The establishment of scholarships, in connection with the University local examinations, for boys of moderate means.

Examinations for the public services.

The teaching of the following subjects (discussed at different meetings): natural science, geography, Latin and Greek verse, history, music, geometry, Greek, modern languages, Latin grammar. Retiring pensions and other provisions for

assistant-masters.

The improvement of school books.

The requirements of Greek in university examinations.

Higher religious education; the enjoyment of scholarships by the sons of the wealthy; the teaching of English grammar and literature; the present means and methods of teaching the Old Testament; an educational museum; qualifications for masterships.

Entrance and entrance scholarship examinations at public schools.

The organisation of secondary education.

Such is a brief account of the history and work of a very important educational association, which has done excellent work in the past and is destined, we hope, to extend its influence and to direct the work of public-school education even more definitely in the future.

GALVANOMETERS FOR SCHOOL

LABORATORIES.1

By H. E. HADLEY, B.Sc. (Lond.) A.R.C.Sc. (Lond.) Headmaster of Kidderminster School of Science.

AT

T the present time there are many secondary schools (especially in Ireland) which are equipping physical laboratories. Since voltaic electricity enters into the more advanced parts of a school physics course, galvanometers will certainly be required; and the following suggestions are offered in order that those teachers who have not in recent years had access to a modern, wellequipped laboratory may learn the types of instruments which are most desirable, and so limit their expenditure by avoiding the more expensive, widelyadvertised instruments.

In every laboratory there should be patterns of three distinct types: (i.) Astatic, (ii.) Tangent, and (.) Mirror Galvanometers. Each type has its educational value in affording applications of fundamental principles, and each type will also be found especially adapted for certain groups of

experiments.

An ASTATIC GALVANOMETER is suitable for general qualitative work and for all experiments with the simple Wheatstone Bridge. Its chief fault lies in the fact that it is by no means "dead

Figs. 2 and are used, with permission, from the catalogue of Messrs. J. J. Griffin and Sons: Figs. 3 and 5 from that of Messrs. W. and J. George, Ltd., and Fig. 1 from that of Messrs. Philip Harris & Co.

beat," and that much time may thus be lost in obtaining a obtaining a series of observations (though the needle may, of course, be quickly brought to rest by the judicious use of a bar magnet held in the hand).

The upper end of the silk fibre supporting the astatic pair of needles should be attached to a vertical brass screw, enabling the fibre to be relieved of the weight of the needles when the instrument is not in use. The central portion of the circular scale is frequently cut away, and replaced by plane mirror, which enables readings of deflection to be taken without errors due to

parallax. In many patterns a pointer is dispensed with, and the readings are taken by observing the deflection of the upper needle; in this case the diameter of the circular scale must necessarily be small. It is better to have a separate pointer attached to the needles, thus enabling a wider scale to be used; and it would be better still if the pointer consisted of thin sheet metal, with flat surfaces vertical, so as to serve as a damper. Two ivory stops are often fixed into the plane of the scale to limit the swing of the needle to an angle of about 20° on either side of the zero. These stops should be removable: in case they are not included in the instrument, efficient substitutes may be made from two pieces of gummed paper. The instrument should be supported on three levelling-screws: by this means it may always be adjusted so that the fibres coincide with the centre of the circular scale. The coil should be quite open to view, so that students may see the construction.

Instruments meeting these requirements may be obtained at prices ranging from 12s. 6d. to £3 10S.; a convenient pattern has a coil in two parts, of high and low resistance, which is sold at about £1 16s.

Of course, the instrument cannot be used for the comparison of current-strength unless it has been previously calibrated; but a useful modification (known as the "Walmsley Mather," Fig. 1) is

A TANGENT GALVANOMETER is of great teaching value in explaining the electromagnetic system of current measurement, and is often of use in the comparison of current strengths. Instruments consisting of a single turn of thick copper rod are practically useless in an elementary laboratory, and the most satisfactory type possesses several coils (wound on the same ring) of different resistance, varying from o'1 ohm to 50 ohms.

