thus obtained has led to their incorporation in the "Current Report of the Massachusetts Labor Bureau." For the first time the discussion is taken from the a priori realm of theory on the one hand, and the haphazard estimate of physician and college instructor on the other. The returns have the value of all good statistics: they not only enable us to come to some conclusion upon the main point discussed, but they are so full and varied that they suggest and mark the way toward the discussion of a large number of other hardly less important questions. The figures, in short, call up as many problems as they settle, thus fulfilling the first requisite of fruitful research.
Pursuing this line, we shall first state the general character of the investigation followed and conclusions reached; and, secondly, isolate a few special problems for more detailed though brief treatment. The result may be summed up in the words of the report, as follows: "The female graduates of our colleges and universities do not seem to show, as the result of their college studies and duties, any marked difference in general health from the average health likely to be reported by an equal number of women engaged in other kinds of work. It is true that there has been, and it was to be expected that there would be, a certain deterioration in health on the part of some of the graduates. On the other hand, an almost identical improvement in health for a like number was reported, showing very plainly that we must look elsewhere for the causes of the greater part of this decline in health during college-life. If we attempt to trace the cause, we find that this deterioration is largely due, not to the requirements of college-life particularly, but to predisposing causes natural to the graduates themselves, born in them, as it were, and for which college-life or study should not be made responsible."
Through some oversight the statement is made that the returns include statistics from every higher institution in the United States open to women; while, as a matter of fact, it includes a not comparatively large number. The institutions represented, however, are typical. The data are contained in the following table:
| Name of College. | Sex distinction. | Date of organization. | Total number of female graduates to 1882 inclusive. | Number of returns received. | Percentage of returns received. |
| Boston University | Co-educational. | 1873 | 47 | 29 | 61·70 |
| Cornell University | Co-educational. | 1868 | 80 | 36 | 45·00 |
| Kansas, University of | Co-educational. | 1866 | 36 | 20 | 55·56 |
| Mass. Institute of Technology. | Co-educational. | 1865 | 5 | 3 | 60·00 |
| Michigan, University of | Co-educational. | 1841 | 87 | 46 | 52·87 |
| Oberlin College | Co-educational. | 1833 | 104 | 39 | 37·50 |
| Smith College | Females only. | 1875 | 90 | 43 | 47·78 |
| Syracuse University | Co-educational. | 1871 | 65 | 17 | 26·15 |
| Vassar College | Females only. | 1865 | 540 | 344 | 63·70 |
| Wellesley College | Females only. | 1875 | 110 | 71 | 64·55 |
| Wesleyan University | Co-educational. | 1831 | 15 | 6 | 40·00 |
| Wisconsin, University of | Co-educational. | 1849 | 111 | 51 | 49·95 |
| All colleges | . . . . . | 1,290 | 705 | 54·65 |
For purposes of comparison, the value of the statistics is vitiated by the fact that the date of the admission of women is not given, and this, in the cases of the co-educational college, does not agree with the date of organization. Other facts, which we omit, go to show that the average date of admission, Oberlin being Excluded, may be safely put at about 1870.
The questions involved in the inquiry were exceedingly comprehensive, and may conveniently be considered under three heads, of which the first takes up the conditions of childhood, comprehending date of birth, nationality of parents, surroundings in childhood, amount of exercise received between the ages of eight and fourteen, the age at which study began, the age at entering college, and the age at graduation. The second section relates to individual health, and comprehends physical condition; nervousness; the age at beginning of the menstrual period; the conditions attending the menstrual periods; the number of graduates reporting disorders; the number of disorders; the number reporting each disorder, and the causes of disorders.
From the broad data thus obtained, the third section, a series of comparison tables, is gathered. Of these one of the most important compares the present health of graduates with the age at beginning study, the age at entering college, the time entering college after the menstrual period commenced, the amount of out-of-door exercise, and hereditary conditions. Another compares the health during college-life with the age at entering, the amount of study performed, the amount of worry about private and college affairs, etc. The first set is thus seen to be occupied with giving a picture of health through life, while the second endeavors to ascertain the changes introduced by college-life, and their causes.
The general features of the tables may be stated as follows:
| Colleges. | Average Age. | ||||
| At beginning study. | At beginning of menstrual period. | At entering college. | At graduating from college. | At present time. | |
| Boston | 5·25 | 13·89 | 19·61 | 23·36 | 26·72 |
| Cornell | 5·31 | 19·94 | 19·43 | 23·09 | 26·66 |
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Kansas
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