DR. SARGENT ON EXERCISE.

An audience of about one hundred was present in Sever 11 yesterday afternoon, to hear Dr. Sargent's fourth lecture on "Exercise - How and When to take it." The lecturer began with a few remarks explanatory of the waste and renewal of muscular tissue and of its dependence upon the amount of exertion, both physical and mental, to which the human frame is subjected. The best result is obtained from exercise when the body is in a state of perspiration, as then the blood is rushing more rapidly through the veins, the action of the heart is quicker and the energy developed is more intense. Care should be taken not to use too heavy dumb-bells and weights, as the good which would otherwise be derived is counterbalanced by the expenditure of vital energy and the general clogging up of the system. Suppose a man were to hold his arm in a horizontal position for fifteen minutes or half an hour, gradually the action becomes tedious and painful, and sharp pains go shooting through it. This is caused by the checking of the circulation, and although the effort made is ten times that of raising a dumb-bell, still the tissue lost in the first movement is not renewed as it is in the second, and consequently not so much benefit is derived from it as from the latter. It is of prime importance to use weights proportioned to one's strength, neither too large nor too small, but of medium size.

Dr. Sargent said that the idea prevalent that the strongest men come from the country is an erroneous one, as, although certain bones and muscles of those accustomed to manual labor are larger and stronger, yet the development of the heart and lungs does not correspond, and therefore the excess of energy in one direction is offset by the loss in another. Neither do the best physiques come from the city, but, in general, from the large towns, where the advantages of pure air, out-door freedom and the absence of severe manual labor are combined. In this connection he remarked that, for a college student of the present day to spend his summer vacation working on a farm during haying and harvesting, and all the time subjecting a body unaccustomed to this sort of work to a continued strain, was in the highest degree injurious, as although our forefathers may have done it with impunity, the physical powers of the student of the present generation do not compare with those of the student of the former. In regard to the best time for exercise, Dr. Sargent said that it depended, to a certain extent, upon the condition and requirements of a person; if, for instance, one was troubled by sleeplessness, the proper time was in the evening, but the hour of the day when the average person can best exercise to advantage is about the middle of the forenoon, as then the vital energy is at its height and more work can be done, both physical and mental. The next best time for exercising is the afternoon, from four to six, and the worst time of all, the early morning before breakfast. The custom in the rural districts of rising about four A. M. and working several hours before breakfast, especially when but a light supper is taken the night before, is, in the doctor's opinion, simply barbarous, as the body is in the very worst condition possible. During his college course he was one of the members of a boat crew which, while in training, was accustomed to run six miles before breakfast, and the breaking up of the constitutions of two of the men was attributed to this barbarous feature of their work.

Taking everything into consideration, the student who does his studying in the daytime and his gymnasium work in the evening adopts the most sensible method. There is no gainsaying the fact, the best work can be done for a short time in the evening, but it is accomplished at the expense of an alarming loss of nerve power.