676 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION I. 



grating, and much mud and dust would be collected in the under- 

 lying trays and would form a very suitable fertiliser for the school 

 garden. I would also recommend that the first four or five steps on 

 every staircase near an entrance should have a grating for the 

 tread, and a tray underneath to pull out. The ordinary fibre and 

 wire mats are utterly useless : the former soon become saturated with 

 the mud and decompose, whilst the latter clog and wear out rapidly. 

 For the prevention of dust accumulating and to facilitate its 

 removal the flooring boards should be tongued and grooved. In 

 many of the older schools there are crevices between the floor- 

 boards, in which great quantities of dust collect. Although the 

 floors are well washed and swept, clouds of dust arise, being dis- 

 placed as the result of the vibration caused by the children's move- 

 ments in marching in and out, etc. A rounded insertion should 

 form the junction between the wainscot and the floor. All presses, 

 doors and window frames should be built well into the walls, so 

 that there will be no ledges projecting for the collection of dust. 

 The walls should be smooth; plaster of Paris appears very suitable 

 for the purpose. All maps and diagrams should be mounted on 

 spring rollers under a sloping roof ; wood picture rails for the 

 insertion of nails could be let into the plaster. Fireplaces are not 

 necessary ; they are useless, unpractical and expensive. The 

 ordinary school fireplace roasts those in the vicinity and causes 

 currents of cold air. It is said that 89 per cent, of the heat is lost 

 in an open fireplace. They cause unnecessary dirt, consume fuel 

 extravagantly, and are a source of danger to the skirts of women 

 and girls. It would be more economical and effective to have 

 stoves with a long flue. Placed in a corner they would be out of 

 danger and would take up a minimum of space. The ventilation of 

 the classroom must be thorough ; to be so it must be a system of 

 thorough through or cross ventilation, and this is only possible 

 where there are windows on both sides. There is much doubt as 

 to the efficiency of the ventilators adopted at present. I have 

 tested many of the ceiling and wall ventilators and found them 

 not working. Sometimes one believes they are simply made to 

 please the eye. Many people because they see a ventilator are 

 quite satisfied, however stuffy and smelly the room may be. 

 Where windows are on one side it is impossible to think that air 

 currents will be so obliging as to come in by one window and curl 

 round out of the adjoining one. By diffusion and change of tem- 

 perature a certain amount of ventilation can be effected, but it is 

 very limited in its results. The most satisfactory is cross ventila- 

 tion and that can only be brought about by having windows facing 

 each other. It would be necessary to have the building so con- 

 structed, either with a series of rooms with a corridor having a 

 lower elevation, to permit air to pass over, across, or better still to 

 have a series of rooms on either side of a central corridor, the latter 

 having windows on both sides opening into the classrooms. All 

 windows should be built as close up to the ceiling as possible ; the 

 top sash should be at least four inches shorter than its frame when 



