Compared with thirty years ago, when their parents were young, Japanese school children to-day shew cqmaderable, increase eight, the average gain to their' stature being an inch, according to statistical studies just completed by the Tokyo municipal educ bureau. Athletics, the higher st ard of living, the use of benches in lass rooms, the wearing of western-style clothes ard the increasing use of chairs and other Occidental furniture in homes are given as. the Chief contributory causes making for this change. Until forty years. ago, the children sat on mats when attending their classes.
In 1900, boys of the age of seven were found to be, on an average, 3 feet. 627 Inches in height and girls of the same age 3 feet, 6.1 inches in height. In 1980, however, their average heights were respectively 2 feet, 74 inches and 3 feet 6.7 inches, The: Increase for children Years ago, boys of this age averaged 4 feet 3:3 inches and girls 4 feet! 35 inches, According to the present statistics, they were 4 fect, 438) Finches and 4. feet, 5.1 inches' rely, giving an increase of 3.1 1 centimeters respectively jr statures 30 years ago. The figures also show that school children now. grow more while at) school than formerly.
Tu weight, the boys of the age of seven years in 1900 averaged 17.8 Kdlogeams and Wd. The lits of the children of the same age, according to the latest star tes, were practically the same, being'7.9 and 17-4 kilos respectively.
ren of the age of 12, however, show a great increase, Empty Island for Unemployed 'The empty island of "Rota, among the islands in the' Pacific come under the Japanese date, has been asked for by a social worker, by way of helping in the solution of Japan's unemployment already homeless day labourers in a suburb of Tokyo where he has established village of camps, and his proposal to send them to this uninhabited land.
On Rota Island, he plans to grow pogat.cane and to establish " sugar industry there. He has spent several years in the South Sea I: lands and claims that he knows conditions there very well, while the workers to whom he has broached his plan are very anxious to-go and Start life anew under diferent com ions. am not asking the Government! for a subsidy, as so many of our: rich people do," he told press men; "all T want is the lease of an unhabited island under the Japanese mandate, and I think there should be no difficulty in-my request being, acceded to,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.