • Haller, Albrecht von, 1708-1777.
Date:
1803
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First lines of physiology / by Albert von Haller ; translated from the third Latin edition ; to which is added, a translation of the index, composed for the Edinburgh edition, printed under the inspection of Dr. William Cullen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    1IKIGHT AND WEIGHT. The Philosophy of Human Length, ltreadlh and llilcbucaa IIow much should a person of given height weigh ? Is there a standard between height nnd weight? A healthy child, male or female, grows in length by more than one-half its size duriDgthe first two years; it increases from 19.673 inches to about 31.10 inches. It trebles or quadruples its weight; that is to say, it weighs 7% to 10 pounds at birth; 25 pound3 in the first year, 30 pounds in the second. On the average a child from six months to eight years grows in length about 2.4622 inches each year; the weight of of the body goes on increasing to the eighth year, rising in boys to 50 pounds and in girls 4Tt% pounds. From this age until puberty boys increase in height 2.165 feet each year, reaching at the age of 12 years a height of over 4.52 feet, and girls 4.421 feet on the average. Boys gain about 5 pounds in weight per year, girls a little more, so that in the twelfth year children of both sexes weigh on the average about 75 pounds. From 13 to 20 years youth grow some 11.8 inches; girls 7.8 inches. The increase of weight is even more rapid than before, reaching 145 pounds in boys 18 years old, and in girls of the same age 1273>o pounds. In the 25th year the man is over 5% feet in height and weighs 151% pounds, while the woman is 5.15 in height and weighs 127%. Man in the fortieth year attains his maximum weight, 159 pounds, and then begins to lose flesh. Women con- tinue to grow heavier, reaching about 140 pounds, until the fiftieth year, Between 45 and 60 men become more corpulent, and women rapidly grow older; in both the size of the body diminishes. It is desirable for all persons, whether suf- fering in health or otherwise, to know as near as possible what the normal weight should be. We are indebted to the late Dr. Hutchinson for weighing about 2,600 men at various ages. There is, indeed, an obvious relation between height and weight so per- tinaciously weighed and measured; starting . with the lowest men in the tables, it will be found that the increased weight was as near as possible five pounds for every inch in height beyond sixty-one inches. The following figures show the relative height and weight of individuals measuring five feet and upward: BTATURE, Feet. Inches. Weight, lb«. 5 1 Bhouldbe 120 2 Bhouldbe 1215 Bhouldbe 183 should be 138 Bhouldbe 142 Bhould be 149 shonldbe 148 should be 135 should be 102 Bhouldbe WO Bhouldbe Kl • houldbe 17S The Children's Paradise. If you should start from Boston and go West more than half way round the world, you would come to Japan. Travellers call it a paradise for children. There is a saying that Japanese children never cry. Perhap3 u you can guess why they are so happy if ll£ tell you some things I noticed very soonf Jiapt and varied. The f.,Tniture 10 thell safe, and they have no m. be harmed or broken, no hara & or sharp corners to inflict bumps and bruiee. The doors and windows are made of &per. Soft mats of rice straw serve for carpets soft cottou mattresses for beds, which en be rolled up and put away. At meals sraw tablecloths are laid on mats, and all the m- ily sit on the floor around them. How li.ja picnic I The dress of the children is like that their elders—a plain, loose garment, gin about the waist with a sash. There are books to pull out, no buttons to drop off, a: no pins to scratch: a strong silk cord does the fastening. Then the garments, instead of being sewii together like ours, are hasted together with strong silk thread, so that they can easily ' taken to pieces for washing. Stockings made with a place for the big toe, like thi thumbs in our mittens. A kind ofjclog ij worn in the streets. Pockets are put in the large sleeves. Handkerchiefs and napkiaj are made of thin, white paper, soft as silk The sliding doors and partitions in thfr houses are almost always pushed back, &\ that you can see and hear all that is going on Many a house has an aquarium, with gold and silver fish, or bamboo cages in which beds of flowers make a home for numerous butterflies and grasshoppers. Mothers play with their children much of the time. Fat little dogs and pretty cats are their companions too. Babies are carried upon the back, and are never afraid of fall- ing. Everywhere their shaven heads and black eyes peep out of folds of garments, or sleepily bob up and dowD, as their nurses rushes to and fro in the excitement of kite- flying or other play. Japan is the land of toys and dolls and kites and fans and para- sols. A little girl will sometimes have over one hundred dolls. The children have much rice to eat, but bardly any milk, for the queer little cows do not give much. Fruit is eaten green, for it is thought unfit to eat when soft and mellow. The flowers of Japan have no odor, and the birds do not sing. The stork is one of the favorite birds. The golden globe (instead of s^ars and stripes) is the flag that floats over Japan, and the chrysanthemum is the national emblem. It is wrought in tiles for roofs, on opium- pipes, on earthen ware and on many other things.—Nursery.