inside the uprights along the middle of the bench. If it be desired to produce a decorative effect and to protect the wood against acids, white glazed tiles having pieces of indiarubber glued to the underside by bicycle cement may be arranged within the line of uprights. What is wanted on a school bench is working space; shelves only serve to obstruct the view and to carry bottles which are rarely used.

The arrangement which I am here advocating has been carried out in a slightly different way at the Christ's Hospital Girls' School, Hertford, in the new science room designed by Mr. Stenning. Four parallel benches about 20 feet long are arranged along the length of the room. That at the windows is suitable for senior work. The remaining three are so placed that girls may work facing the light, standing against the inside edge of the two outer benches, which have wooden tops and are provided with gas but not with water; the middle bench is covered with lead and there are three sinks in it and a larger sink at either end. The girls can turn from the working bench to the water bench whenever necessary, the one water-bench serving for the common use of the two sets of girls. The sinks in this bench are mainly for use as pneumatic troughs: two are I foot 6 inches and one is 2 feet 6 inches long. I venture to think some such arrangement as this is about the simplest and most common-sense plan that can well be adopted. The tops of the working benches overlap the cupboards six inches, so that the girls may sit and write at them. The gas standards are fixed six inches from the outer edge and are tied by the overhead mains which run along the benches and across the room. (To be continued.)

THE TEACHING OF GEOMETRY.1

By W. D. EGGAR, M.A. Eton College.

THERE is a difference of opinion amongst teachers as to the need of a course of strictly demonstrative geometry for all students. I do not intend to go into this question, but I will confine my remarks to the practical geometry, which we are unanimous in regarding as necessary, whether to precede and accompany Euclid or to stand alone. To quote from the preface to Kitchener's Geometrical Notebook: "Beginners in geometry are met with two main difficulties, the one of grasping geometrical ideas, and the other of seeing the force of geometrical reasoning. These two giant difficulties are usually attached together, and many boys are so encumbered with the double combat that they do not slay either of the giants. . . . It is a safe guide in all teaching to make your pupils familiar with things before you give your theories." Now these words and the Notebook which they preface were published in 1868, and, if they had been properly attended to, there would be no occasion for people like myself to get up and utter platitudes. But our wonderful examination system has grown and spread till its branches overshadow the nursery windows. A course of practical geometry takes time. Children are often clumsy in using ruler and compasses, but many sharp children of ten can learn Euclid so as to deceive the very elect; and I suppose it has been found profitable for examination purposes to set the modern child to learn Euclid so soon as he should be able to draw something that a sympathetic teacher may regard as a trangle.

An Address given to the Conference of Science Teachers at Chelsea, on January 9th, 1903.

If teachers, or rather examiners (for teachers are and must be bound by examinations), are going to insist on a considerable amount of accurate drawing and measurement as a preliminary to Euclid (and by Euclid I mean any course of demonstrative geometry), then they must be content to postpone Euclid to a much later stage in the child's career. I should like to give reasons for this statement. The experimental work to be of any use must be accurate. It is no good to regard two straight lines as practically equal if they differ by inch. We must insist on the utmost accuracy attainable with the ordinary instruments used, and lengths ought to be correct to inch, angles at least to the nearest degree. Anything short of this is not only unsatisfactory to the learner, but positively harmful. It fails to impress him with the absolute truth of the law he is discovering, and it tends to lower his own standard. One of our difficulties in the elementary physics laboratory is to overcome the tendency of pupil (and teacher too) to become content with less than the utmost attainable accuracy.

Well, if you exact this, it can only be from children who have at least learned to write decently. Again, if your course is to be really experimental, each child must go his own pace. The teacher must not go in front with a spade to smooth the way, but rather come along behind to give a very occasional leg-up. Anybody who has had to do this kind of work must know how very helpless boys are at first, and what full instructions are necessary. So we must give the child the fullest details of the experiment he is to perform, and we must expect him to be able to read and understand English. If he can do this and can write a fair hand, and knows his arithmetic as far as decimals, he is fit to begin a course of experimental geometry; but he is probably not much under eleven years of age.