Makers seldom give data of the dimensions of the coils, but it would be advantageous if the following dimensions were given with each in

strument:

(i.) Inside circumference of each coil.

(ii.) Diameter of the covered wire used in each coil.

(iii.) Number of turns in each coil. (iv.) Resistance of each coil.

The inner part of the circular scale should consist of plane mirror, and the instrument should be supported on three levelling-screws. If the needle is supported by a silk-fibre, this should be capable of being raised or lowered, since the fibre is often broken when the instrument is carried about unless the fibre is free from tension. The fibre is sometimes attached above to a small brass wire and wound up or down by rotating the wire this may result in the needle not being over the centre of the scale, and is therefore scarcely the best arrangement. In any case, it should be seen that the fibre' may be easily replaced if broken at any time. The instrument is also improved if the needle can be moved horizontally to either side of the vertical coil (Fig. 2); for this

FIG. 2.-Modified Tangent Galvanometer.

purpose several makers have introduced a type which combines a Magnetometer with a Tangent Galvanometer (catalogued at prices varying from £1 5s. to £2 Ios., according to finish).

A MIRROR GALVANOMETER is essential for accurate work, and the adjustment of the instrument with its lamp and scale affords an excellent lesson in patience and manipulation. For general

1 Unspun silk is readily handled if each end of a length of the fibre is caught in a piece of gummed paper folded once; it may then be stretched along a clean bench, and the attachment to the needle made by means of a spot of melted shellac supported on the point of a hot knife-blade.

pattern may be obtained for £3 15s. or £4, but the cheaper instruments which are advertised frequently lack the important feature of being deadbeat. The Ayrton-Mather Moving Coil Galvanometer (patent) is a good modification of the d'Arsonval, and is catalogued at about £4; it is arranged for interchangeable coils of different resistances (which can be purchased at extra cost), thus increasing the range of experimental utility. An improved type of d'Arsonval Galvanometer has recently been issued (by Messrs. W. & J. George, Ltd.) in which the magnetic field is stronger and more permanent, and including two interchangeable coils (one "dead-beat," "dead-beat," the other "ballistic "). The price of this instrument is £5. If a "dead-beat" instrument is not regarded as essential, the Stewart and Gee pattern of mirror galvanometer (catalogued at 15s. to 18s. 6d.) will be found sufficient. An important feature of the d'Arsonval type is that it may be used with the coil in any vertical plane, whereas the ordinary mirror galvanometer must be

used with the plane of the coil coinciding with the magnetic meridian, unless a controlling-magnet is used. In this latter sense the ordinary type possesses the advantage that it enables students to experiment upon the influence which various strengths of magnetic field have on the readings of the instrument. The mirror attached to the needle (or coi!) may be curved or plane; in the former case the scale must be placed at a definite distance from the galvanometer; if the mirror is plane this distance may be varied, but a lens must be used to focus the cross-wire on to the scale.

A galvanometer is frequently required in the lecture-room, and it may not always be convenient or desirable to fit up a mirror galvanometer for

1 In the d'Arsonval pattern the coil is suspended in a fixed magnetic field; while, in the ordinary mirror galvanometer, the coil is fixed and surrounds the suspended magnet.

the purpose; in this case a vertical scale instrument (Fig. 4) fitted with a needle six inches long is recommended, and may be obtained from Messrs. J. J. Griffin & Sons (price 8s.).

FIG. 4.-Lecture Table Galvanometer.

The incandescent electric lamp is the most recent source of light for the lamp and scale used with mirror galvanometers, but in practice it scarcely gives the good results which might be anticipated, for the narrow luminous filament is not nearly so conspicuous as the "full-moon " of light (with cross-fibre) obtained with a paraffin lamp. The best recent improvement is found in a pattern of oil-lamp which consists of a metal reservoir surmounted by a metal chimney (carrying a side-tube with focusing lens), the entire lamp being supported on a vertical brass-rod, which affords every possible requirement in making adjustments. Also, the scale is supported on two rods, which readily allow the height of the scale to be modified (Fig. 5). The writer has not yet

WAJ.GEORCE UP

FIG. 5.-Lamp and Scale.

observed any introduction of acetylene as a source of light, but it would seem that the compact and serviceable forms of generators now used for projection-lantern purposes might be found highly useful for experiments with galvanometers.

