PHYSICAL CULTURE.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 11790, 13 January 1904, Page 8

PHYSICAL CULTURE.

In the course of a paper on "Physical Culture," read by Mr F. A. Hornibrook, of the Christehurch School of Physical Culture, Mr Hornibrook said what was needed was a system of juvenile training, which admitted the absolute necessity of physical education, the absolute indispensabiiity of body-building in connection with mental training, a system which looked upon health and physical wealth as the very foundation of all culture, of all education, of all refinement, mentally and physically able to struggle for the prizes to be found in life's arena. It would probably be impossible to make strong and healthy every weak and diseased adult, but it was possible with an intelligent training, with a proper education, to develop everjr boy into a magnificent man, every girl into a superb woman. But our children were not taught that health was of the greatest importance, and the fact that this important condition could be developed and preserved in each and every human being had never been fully impressed upon them. It was clear that if race improvement was to be brought about as much, attention must be paid to the development of women as of men. Women, as a matter of fact, were usually the worst offenders against Nature's laws. The human female should be as strong in proportion to the male, as was the female of the lower animals. That the average woman fell far below this standard he supposed none would deny. Of course there were excuses and causes for feminine, weakness. Referring to the evils of cigarette smoking, especially among boys, no less an authority than Sir Frederick Treves said recently that so serious , to him did the evil of cigarette smoking eeem to be, and bo threatening was it to the longevity of the race, that he was quite in favour of Parliament stepping in and dealing with the matter. "Again," he said, "anything that would get this claes, bo largely on the increase, and so largely recruited by the young lads from our echools, to take an interest in the development of their bodies and the training of their muscles, would be invaluable, and not half enough was made of this training ir. the years when it would mean a very great deal to the body." Now, physical culture was the education of the body. Although not so many years ago the majority of medical men were adverse to it, he thought it would be difficult now to find any who did not recognise its great hygienic ' value. And it must be remembered that the problem of the future health, and, therefore, of'the morals of the people was largely being settled in the public seboole and colleges. As one writer on physical culture had remarked, in the elementary schools the children's heads were filled with trash and silly nothings instead of teaching them to know that they have liands and feet, to uee and to take care of; that they have stomachs, and how they most be treated and cared for, and what effects indigestible foods will have upon them; that they have muscles, and should learn their actions and possibilities; and so on -with every part of the human physiology that was of use to them now and all through life.