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It is hardly necessary to say that the idiot should be exposed to the healthful influences of light and out-door air; that his food should be nutritious and varied; that he should be forced to take regular, persistent, and fatiguing exercise, to give tone to the system, to remove local apathies, to quiet irregular or mechanical muscular movements, and to secure sleep at night. That he should receive such medical treatment as his case may at any time demand to bring his bodily organs into the best working condition possible.

We may now consider the work in its educational relations. Education for idiots, however, is based upon certain physiological considerations. We know the general anatomical arrangement of the nervous system, the brain, spinal cord, the nerves of special sensation and the nerves ramifying throughout the system, establishing relations with the outer world. These are composed of two distinct forms of nervous matter, white and gray, each having obvious and demonstrably distinctive functions. The one is simply a conducting medium, though in the direction and character of the influences transmitted, two-fold; in one direction the agent of sensation or impression, in the other of impulse or volition. We also know the double function of the gray matter; in one portion responding to stimulation from without in what is technically called reflex action, in the other the seat of sensation, intelligence, and will. These various functions of the nervous system are intimately correlated, either co-operating or counter-active. There is also a physiological order of development of these several functions of the nervous system. All this is to be borne in mind in determining the proper method of training, its special aims, and the probable results in each individual case.

As we ascend in the scale of animal life the nervous centres become more defined in their special action. The intra-cranial seat of sensation and spontaneousness becomes relatively more and more developed, till culminating in man it is much superior to all the other portions.

As a consequence we have in man certain higher attributes dominating the lower, or at least exercising an inhibitory influence over the lower. In the case of a normal child we notice two forms of manifestation of functional activity of the nervous system. The first, in order of time, seem to be inherent in the organization, acting automatically and invariably. They are the reflex and instinctive act of infancy. The second, an inborn spontaneity, gradually appearing and progressively increasing in power till it ultimately controls the organization to a certain extent and within prescribed limits.

In a paper read before the Association a year ago, I attempted to show that, in the case of idiots, instinct was not a predominating principle as had been supposed by some; that its apparent prominence in some cases as simply the result of the absence of the counteracting influence of intelligence in preventing its manifestation.

At this time I propose to call attention to the antagonism between spontaneousness and reflex, or automatic movements in a certain stage of human growth; and, at a later period, the use that spontaneousness makes of the secondarily automatic movements to attain its ends.

We may notice, first, the nature of the so-called reflex movements.

Some form of irritation or stimulus is applied to the distal end of a sensory or afferent nerve. The influence is felt, or reaches a ganglionic centre, where it is reflected back by a retraction of the limb, or some appropriate movement to escape the irritation. Though the term reflex is used because expressive of the prompt responsiveness of the resulting movement, yet the character of the movement is in no other sense a reflection of the original impulse. The effect is different in kind from the cause; it is not even invariable. It is a mere sequence. In the oft-cited experiment of Pflüger: "When a drop of acetic acid is placed on the thigh of a decapitated frog, the foot of the same side is raised, and attempts made with it to rub the part, to rid itself of the irritating substance. On the foot being amputated and the acid applied as before, the animal makes a similar attempt, but failing to reach the point of irritation with the stump, after a few moments of apparent indecision and agitation raises the other foot, and attempts with it to remove the irritant."

Other forms of reflex movements are seen in the acts of deglutition, coughing, and sneezing. Here the purpose of the mechanism differs essentially from that in the first-named instance, though in all cases it is either for defence or protection.

The closure of an eye before an approaching body or at a sudden noise, the throwing out of the arms in the act of falling, are cited by Bastian as familiar illustrations of reflex acts. Let us examine these for a moment. There is a form of winking that is undoubtedly reflex, namely, the occasional downward passage of the upper lid over the eye to distribute the secretion and remove any irritating particles from the surface. But when the eye closes to avoid impending danger, the ingoing impression (or announcement) is not through the medium of an ordinary sensory nerve (the result of contact), but through the nerves of special sensation, of sight, or hearing. A ray of light, a wave of sound, excites the ganglionic centre to respond by closing the eye.