One very important thing is to make pupils work from written or printed instructions; to be able to use their books intelligently. However full or explicit they may be, it is probable that several of the students will fear to launch away until the guide comes round. In time, the feeling of helplessness disappears, but it is very marked at first. We will suppose, then, that each beginner is provided with complete written or printed instructions. Next, for the experiments themselves. All things are not expedient. Some experiments, such as finding the volume of a solid by displacement of water, are inconvenient for a class-room, though suitable enough for a laboratory; so that in the choice of experiments teachers must be guided by their individual circumstances. But at least the first object to be attained is to instil the notions of lines, points, angles, areas, volumes. In my opinion, this is best accomplished by simple measurement. Measurement of length, of course, comes first. Give a boy plenty of practice in measuring lengths in inches, tenths and hundredths, and in centimetres and millimetres, making him estimate the second place of decimals. This at once clears his ideas on the decimal system, and gives him a notion of the degree of accuracy which is obtainable and ought to be demanded. Similarly the difficulty that some people have in realising what an angle is does not long survive a course of measurement of various angles with the protractor. I have been told of a prominent novelist who at school could not, and for all I know cannot now, grasp the notion of an angle. I have heard of a former Chancellor of the Exchequer who refused to look at any figures in which occurred the decimal point, which

he stigmatised as "that dashed dot." If these gentlemen had begun their geometry by measurements of the kind I have mentioned, I do not think their deficiencies would have become notorious.

Measurement of area is, I believe, best begun by counting the squares in an irregular figure drawn on squared paper. This and the measurement of volume ought to follow the measurement of angles and to precede the course of geometrical constructions. For volumes, inch and centimetre cubes are very useful, and can be obtained quite cheaply. Blocks and models of various solid figures should be handled, their surfaces and edges and corners counted, so as to clear the ideas on the subjects of points, lines, surfaces, and solids, before the course of geometrical constructions is started.

When this begins, let the ordinary constructions be illustrated by paper folding. It is a very simple matter to make the student obtain, by paper folding

A straight line,

The right bisector of a straight line,
The bisector of an angle,

The perpendicular to a straight line,

The incentre, circumcentre, and orthocentre of a paper triangle. Tracing paper is most useful in the testing by superposition of the equality of angles. In all these experiments the student must be given full instructions what to do; but no help until he has proved himself helpless.

There is a little pamphlet by Mrs. Boole, published by Messrs. Benham, of Colchester, on the "Cultivation of the Mathematical Imagination." This ought to be studied by teachers engaged on this kind of work, and studied sympathetically with a view to adapt its suggestions to their own particular circumstances. One very important remark contained in it is to the effect that "no attempt should be made to quicken the child's perceptions by any magnetic stimulation from the teacher, whose personality and influence should be kept as much as possible in the background." Now this is a counsel of perfection, and in class-teaching it is impossible to carry it out fully with all the members of the class; but, at any rate, it should be followed in the case of the more able students, and the more stupid ones should receive not more magnetic stimulation than is necessary to keep them within measurable distance of the others. Mrs. Boole's remarks on the introduction of the child to Euclid I. 47 are perhaps more suited to the kindergarten stage; but they are worthy of attention, since so many of our pupils have not had the advantages of a good early training in mathematical notions.

One word as to instruments. First, as to dividers the ordinary cheap pair of dividers with stiff joints is useless for accurate measurement of lengths. One either pulls the points too far out or not far enough. If you want to measure to hundredths of an inch you must have a screw adjustment in one of the legs. This adds to the cost; but without it dividers are not worth getting. Parallel rulers are also useless things. Parallels and perpendiculars should be drawn with set squares, which should be introduced at a very early stage. A ruler divided in inches and tenths, and in centimetres and millimetres, is necessary. A bevelled edge has advantages, but, on the other hand, it is unsuitable for putting against a set square. The 60° set square should have a mark on the longest edge, so that it can be used after the manner of marquoise scales, the slope being, of course, one in two instead of one in three. The protractor is an important instrument, and I am inclined to prefer the rectangular shape, as easier to obtain accurate results with. The beginner has no difficulty in understanding the way in which it is obtained from the graduated semicircle, if this is once explained to him. I have with me two specimen boxes, supplied by Messrs. Aston and Mander, containing instruments suitable for

the kind of work. of pencil compasses are, of course, necessary. I would recommend that the work be done in books, not on loose paper, though this is wanted for the paper folding, and so, by the way, are scissors.

