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measles cards duly filled in. The individual outbreaks have been analysed, and as Dr. Thomas has
spent much time on the study of these outbreaks and the effects of school closure, his detailed
report is so much worth careful study that it is printed in extenso as an appendix.
The generation we began with has not yet been followed through the infant school, but already
much valuable information has been gathered. The inclusion of all the Non-provided schools will
help to remove an unknown factor in the districts under examination from the results yet to be
obtained.
The teachers have now become educated to the value of the inquiry, and during the past year
the card records are believed to have been fairly reliable. In the first outbreak detailed in 1904,
that at Purrett-road, it is shown that 77 per cent, of the 57 per cent, unprotected were affected.
It also shows the necessity of closure on the occurrence of the first case; closure at the appearance
of the first "crop" being ineffective.
Closure during the holidays at Easter did not prevent the dissemination of the disease out of
school at Eglinton-road; at the same time closure as usually applied would have appeared to have
stopped the disease here, when in reality it would not possibly at the best have prevented 7 out of
the 57 cases. Without any closure one or two cases appeared in every class at Burrage-grove.
without further extension, and at Maryon Park, where the cases were carefully gone into, 36 out of
115 could be definitely decided as infected out of school, one little maid of 5 being responsible for
eleven out of school cases. Union-street, Mulgrave-place, and Conway-road give good examples of
how an intelligent head mistress, with hygienic instincts and training, protected even babies' classes.
One very unsatisfactory case, from our point of view, was a child of five from a Guardian's
Home, where, through mismanagement or ignorance, cases of measles appeared to have been treated
whilst others attended the schools. This child, in spite of prompt and energetic measures, may be
said to have caused at least 207 known cases in four schools, necessitating 14 separate closures of
rooms, or exclusions of non-protected children.
The almost explosive outbreaks at Deansfield-road and Timbercroft-road illustrate the evils of
ill-ventilated and insanitary temporary buildings, and the necessity for increased floor allowance in
these as compared with permanent buildings.
The balance of evidence preponderating in favour of closing is yet doubtful, even when the
closure is applied at the earliest opportunity; later it is quite futile. Early closure involves closure
on false alarms; then, again, the more successful it is the oftener it has to be repeated, and this
interferes materially with educational progress.
Dr. Thomas states from the Woolwich experience that in towns measles will spread in classes
where one-third are unprotected, and will recur until the unprotected are reduced to one-fifth.
School closure for measles can never take the place of teachers especially trained in school
hygiene, imbued with the ideals that constitute a "sanitary conscience," and working in good
hygienic surroundings.
Probably exclusion of non-protected individuals will be the ultimate solution of the attendance
problem in face of a measles outbreak, and it is very doubtful whether exclusion of children, themselves
unaffected but coming from affected households, is required in any except the Infant
Departments.
VISION.
The condition of the special senses is of much importance for education.
In 1900 a Committee of the late School Board ordered a general testing of the visual acuity for
distance and reading. This was carried out by the teachers, and children found defective were
afterwards taken in great numbers, and almost simultaneously, to hospitals, disorganising their work.
Oculists' Reports.—Early in 1902 eight ophthalmic surgeons were appointed under the
term Oculists. They tested the children as regards visual acuity, and filled in a card for each
child, giving its name, age, sex, standard, school and visual acuity, right and left eyes alone, and
also both together. Near vision testing was omitted as practically valueless in this work.