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proposes a reduction of taxation upon fathers of three or more
than three children, in proportion to the number of living
offspring—a system already adopted in Prussia, Saxony,
Servia, Norway, Sweden, and parts of Switzerland. The laws
of succession should be modified and formalities of marriage
simplified. Mothers of large families should be assisted in
various ways, and especial provision should be made for widows
left with children. Finally, M. Bertillon suggests that among
the humbler class of public servants those candidates for
employment by the State who have children should be considered
as eligible in proportion to the size of their families.
Domestic Hygiene.
It may truthfully be said that hygiene, like charity, should
begin at home. The most elaborate and well-designed municipal
administration, however carefully carried out, will be of no avail
if the hygiene of the house is neglected. A simple illustration
supports this contention. Milk may be produced under the best
possible conditions and supplied to the consumer in sterilised
bottles, but all the care taken to ensure a perfect supply will be
rendered nugatory if the milk when in the house is placed where
it can become contaminated; or again, the builder of a house
may be compelled to place a fireplace in each room, but the
object in view, that of providing efficient ventilation, will be
ineffectual if the occupier closes the chimney opening. We
are gradually beginning to realise how largely our health and
our comfort is in the hands of those who are responsible for our
domestic arrangements, and it is gratifying to find that women
themselves are learning how much lies in their power in this
respect. Women are naturally conservative and cling to old
methods and time-honoured customs long after these have been
shown to have lost every good quality save that of antiquity,
but when once convinced that change is really essential they do
not hesitate to effect radical changes in their procedure.