A hard pencil with a chisel edge and a pair

The students should be encouraged to make a list of the geometrical facts which they encounter, and a separate collection of geometrical constructions. Accuracy and neatness are of the utmost importance. These are often conspicuously lacking in boys of great mathematical ability, and for such boys a course of this kind is chiefly valuable as a training in these virtues. I have had much difficulty in convincing a clever pupil that a picture of an amoeba is not satisfactory as representing a section of the human eye. And in this connection I should like to say that the freehand drawing of straight lines, perpendiculars, bisectors, circles, and triangles of various kinds is worthy of being practised.

I have been speaking thus far of the earlier stages of this practical geometry, in which the substance of Euclid Book I. and parts of Books II. and IV. are dealt with. I must now touch briefly on the order in which we should take the remaining parts of the work. And here I speak with more confidence, as

I have had for a good many years to teach geometrical drawing as an Army subject to boys whose knowledge of Euclid did not extend further than Book I.; so that I had always to explain most of the constructions in a practical way. The subject of proportionals, for instance, had to be attacked by means of the boys' arithmetical notions of proportion, and there was never any difficulty in approaching it by this road. On the contrary, it is a far easier route than by Euclid's definition of proportion, which very few boys are capable of grasping. I wish it to be understood that I have the greatest reverence for Euclid, and I think that his modern detractors do not realise sufficiently the conditions for which he wrote. Imagine yourself writing a practical treatise for the use of students whose knowledge of arithmetic is limited to simple addition and subtraction-for, of course, multiplication and division in Greek or Roman numerals would be beyond all but the cleverest mathematicians. Imagine also that the apparatus and instruments consist of the floor, a piece of chalk or charcoal, and a bit of string; and if you improve on Euclid's treatise without standing on his shoulders you will be a wonderful man. But, once again, imagine Euclid himself and his pupils all provided with paper, pencils, compasses, and set squares, and better still, with Arabic numerals and the decimal point; and do you suppose that Euclid will follow his old treatment of parallels, of areas, of proportion, and of arithmetic, as dealt with in Books VII., VIII., and IX. ? If so, you will believe that Hannibal, in possession of both ends of the St. Gothard tunnel and all the Italian railways' rolling stock, yet insists on ordering a consignment of vinegar and taking his army and elephants over the pass. I maintain that a course of practical geometry is bound to adapt itself to modern conditions, and to follow the order which agrees best with drawing-office methods; in fact, it should be a course of geometrical drawing taught, not merely as a collection of rules, but by a series of experiments following one another in logical order. That order cannot be the same as Euclid's order. The nearest approach to Euclid's order appears to be to take the substance of Euclid Book I., then III. 1-34, IV., VI. and II., III. 35-37.

Can such a course stand alone, or must it always be accompanied by a course of strictly demonstrative geometry? On this, as I said, I am not prepared to dogmatise. But I am certain that practical geometry must be taught in close conjunction with arithmetic and the beginnings of algebra. Algebra naturally begins in line with the substance of Book VI. and Book II., which should be extended so as to bring in mensu

ration of solids as well as areas. Graphs, of course, have come to stay, and the solution of quadratic equations ought to be accompanied by a geometrical solution depending on Euc. III. 35, 36.

In conclusion, I must ask you to forgive me for saying over again what has been said already many times. The forbearance with which you have listened is one more proof that the present time is one favourable to reform. All change is not reform; but we cannot be wrong in recognising this very old truth, wrapped up in the disused books of Euclid's Elements like the wheat in the mummy, that geometry and arithmetic are one.

THE CARNEGIE TRUST AND THE SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES.

