The muscles of the back, like those of the abdomen, are prevented from their full development, and, later, in their action, by the use of the corset. The earlier the corset is put on, the more pernicious will be the effects, because during the period of growth the bony framework is more pliable and delicate, so that a relative slight compression is sufficient to make an indelible impression upon the form. Before the complete development of the hips and the entire bony framework an enormous amount of harm is done by the wearing of corsets. In early youth the heart lies higher than in the adult. By narrowing the intercostal spaces, the heart is retained, as it were, in its youthful position; in the adult female the heart is found to lie higher than in the male, and the contraction of the space in which the heart has to play is one of the causes of woman’s fainting, and it is also a cause of organic disease of the heart. At puberty, when the girl is rapidly increasing in stature, and her menses begin to be a drain on the system, relentless custom adds the compression of the corset and long skirts, suspended from tightly drawn bands around the waist. The spinal column at this age lengthens rapidly, and it should carry upward all the viscera attached to it; but, owing to the weight of the clothing and the compression at the waist, this normal process cannot take place; instead, there is stretching of the ligaments, and the viscera are prevented from rising and hang at a level much below the normal. A girl of this class is apt to be slender, with undersized hips, and has a characteristic configuration of the anterior surface of the body, a hollowing out of the region over the stomach, and a very great protrusion of the abdomen. The uterus remains undeveloped and in an infantile state until near the approach of puberty, when it develops rapidly, and continues to increase in size until the normal size is attained—about twenty years of age. By the putting on of corsets the free mobility of the uterus and its appendages and their normal development are interfered with. This period of growth and development is one of the greatest importance for the future health of the woman, both physically and mentally, and the most intelligent care should be given the girl at this impressionable age. By putting corsets on their daughters at this time, mothers are doing them a very great wrong, which can never be entirely atoned for. The corset prevents growth, development, and the participation in those exercises which make for physical vigor and good health. To the well-developed girl corsets are as much of a superfluity as crutches would be, and nothing but the prevailing style of dress causes girls to put them on. It has been suggested that the wearing of any kind of corsets before thirty years of age should be a penal offense; and in case of a minor, the parents should be fined from one hundred to one thousand dollars.