100 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
We observe that less than fifty per cent. of the pupils get through 
on the first examination! while a similar percentage of the remainder 
fail and are required to return to the Première once more or to wait for 
another year.? Those who have been successful return to the lycée to 
prepare for the second part of the baccalauréat. A choice of two courses 
(which may be slightly varied), is open to them, the one Philosophie 
A or B, the other, Mathématiques A or B. We shall only refer to the 
latter which has been supplied with pupils from the Premiére C and D. 
There they had 26 and 28 recitation hours per week. This has now 
been increased to 274 and 284. There has been an increase in the num- 
ber of hours devoted to mathematics, physics and chemistry, but a re- 
duction in the amount of study of modern languages. Latin no longer 
enters. The programme for Mathématiques A is in outline as follows:— 
Philosophy (3 hours).—I. Elements of Scientific Philosophy: 
introduction, science, method of mathematical sciences, method of 
the sciences of nature, method of moral and social sciences. II. Ele- 
ments of moral and social philosophy. 
History and Geography (34 hours). Modern Languages (2 hours). 
Physics and Chemistry (5 hours). Natural Science (2 hours). Practical 
Exercises in Science (2 hours). Drawing (2 hours). Hygiene (12 
lectures of 1 hour). 
Mathematics. (8 hours) : 
Arithmetic.—Properties of integers; fractions; decimals; square 
roots; greatest common divisors; theory of errors; ete. 
Algebra.—Positive and negative numbers, quadratic equations 
(without the theory of imaginaries), progressions, logarithms, interest 
and annuities, graphs—derivatives of a sum, product, quotient, square 
root of a function, of sin x, cos x, tan x, cot x. Application to the 
study of the variation and the maxima and minima, of some simple 
functions, in particular functions of the form 
age bees 
aaa etary ene 
when the coefficients have numerical values—Derivative of the area 
of a curve regarded as function of the abcissa (the notion of area is 
assumed).* 
Trigonometry.—Circular functions, solution of triangles, applica- 
tions of trigonometry to various questions relative to land surveying. 
! For some it may have been the third or fourth trial. 
* There are certain exceptional cases which I shall not consider. 
3 The following note is attached to the résumé in the official programme, “ Le 
professeur laissera de côté toutes les questions subtiles que soulève une exposition 
rigoureuse de la théorie des dérivées; il aura surtout en vue les applications et ne 
craindra pas de faire appel à l'intuition.” ‘ 