THE Carnegie Trust, in conformity with powers conferred on them by their charter, have issued a scheme of Research Fellowships and Post-Graduate Scholarships at the Scottish Universities or allied institutions. The Executive Committee have decided that it was not desirable to allocate definite sums or to offer separate endowments to individual universities. They have, therefore, established a common scheme, the administration of which they have retained in their own hands. As they had no means of determining the probable number of applicants for the various scholarships and fellowships, they have purposely refrained from stating the precise number of each to be awarded annually. Should, however, the funds at their disposal prove Inadequate to meet all deserving applications, they may hereafter delimit more precisely the amount of grants for each class. The Committee very wisely insist that a Scholar or Fellow should not be allowed during the tenure of his scholarship or fellowship to engage in other work that would interfere with the progress of his research. The value of these scholarships and fellowships may not appear very tempting to English graduates accustomed to the munificence of the Rhodes and other scholarships. But in Scotland, where the tradition still lingers that plain living and high thinking go together, they will suffice to attract the very best class of men,—those who have a genuine interest in and a special capacity for higher study and research. The following are the main provisions of the scheme :

Scholarships in Science and Medicine.-A Scholar must be a graduate of a Scottish University who desires to devote himself to bigher study and research in some department of science or medicine.

A scholarship shall be of the annual value of £100, payable by half-yearly instalments in advance, the second instalment being payable on the receipt of a satisfactory report by the scholar and certificate from the authority under whose supervision the scholar has been working.

A Scholar shall ordinarily be expected to devote his whole time to the purpose for which the scholarship is awarded.

A scholarship shall ordinarily be tenable for one year; but it may be renewed for a second year if the executive committee deem this expedient.

By accepting a scholarship a scholar comes under an obligation to submit such reports on the progress of his work as the executive committee may require.

Fellowships in Science and Medicine.-A Fellow must be a graduate of a Scottish University who has given evidence, preferably by work already published, of capability to advance science or medicine by original research, and who desires to devote himself further to this work.

A fellowship shall be of the annual value of £150, exclusive of such special expenses in connection with his research as the executive committee may allow.

A fellowship shall ordinarily be tenable for two years. Scholarships in History, Economics, and Modern Languages and Literature.-A Scholar must be a graduate of a Scottish

University, preferably with honours in at least one of the groups -history, economic science, English, modern languages and literature-who desires at home or abroad to devote himself to higher study and investigation within the scope of these groups of study.

A scholarship shall be of the annual value of £100.

Fellowships in History, Economics, and Modern Languages and Literature.-A Fellow must be a graduate of a Scottish University, preferably with honours in at least one of the groups-history, economic science, English, modern languages, and literature-who desires to investigate at first-hand, at home or abroad, some historical, social, economic, or educational problem or factor of modern civilisation, and who can give evidence by his previous career and general culture, and also preferably by work already published, of capability to advance knowledge by his proposed investigation.

A fellowship shall be of the annual value of £150. Carnegie Grants in Aid of Research.-An applicant for a research grant must be a professor, lecturer, or assistant in a Scottish University, a teacher in Scotland recognised for the purpose of graduation by a Scottish University, or a Scottish University graduate resident in Scotland.

An applicant must furnish the executive committee with information regarding his experience in research, the nature of the research in which he desires to engage, &c. The publication, in some form, of an account of the results of the research will be expected in all cases.

Instruments of permanent value purchased by means of the grant shall be placed under the care and at the disposal of the institution in which the research has been conducted.

Date of Application.-Nominations for scholarships and applications for fellowships and grants must be lodged with the secretary not later than 1st May in any year. The final award of the executive committee will be announced in due course, and all scholarships, fellowships, and grants awarded in any year shall date from October 1st, unless expressly stated otherwise.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

GENERAL.

REPRESENTATIVES of the Incorporated Association of Headmasters, the Association of Technical Institutes, the Headmistresses' Association, the Assistant-masters' Association, the College of Preceptors, and the Teachers' Guild, formed a deputation to the President of the Board of Education on March 17th to make representations on the subject of the proposed education authority for London. Dr. Scott urged the desirability of following the analogy of the Act of last year, since it made a single rating authority for each area, and enabled all education to be properly co-ordinated. The deputation maintained that an ad hoc authority was not best fitted to organise education in London, but that the County Council of London was a body which had been tried and had been successful in its work. Miss Connolly pointed out the importance of the inclusion of women on the new education board. Lord Londonderry promised that careful attention should be given to the views expressed by the deputation, but regretted his inability to give definite information as to the intentions of the Government. He called the attention of the deputation to the fact that if the course recommended by them were carried out the borough councils would be completely ignored on the central board for education.

