=Estimation of the Degree of Mental Inferiority.=--We have seen how easily, in spite of the commonly accepted opinion, experienced teachers and inspectors accomplish this part of their task. If a doctor were charged with it his embarrassment would be great. Just imagine a doctor introduced into a school of 300 children in order to pick out the defectives by strictly medical methods. No doubt every doctor, especially if he is an alienist, is called upon to estimate the intellectual level of children, and to sign certificates of idiocy, imbecility, and feeble-mindedness. But just consider how things are managed at the consultation. The parents bring the child. They know very well that he is "not like others." They bring him for that very reason, and consequently the doctor does not require to distinguish the child from a normal one. He only requires to sit and listen to the parents, who give him a crowd of particulars. When he questions and examines the child, it is only to verify what he has learned, and to add his own personal impression. As a general rule the case is a severe one; the deficiency is so evident that any sensible person would notice it. The task of the doctor is therefore narrowed. He has only to certify the mental deficiency of the patient, stating in technical terms the diagnosis which the parents have brought to him ready made. Even his estimation of the gravity of the case, apart from special investigations on his part, is not very different from that of ordinary people who readily distinguish between the idiot who cannot speak; the imbecile, who can make himself understood, though he cannot be educated; and the feeble-minded, who can do some work, but is not able to provide for his wants, or to behave himself sensibly. When the doctor thus certifies the intellectual level of the patient, does he try to do so with precision? By no means, for it is not expected of him. The parents do not come to him in order to ask him, "Is my child backward in his mental development?" Alas they see it only too well, and little it matters to them whether his backwardness amounts to six months or a year. But they do come to ask, "Why does this child not make the usual progress? Is there not some medicine, doctor, which can help his development?" When they come to the doctor, it is not even with the hope that some medico-pedagogical treatment will cure their child. They know very well that the devoted care which they have always bestowed upon him from his infancy is superior to anything which can be given to him at a dispensary for children; but their indomitable hope leads them to seek chimerical measures. In all this, let us repeat, the doctor does not require to estimate the degree of mental deficiency with any delicacy. But if he should try to do so, what methods would he use?