Much uncertainty seems to exist regarding the relative advantages of the silk-fibre and the cupand-pivot support for the needles of Tangent Galvanometers and Magnetometers. Undoubtedly the latter support is open to the theoretical objection of friction between the metal point and the inverted cup, with consequent lack of sensibility. On the other hand, the experienced teacher will acknowledge how difficult it is, in the case of No. 49, VOL. 5.]

the fibre suspension, to get the fibre free from sideswing, and how easy it is for the student to shake the instrument (especially if on a smooth table) and afterwards spend much time in coaxing the fibre to become steady. Also, broken fibres frequently cause waste of time. The cup-and-pivot support is free from these objections, and its liability to friction errors is readily overcome with sufficient accuracy by gently tapping the instrument before taking each reading.

Frequent waste of time is due to the absence of "damping" in the needles of galvanometers. This fault may be minimised by the use of an auxiliary bar-magnet held in the hand; but it is a matter for surprise that so many simple instruments are still made with pointers of thin wire, which create but slight damping effect. A most serviceable pointer may be constructed from a narrow strip of thin aluminium foil, which, on both sides of the needle, is bent round into a vertical plane; in this manner the broad face of the strip serves as an effective damper, and the foil is thin enough to enable the scale readings of its ends to be read with much accuracy.

THE CHARACTER OF KING JOHN.'

A

BIOGRAPHY of King John, by the authoress of "England under the Angevin Kings," is sure of a welcome from students of our history, and Miss Norgate has not disappointed us. The story is told with the strict accuracy and the minute knowledge of details, even the least important, which we have learnt to expect from the school of Green and Freeman. Every authority has been consulted and his evidence weighed. Stories that used to be current on the strength of some late chronicler are contrasted with the more sober statement of contemporary writers. Especially does this appear in the narrative of the development of Magna Carta. The footnotes give full references and supply material for judgment in doubtful points. But the very excellence of the work thus accomplished leads us to express our feeling that something is lacking. There is scarcely any commentary, any explanation of the why and how of things. The book is an execellent chronicle of events, but it is written, as it were, for the men of John's own generation. We who are seven hundred years away want certain explanations which we feel sure Miss Norgate could give us. We seem to learn why John was lawfully King of England, but we ask in vain who was, on Richard's death, lawful heir of Normandy, of Anjou, of Brittany, or, in the alternative, if there was no law in the matter. We are told (p. 120) that the Pope decided that Grey's election was "uncanonical" and that the monks were the sole rightful electors, but we should have liked to learn how far this "canon " had been recognised in England and whether

1 "John Lackland." By K. Norgate. vi. + 303 pp. (Macmillan,) 8s. 6d. net.

C

John's opposition to the Pope's decision was merely personal or was based on "custom."

We have understood that the "northern barons" of 1215 were the new "legal" nobility raised by Henry II's. reforms and that they were thus, as it were, the old counsellors of the father rebuking and chiding the extravagant son. Miss Norgate thinks that the statesmanship of the Charter was due solely to Stephen Langton, but she does not clear up our thoughts on these "northerners." And finally, we miss a lengthy judicial decision on the character of John with which the book might have ended. We know that as a man he was bad, and in this book hints are given of things unmentionable; but were his difficulties and defects owing to his badness as a king? Miss Norgate draws her evidence as to his "tyranny" almost entirely from the "Articles of the Barons." Is this source above suspicion for this matter? We learn (p. 121) that John's "first need was money, and the difficulties with which the King had to contend in his efforts to raise money were as much greater in John's case than in that of any of his predecessors, as his need was greater than theirs had ever been," and (p. 263) that "a feature of John's home policy" was "his interest in the towns and the trading classes and his constant endeavours to cultivate their friendship."

