THE FUTURE OF SCIENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS 439 



the influence of light are easily followed ; the value of salts 

 may be learnt by water-culture experiments. Yeast having 

 been examined microscopically, alcohol may be prepared with 

 its aid and proof obtained of the existence in yeast of enzymes 

 capable of hydrolysing cane and starch sugar. In order that 

 there may be clear understanding of the function of the 

 albuminoids, their conversion under the influence of pancreatic 

 juice into soluble diffusible materials should be studied ; amino- 

 acids such as glutaminic acid and glycine may be prepared, the 

 one from gluten the other from gelatin, by hydrolysing these 

 materials with chlorhydric acid. Finally, urea should be 

 isolated from urine ; it is even desirable to institute systematic 

 observations on the amount of urine voided daily over a given 

 period and to have determinations made of the amounts of 

 urea and salt excreted in it. 



The last subject to receive attention would be anatomy. 

 The main disposition and functional importance of the various 

 organs of the body should be understood by all. If time 

 permit, the various chief types of the animal kingdom should 

 be brought under review. And last but not least Darwin's 

 work should not be left out of account. 



The work must be done throughout by the boys, not by 

 the teacher. To say that this is impossible is to confess that 

 the task laid upon the boy is beyond his powers — tasks must 

 be chosen which are not : in fact, all we need to do is to copy 

 the example set by those who train boys to be skilful in games. 

 No team of boys could ever succeed in cricket who merely 

 watched masters play and only now and then hit balls this 

 way and that according to an instruction given with every 

 ball — they would never acquire any sense of independence ; 

 there would certainly be no outcry against over-indulgence 

 in games under such a system — they would be as unpopular 

 and ineffective as most school lessons are. 



If we teach science at all in schools, we must teach it 

 practically; our main care must be to develop the right 

 spirit — the right attitude of mind in our pupils — a proper 

 appreciation of scientific method and some power of applying 

 it. The training must be thorough and exact — comparable 

 in thoroughness and depth with that given in teaching the 

 classical languages or geometry and algebra properly. 



Teachers more than any one else will be benefited if the 