THE action which the Government propose to take as a result of the recommendations of the Committee on Military Education was outlined in Mr. Brodrick's speech in the House of Commons on March 9th. The Director-General of Military Education is, for all purposes connected with the examination of candidates before they enter the Army, and with their training

before they are commissioned, to have a board consisting of the four heads of the military colleges-Woolwich, Sandhurst, the Staff College, and the Ordnance College-and be assisted by two representatives of the Universities, one selected by the Headmasters' Conference, one selected by the Incorporated Association of Headmasters, and one by the Royal Society, so that it may be ensured that scientific attainments are not forgotten. Further, there are to be two members nominated by the Secretary of State, as was recommended by the Committee. It is proposed to leave in the hands of the new Board the settlement of the syllabus of examination. The whole examination for Woolwich and Sandhurst, for the Army and for the Militia, is to be held if possible in one examination, and the higher the candidate gets the wider is to be his choice of selection as to the branch of the Army he wishes to join. Two years' training at Sandhurst will be required, as is at present the case at Woolwich.

In order to secure for the Army men who have had a public school and university career, and to enable them to enter the Army on equal terms with the men who have not, it is proposed that a boy shall complete his period at the public school, and that before he is 20 he shall pass Moderations at Oxford, or some equivalent examination at another University. Before the age of 20 the intending officer must have not only passed this test examination, but must have done six weeks' training with a Line battalion or Regular unit. Having done this, the candidate will be given a provisional commission at the age of 20; and, although he may return to the University, he will rank in the Army from the age of 20, instead of waiting till the end of his University career. He will be required to take honours at the University; and the Universities are to be asked to include in the honours examination two or three military subjects-tactics, military topography, and military history-and to provide proper lectures on those subjects. Any candidate who may pass with honours, and who has done another six weeks of military training, will be allowed to enter the Army, provided that he enters it before the age of 22, as having been commissioned from the age of 20. It is proposed within the next few weeks to hold a conference between the War Office authorities and the Universities as to the establishment of the new system.

THE new scheme for educating officers of the Navy will involve the creation of a large Naval College at Osborne. The boys will remain there for four years--from thirteen to seventeen; and it is important that the tuition should be of the best. A deputation from the Modern Language Association was interviewed by the First Lord of the Admiralty and Mr. Arnold-Forster last month. The deputation consisted of Messrs. F. Storr, A. A. Somerville, E. R. Edwards, and de V. Payen-Payne, and it was introduced by the President of the Association for 1903-Sir Arthur Rücker. The chief points laid before the First Lord were :-The importance of laying stress on the teaching of the mother tongue, without which all modern-language teaching is made very difficult; the nature of the entrance examination, which should consist chiefly of dictation, reading, and test the power of understanding the language when spoken; the importance of making the modern-language teaching at the College colloquial and literary, and leaving naval technicalities to a later stage; and, lastly, that, in view of the special requirements of the naval officer to be able to speak foreign languages rather than to write them, that a great deal of the teaching should be of an oral character. We trust that both French and German will be made compulsory at the College, and not alternative as in military colleges; for, seeing the vigour with which the Germans are pushing their Navy, they will no doubt create a huge literature on this subject as they have on others, with which it will be necessary for the Naval Officer to be acquainted.

A MEMORANDUM has been circulated amongst members of Parliament stating the views of the London headmasters o secondary schools as to the principles which should be embodied in the Education Bill for London. It is submitted that the London County Council should have sole control in all financial matters, and that the new Education Board should be supreme in all educational matters. In connection with the constitution of the board, the headmasters suggest 65 members as a suitable total, 33 to be members of the London County Council, and 32 non-members. Of the 33 members 29 should be chosen by the Council so that one member would represent each of the 29 metropolitan borough areas, including the City, whilst the other four would be selected without regard to the representation of borough areas. The remaining 32 members should be selected by co-optation, nomination, or recommendation, under a scheme to be drawn up by the Council and approved by the Board of Education. It is also suggested that borough committees should consist of 15 members each, eight appointed by the borough council from among its own members and seven in pursuance of a scheme, variable according to local circumstances (but in all cases providing for the appointment of at least one member by the board), to be drawn up by the London Education Board with the approval of the Board of Education.

