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144
It is not possible to class the children who have just entered with any
accuracy, because as a rule they have not been sufficiently long under
observation.
The total number of feeble-minded children in the schools is 43 boys and
26 girls, and three boys stated to be imbecile (see table III. at end).
Condition of Clothing and Footgear.
At the medical inspection almost all the children are scrupulously clean,
both as regards body and clothing. The condition of the child as to clothing
and cleanliness is recorded by the teacher on the medical inspection cards, the
record being based on the condition in which the child usually comes to school.
The presence, or absence, of nits or vermin is recorded by the medical inspector.
The tables are given at the end of the report. The condition of the clothing
was satisfactory in 81.7 per cent. of the children, and unsatisfactory in 18.3 per
cent. The condition of the clothing does not vary much in the three different
age groups of children, the clothing of the infants being the best. The
condition of the clothing of the two sexes in the infants is about the same, the
percentage of infant boys with unsatisfactory clothing being 8.6,0 as compared
with 11.4 per cent. for infant girls. Among the elder children, however, the
boys are much worse clothed than the girls, the percentage of the boy leavers
with unsatisfactory clothing being 37.6, against 109 per cent. of the girl leavers.
The number of children with unsatisfactory footgear is very much the
same as for unsatisfactory clothing, the percentage for all the children being
10.9, and there are the same differences with regard to the two sexes.
Cleanliness.
As regard cleanliness of body, 8.3 per cent. of the children were dirty,
that is, not necessarily dirty at the time of the medical inspection, but were
considered by the teachers to be sent to school usually in a dirty condition;
0.7 per cent. of the children were found infected with body lice at the time of
inspection.
Vermin.
The percentage of children with nits in the hair was 23.0. The following
table will show the percentage in the two sexes and two age groups:—