1894- NOTES AND COMMENTS. 255 



obtained honours. The number is increasing, but unfortunately the 

 •supply already appears to exceed the demand. If only 300 kind people 

 would subscribe a guinea for three years, they would be allowed to 

 attend all the lectures and the Association would be greatly bene- 

 fited. But would the subscribers ? 



Our readers will be interested to hear that no less than nine ladies 

 are anxious to pioneer them through the difficult paths of science, 

 teaching them science — moral and otherwise, physiology with or with- 

 out hygiene; in fact, everything from primitive man to all the duties of 

 housekeeper and mother. Some of these scientific ladies have names 

 not unknown to us ; but we confess we should tremble to place our- 

 selves in the hands of one who would lecture us from Greek literature, 

 through the Poetry of the Century (Browning, of course, to be treated 

 as an extra), down to the Vertebrated Mammal. Clearly " you pays 

 your money and you takes your choice"; or you don't do either. The 

 science lectures do not seem to have been very popular ; at certain 

 lectures given at South Kensington the average attendance was as 

 follows: Geology, six; Animals, six; Botany, ten. The lectures in 

 connection with the P.N.E.U., to which we alluded in our last number, 

 were, however, better attended, and it is intended to follow them up 

 with a course of lectures on Zoology for children. 



We wish the A.W.P.L. all success ; but we must point out one 

 very serious omission from their lecture list. They give no instruction 

 in the elements of humour. But possibly they think example is better 

 than precept. 



Science at the Free Libraries. 

 A remarkable suggestion which bears upon the instruction of the 

 masses is made by Mr. John T. Carrington in the excellent first 

 number of Science Gossip. As a result of a recent tour through the 

 metropolitan libraries, he points out striking deficiencies in them. 

 Illustrated books on popular natural history are to be found in many, 

 but these, for the most part, are out of date and of no educational 

 value. In most cases the income of the library goes in the purchase 

 of fiction, or in general expenses, and the librarian depends on 

 donations for the science section of his catalogue, and must accept 

 whatever comes to hand. He makes the valuable suggestion, that 

 some competent authority should invite the councils of the various 

 learned societies to draw up and revise periodically a list of text- 

 books and authorities dealing with their especial subjects. Although 

 we consider this suggestion most valuable, we do not think it prac- 

 ticable. Members of the councils of learned bodies are not, we fear, 

 likely, as such, to give the necessary advice periodically and satis- 

 factorily. For one thing, most of them are not specially familiar 

 with text-books. Proper advice could be attained more easily by 

 appeal to the teachers of different subjects at the various scientific 

 institutions of London. But Mr. Carrington has made out so excel- 