THE Incorporated Association of Assistant-masters, too, has circulated a memorandum stating its views in regard to the forthcoming London Education Bill. In its opinion, the measure should provide for the establishment of a single authority charged with the supervision of all educational institutions not of university rank within the area, such authority to exercise all powers concerning education other than elementary which are secured to the local authorities set up by the Education Act, 1902, and to control all expenditure of rates and taxes on education within the area. The Association suggests that the London County Council should be the education authority, and should act through a statutory committee, provision being made for the appointment on the committee of members of the present School Board and of representatives of recognised educational associations.

THE Association of Headmasters of Preparatory Schools resolved, at a recent special meeting in connection with the new proposals for entry into the Navy, an article on which appeared in our issue for last February, “that in the opinion of this conference it would be in the interests of the boys, and therefore of the Navy and of the nation, if the age for entry to the Royal Navy were fixed at 13-14 instead of 12-13 as in the new scheme." Among the reasons given for the resolution were the following: In the memorandum presented by the Admiralty to Parliament in December, 1902, it is stated that "the age of 12-13 corresponds to the age at which boys leave private schools, and therefore to a natural period in the system of education which obtains in this country." This is an obvious error. Comparatively few boys leave preparatory schools for their public schools before 13, and the conference voted unanimously chat 13 is the best age for boys to enter public schools. The last year of a boy's life at a preparatory school is rightly regarded as of the utmost importance in his moral, mental, and physical development. If the higher age—i.e., 13-14-is adopted, preparatory-school masters will cordially co-operate with the scheme; but if the lower age is adhered to the tendency will be to discourage the best preparatory schools from taking boys for the Navy. The early age now proposed for of the examination will involve a strain on boys from the age 9-12 which is highly to be deprecated.

AT the general meeting of the Nature-Study Exhibition Association held on March 6th, the report of the Executive Committee was adopted. The report was highly satisfactory and showed

a balance in hand of sixty pounds. Though the association has been, for the present, dissolved, we are glad to learn that numerous local associations of a similar character have been formed and arrangements are being made to hold exhibitions in different parts of the country. Towards the end of May, an exhibition, on lines corresponding to those on which the exhibition at Regent's Park was conducted last July, will be held at Bristol in connection with the Bath and West and Southern Counties Society, and a conference of teachers will take place at University College, Bristol.

THE President of the Board of Education has appointed Mr. H. M. Lindsell to be Principal Assistant-Secretary for elementary education in succession to Mr. John White, who retires in April. Mr. Cyril Jackson succeeds Mr. T. King as Senior Chief Inspector of Elementary Schools.

A SMALL temporary committee of investigation into the education and training of urban and rural pupil-teachers has been appointed. It will consist of Messrs. Legard, Buckmaster, Airy, R. F. Curry, and Mr. Grindrod as Secretary and Organising Inspector. Miss Hale, Principal of the Edge Hill Training College, Liverpool, will also insist in the investigation. The duties of the Committee will be (a) to inspect the different methods that have been adopted in recent years, especially since the Report of the Departmental Committee in 1898, in certain urban and rural districts for organising the training and instruction of pupil teachers; (b) to confer with the Inspectors in each district, and to suggest to the new local authorities means of initiating or improving such methods; and (c) to advise the Board of Education as to the changes that may best be made in the existing regulations of the Board, and possibly in the arrangements of grants, in order to facilitate the improvement and co-ordination of this part of our educational system.

