3 DECEMBER 1937, Page 16

COUNTRY LIFE

Walking to School

We picked up a small child trudging along the road. She explained that when you were nine years old you had to pay for your own omnibus, so she was instructed to walk to school. She carried a minute parcel : her luncheon. Children who lived more than two miles from the school could be provided with luncheon by the authorities. She was unfortunate enough to live at a distance that we estimated as one mile and nine-tenths. The road is much frequented by motor-cars, and the weather was cold and foggy. Laws and regulations, which must of course be tolerably precise, do not seem to have treated this small girl kindly, and one cannot but feel that food with some warmth in it should be provided for such a scholar, and that she should be provided with means of transport. One of the authors and begetters of the physical fitness campaign tells me that the only opposition comes from mothers, who argue that nutrition must come first. This small girl certainly gets exercise enough. * * * *