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87
As in 1908, these tables show that the weights of Croydon
children are on the average below the British Association figures
for all classes. The heights, on the other hand, are approximately
the same as the British Association figures, though there are slight
variations in both directions at certain age groups.
As similar results have been reported in previous years, it is
worth considering whether the Board of Education would not agree
to the omission of these tables in future reports. They take a considerable
time in preparation, and seem already to have fulfilled
their only useful purpose, namely, the provision of a local standard
of heights and weights at school ages. For comparative Anthropological
observations, the work of weighing and measuring would
have to be done more thoroughly than is compatible with routine
inspection work. Moreover, useful comparisons between different
groups of children cannot be made unless the heights and weights
are correlated with racial characteristics and other information at
present not available. Time so saved might be spent on more
careful measurements of children attending selected schools and on
the repeated weighing of children of poor nutrition in whom a
tuberculous taint or insufficient feeding was suspected.
GENERAL RESULTS OF INSPECTIONS.
With the exception of heights and weights these are summarised
in Table E iv.
The defects noted at inspections vary much, both in their
extent and in their intrinsic importance. The personal equation of
the individual observer has also to be taken into account, and
it is therefore obvious that no useful purpose would be served byexpressing
all the defects in percentages, or by comparing school
with school or town with town. The outstanding facts of medical
inspections are the existence of a very large amount of remediable
physical inefficiency and the necessity of providing means for its
amelioriation together with more frequent and prompt resort to the
means provided for treatment.
WANT OF CLEANLINESS.
Condition of the Heads.—Of the 4,360 children inspected, 107
were infected with live vermin at the time of inspection, and 753
other children had "nits," and 59 children had dirty heads apart
from vermin. The proportion showing "nits" is a better criterion
of the usual condition of the children than the mere observation of