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l05
The percentages at diSerent ages varied little as between Jews and Gentiles, and
separate statistics for each age are not given.

Physical
condition of
entrants in
relation to
infant
feeding.
Dr. C. E.
Thornton.
Comparing the two tables, the percentage of children with the highest degrees
of myopia is greater amongst Gentiles than Jews. Only one Jewish child (a boy) as
compared with 19 Gentiles (13 girls and 6 boys) had a mean myopia of over 16
dioptres, the respective percentages for Jews and Gentiles being about 0.9 and 3.9.
The two children with the highest myopia of all (22 to 24 dioptres) were Gentile
girls. Similarly, 68.3 per cent, of Gentiles had a mean myopia under 10 dioptres as
compared with 74.5 per cent, of the Jews. It is thus seen that on the whole Jewish
children in myope schools are rather less highly myopic than Gentiles.
Dr. C. E. Thornton has made an enquiry into the method of infant feeding in
relation to the physical condition of 433 entrant infants examined by him. " In these
cases only were the mothers able to give definitely reliable statements. Of these only
89 or 20 per cent, adopted the ideal method—that is—feeding exclusively on the
breast and weaning at 8-10 months; 172 or 40 per cent, continued breast feeding
almost entirely, for longer than 12 months, several of them much longer. One
mother asseverated that her child was fed entirely on the breast for nearly three
years ! The child certainly presented an appearance of something abnormal having
occurred in infancy. All these mothers firmly believed that they could not again
become pregnant whilst suckling, and freely admitted this to be the reason for
prolonging breast feeding. On more than one occasion it had failed to have the
desired effect.