The readers for whom Miss Norgate probably intends her book do not know enough in detail to do more than ask such questions as we have suggested above, and whether it was not the failure of his foreign policy as against Innocent II. and Philip Augustus that led to the demand for Magna Carta rather than purely gratuitous "tyranny" and "plunder." These questions still await a solution.

TH

A HARROW MASTER.1

HE memoir of Edward Bowen by his nephew differs in several respects from the bestknown biographies of schoolmasters, the Lives of Arnold and of Thring. It is much slighter. With all his wide sympathies, political and theological, Bowen was not an actor in the public controversies of his time as was Arnold, nor is there in his case, as in the life of Thring, the growth and fortunes of an institution to relate. Furthermore, he was so much absorbed in his work at Harrow, in organising and supervising the modern side, in teaching his form and in the government of his house, that after his early manhood he wrote comparatively little, even in the shape of letters. The biographer cannot, therefore, leave his subject to speak for himself and let him reveal himself in the intimacies of correspondence. On the other hand, since Bowen's acknowledged literary "remains are too few to be published separately, they can be added to the memoir without unduly increasing the bulk of the book. the incomparable songs are given.

To a reader who never knew Edward Bowen,

1" Edward Bowen." A memoir by the Rev. the Hon. W. E. Bowen, M.A. x. +417 pp. (Longmans.) 12s 6d. net.

the biographer appears to be unusually successful not only in describing the interests and habits of the man, but also in conveying something of the subtle aroma of his personality. Nor will the

friends and pupils of Bowen alone rejoice in the minuteness with which some portions of his life are portrayed, but the "scientific educationist " too, for whom the memoir is also written. For his power and influence among those who are concerned with education was not due principally to his advocacy of particular reforms or theories, but to his own remarkable character, towards the delineation of which even trivial details contribute.

Four of the nine papers which are placed in the appendix are on subjects unconnected with educa tion. They are sufficient to show that, had he chosen, Bowen might have had a career of great brilliancy as a writer. Among the remaining papers it happens oddly that there is one on each of the three main aspects of education-intellectual, physical and moral. Bowen's views on the first of these are expounded with admirable force and humour in the essay on "Teaching by means of Grammar," reprinted from "Essays on a Liberal Education." Written in 1867 it is by no means without point to-day. Though the main theme is a protest against teaching languages through grammar, the whole essay, which abounds in the soundest precepts, is a compendious dissertation on how to handle boys in a class. As a fine athlete, as well as a fine scholar, Bowen was competent to speak on the vexed question of athletics, and in the essay on "Games" he champions them whole-heartedly against the attacks both of those who would subordinate physical to intellectual training, and of those who would reduce physical training to the formal and unsocial exercises of the gymnasium. "Arnoldides Chiffers" exhibits his views on the Arnoldian theory of "moral influence." Besides the three set papers, glimpses of Bowen's attitude towards other scholastic problems are obtained incidentally in the narrative. His remarks on punishments and on the use of cribs are particularly suggestive. Other essays, and some memoranda included in the body of the memoir, deal with the public and administrative side of education. Bowen makes no claim to be heard on these topics beyond his experience of public schools. He expressed to the Royal Commission his disbelief in the training of teachers, mainly because the teacher he had in mind is a form and house master at a public school. Similarly he objects to examination and inspection by the universities because the public schools stand to lose by the restrictions upon freedom that such supervision might impose. In no place does he pretend to generalise beyond the bounds of his personal knowledge.

The book is to be warmly commended to schoolmasters in search of a healthy stimulus, to the student who is interested in educational theory and practice, and to all those who would care to read the story of what Dr. Wood calls "that unique and beautiful life." To Bowen's pupils and friends it will need no recommendation.

EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY.1

Mr. Witmer's book is well calculated to help this object along. Text-books on this subject are often concerned with somewhat complex and costly experiments. Mr. Witmer has hit on the happy idea of dealing with experiments which dispense with costly and complicated apparatus, and can be carried through by students untrained in elaborate, technical, psycho-physical knowledge. For instance, Mr. Witmer aptly remarks, "To be asked and to answer a question may constitute a psychological experiment." If we only know mind through its manifestations, every time we consciously direct attention to consider mental manifestations, to observe them, to alter their conditions, or even to note accurately any of their phases, we are conducting psychological experiments. The experiments selected for treatment in this book, therefore, are simple and easy. The attempt is further made to class representative examples. Thus the chapters include: Apperception, Attention, Association, Perception of Space, Psycho-physical Analysis, and the Sensation as the mental element. There is an appendix with a list of appliances, materials, and apparatus other than the experimental charts. The book is very enterprisingly produced, and makes the treatment of the subject graphic and interesting. We have, for instance, charts of the following topics: the staircase figure, Thiéry's double prism, Sanford's separated pattern, interlacing rings, illusions of contrasted larger and smaller circles, illusions of filled and unfilled space, simple figures for binocular combination. The simplicity of these experiments is distinctly an attractive feature. The number of charts and diagrams, it will be seen from the title, is considerable. Charts 9-14 consist of six gray strips placed on six differently coloured backgrounds, and constitute a particularly effective series of experiments which speak for themselves. Mr. Witmer avowedly has endeavoured to present a logical development of the subject by experiments. At the same time, he has had the aim in view of making psychology a mental discipline, and has treated it, so as to say, pedagogically as well as logically. In short, Mr. Witmer has written a manual of psychology illustrative throughout of a special method, viz., the experimental method. Some may think that this method is competitive with the introspective method. But there is a great deal to be said for the view that the experimental method is just as much subjective as it is objective. Whatever light can be thrown upon mental processes, all psychologists should be anxious to obtain.

It seems to us that Mr. Witmer's book would be

and inquiry in the student. We have no hesitation in strongly recommending the book to teachers of psychology who have as yet little knowledge of the latest writings on elementary experimental psychology.

MF

THE EMPEROR CHARLES V.1

R. ARMSTRONG, whose work on Elizabeth Farnese, "the termagant of Spain," has long been known, here gives us a biography of the Emperor Charles V., which he originally undertook for the "Foreign Statesmen " series, but which unavoidably outgrew the limits allowed to him by the general editor. It is, of course, unnecessary to say that the work is well done, and will be well worth perusal by our We should recommend them to make for themselves what Mr. Armstrong might have supplied, a chronological summary of each chapter so arranged that each would throw light on the other, and thus a clearer view be obtained of the many-sided activity of the Habsburg. Beyond our general commendation, we would add that here and there, specially in the first volume, the reader will find neat generalisations on the character and behaviour of men. Much light is incidentally thrown on Luther's career, and the reader will find many passages similar to the parallel, on p. 121, between "Barbarossa__and Dragut" and "their Atlantic counterparts, England's pirate admirals," or the apophthegm on p. 220, that "many a man writes a decided letter when he will not take decisive action." There is an index, which, full and satisfactory for Charles himself, leaves much to be desired in other respects. The bibliography is treated in an introduction.

The Emperor Charles V. is one of the most interesting and yet most puzzling characters in European history. He inherited vast possessions: Austria, "Burgundy," Spain, and the new world of America, besides Netherlands, were his. But though so widely endowed, he was by no means proportionately strong. Every part of his dominions had its own difficulties, internal as well as external, and none was either able or willing to help the others. He was necessarily an absentee from all but one of his possessions, and though he handed over his Austrian inheritance permanently to his brother Ferdinand from the very beginning, and governed the Netherlands through the regencies of his aunt and sister, he regarded himself, to use Mr. Armstrong's phrase, as "the travelling member of the Habsburg syndicate,"

1 "The Emperor Charles V." By E. Armstrong. 2 vols., pp. xxxi. + 341 +ix. +413. (Macmillan.) 21s. net.