In conclusion a word of suggestion is offered as to the means which should be employed with boys who have already contracted the habit. Dr. H. Krebs of Chicago, Secretary of the Anti-Cigarette League, has used in his practice a simple remedy for the cigarette habit which is reputed to be of great effectiveness. Its base is the chemical reaction of a weak solution of silver nitrate with nicotine, which creates an intensely disagreeable taste in the mouth. After the smoker has rinsed his mouth with this solution and draws in a whiff of cigarette smoke, the chemical effect of the nicotine in combination with the solution produces such a nauseating taste that further smoking for that day is impossible. The treatment should be protracted until desire has waned and will-power has become reëstablished. CHAPTER XII BOY GANGS Boys are as gregarious as sheep. Their desire to herd together and have a leader is one of the requisites of play, a most important factor in their educational development. The call of the wild to you is not half so loud as the call of the lot to your boy. It is as natural for boys to run in gangs as it is for minnows to run in schools; youth calls to youth. There they find others possessing the same viewpoint, tastes, desires, ambitions, and occupations as their own. To the active boy the gang is a democracy made up of those of his own kind in which he is a free citizen without paternal or maternal restraint. In his new world there is no querulous nor uncomprehending adult to shout repressive commands directed at conduct or action. All is as wild and free as his own wild nature. There are two classes of organization to which boys belong--those formed by themselves without supervision; and those formed and supervised by adults for them. In the former class are the street and alley gangs, the “Dirty Dozen,” the “Noisy Nine,” the “Pirates’ Crew,” the scrub baseball team, the “Swipers” (organized for petty depredations), the lot loafers, school fraternities, school “crowds,” “bunches” or cliques, and other loose organizations whose only bond of cohesion is some common interest. The latter class comprises boys’ clubs; Boy Scout patrols; Sunday-school classes; nature-study clubs; baseball, football, and basketball teams under the direction of a coach; and numerous other boy organizations having a common interest, which are controlled by an adult. The gang spirit is strongest between the tenth and fifteenth years and it is at this period that boys spontaneously form themselves into a gang. The leader of the gang is the member who is best equipped for the position by reason of age, courage, physical prowess, and inherent qualities of leadership and the selection is never made by formal vote but by tacit recognition of the leader’s superiority and by willing obedience to his commands.