Health of Female Students.

The investigations which have been conducted by the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor have resulted in some interesting facts regarding the health of female students. The commonly accepted opinion that mental labor, if at all severe or long continued, is prejudicial to health, is here refuted by statistics derived from various sources. In one case, seven hundred and four returns made, it was found that seventy-eight per cent of the women graduates heard from, were in good health. Upon entering college, the health of twenty per cent was below par. After graduation, impaired health was found in only seventeen per cent, showing that the physical condition of the student became improved under the restrictions and requirements of college life.

Those whose health was not good suffered chiefly from nervous diseases. It was also found that girls from the country do not make as good a showing as regards health as those who were natives of cities. Although these statistics are looked upon by the advocates of higher education of women as conclusive, we cannot admit that they are sufficiently large or complete to convey much weight. The variation in physical condition, before and after the acquirement of a collegiate education was only three per cent. This fact, which is the one from which any conclusion can be drawn, might be the result of improved hygienic surroundings, both mental and physical, making the effect of study itself wholly negative in character. - N. E. Medical Monthly.