THE annual report of the Teachers' Training Syndicate of the University of Cambridge shows that during 1902 two examinations were held in the theory, history and practice of education. The June examination was held at London, Cambridge, ! Cheltenham, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Cardiff, when 76 candidates presented themselves, of whom two were placed in the first class, 34 in the second, 29 in the third, and eleven failed to satisfy the examiners. The December examination was held at London, Cambridge and Cheltenham, when 69 candidates were examined, and of these seven were placed in the first class, 45 in the second, eleven in the third, and six failed to satisfy the examiners. This makes a total of 145 candidates examined this year as against 189 in 1901. For the certificate of practical efficiency 126 candidates presented them. selves, of whom 46 were placed in the first class, 66 in the second and 14 in the third, none of them failing.

ST. KENTIGERN'S Hostel for women students of the University of St. Andrews is moving at the end of this session from its old quarters in North Street to a larger and more convenient house Dear the Links, within five minutes' walk of the University. The chief object of St. Kentigern's Hostel is to provide a place of residence for those women students who desire a home life and surroundings, together with assistance in preparation for the University classes, and supplementary instruction for the preliminary and degree examinations. The Hostel is conducted on Church lines, but students of all denominations are received. The inclusive fees for board, lodging, and tuition by the Hostel teaching staff are £46 a year. There are several scholarships connected with the Hostel, for information concerning which application should be made to the Principal, Miss Tate, St. Kentigern's Hostel, St. Andrews, N.B.

THE Westminster Review for March contains two articles likely to interest those engaged in educational work. The first, by Mr. P. S. Burrell, entitled Too much Education," is a little pessimistic in its tone, but contains one or two useful suggestions. Reviewing the result of the educational efforts of the last thirty years, Mr. Burrell is by no means satisfied; he says: "When men are casting up the balance, they find, if anything, less contentment; that the progress in virtue is nothing to boast about; that advance in genuine refinement is, at least, questionable; and that foreign competition is more menacing than ever." Mr. Burrell comes to the conclusion that the great present need is such a re-organisation of our education as will secure "the thorough teaching of a few wellselected subjects, encourage the habit of doing and learning things for oneself, and provide a reasonable amount of leisure for both teacher and taught."

THE second article is concerned rather with the physical well-being of our children. Mr. J. H. Vines is concerned with the physique of the public-school boy, and he comes to the conclusion that there has been a distinct improvement therein, notwithstanding the educational activity of the last quarter of a century. For instance, the article shows that " a boy of thirteen at Marlborough College to-day weighs, on an average, five and a-half pounds more than a boy of the same age weighed there in 1874, and he is also two inches taller. A boy of eighteen at Marlborough to-day is four and a-half pounds heavier, and nine-tenths of an inch taller than his father (now aged forty-seven) was, supposing that the latter had been at Marlborough twenty-nine years ago." "Boys of thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen, at Rugby School to-day are both taller and heavier than they were twenty-two years ago, while boys of seventeen average nine-tenths of an inch taller, but are one pound less in weight."

A VERY interesting paper on " Education in the Netherlands " was read at the general meeting of the Society of Arts on March 4th, by Mr. J. C. Medd, who recently visited Holland to report on the education of that country for the Board of Education. The paper is printed in full in the issue of March 6th of the Journal of the Society.

DR. KIMMINS contributes to the University Extension Journal a short article showing how the new Education Act may be utilised to extend and broaden university extension work. With the repeal of the Technical Instruction Acts, there is no longer any need to exclude lectures on history and literature from aid from public funds. Local authorities in attempting "the general co-ordination of all forms of education" need not now confine their support to lectures dealing with branches of technical education. All such difficulties have been removed by the new Act; and local authorities will have, says Dr. Kimmins, great difficulty in evading the judicious and persistent applications of local secretaries for the support of university extension lectures.

REPEATING her plan of last year, Miss Edna Walter will this year, if a sufficient number of names are received by an early date, take a party of schoolgirls to the Bernese Oberland, where Wengen has been chosen as a centre. The cost of a fortnight's holiday will be about ten guineas, and the tickets will be available for twenty-five days by those who care to prolong their visit. The outward journey will be via Dover, Calais, Laon, and Interlaken; the homeward journey will be via Interlaken, Brunig, the Brunig Pass, Lucerne and Paris. Further particulars can be obtained from Miss Walter, 38, Woodberry Grove, Finsbury Park, N.