holder by the Vertical Writing as contrasted with the Sloping Writing. What a salutary tranquil look a vertically writing class keeps, what a restless spirit prevails among a number of obliquely writing scholars with the constant change of the posture of the body and position of the copy-book which can never be completely kept in check even with the most attentive supervision. This year I have made repeated experiments in regard to the point just mentioned, with the female scholars of the fifth class. In respect to rapidity of execution, too, I have not been able to find any kind of hindrance in the use of Vertical Writing; there were, indeed, many sloping writers who could not follow the vertical writers. When compared these rapid writings show a great difference in respect to their clearness and legibility, which decided in favour of Vertical Writing.”
From the remaining parts of Austria also come reports as to the growing interest in the question of Vertical Writing, which among others has been discussed at the District Teachers’ Conferences of Schwanenstadt in Austria, of Egydi-Tunnel in Styria, and of Salzburg.
The educational literature of Austria is much occupied with Vertical Writing; see for example Rieger’s “Journal for the Austrian Public School System,” 1890, Nos. 8 and 11. “The Public School,” 30th year, Nos. 24 and 26. “The Lower Austria School News,” 3rd year, No. 22. “The Journal of Education and Instruction,” 4th year, No. 8. In Buda-Pesth, Prof. Joseph Fador advocates the introduction of Vertical Writing. In Hamburg also on the initiative of Dr. Kotelmann Vertical Writing was experimentally introduced into a higher girls’-school. In Antwerp Vertical Writing is recommended by Dr. Mayer, school doctor (“The Female Teachers’ Guardian,” 1st year No. 6, p. 13). For a series of years Dierckx’ writing has been practised in Brussels; though not quite perpendicular, it is at any rate steep and only inclined about 15° towards the right. With it the children maintain a hygienic posture, as has been recently boasted again by Dr. von Sallwürck, Member of the Council of Education (“Journal of School Hyiene,” 1890, No. 1, p. 56). In France, as was evident at the International Congress of Hygiene in Vienna 1887 and in Paris 1889, there prevails the most gratifying unanimity on the part of all the authorities of public hygiene in favour of Vertical Writing.
With gratifying unanimity the experiments made in the most diverse parts of Germany show that Vertical Writing quite materially improves the posture of the children, that it allows the degree of rapidity required in the school and quite sufficient for the preponderating majority of callings, is in case of need easy to convert into Sloping Writing, surpasses the latter in clearness and offers besides many kinds of educational advantages.
