May II, 1911] 



NATURE 



365 



are divisible into two series, respectively characterised by 

 the presence or absence of scales on the abdomen. 



To the Annals— which now bear the alternative title of 

 Mededeelingen— of the Transvaal Museum for November, 

 19 10, Mr. J. Hewitt contributes a key to the South African 

 members of four families , of lizards, with notes on their 

 distribution. The issue is also noteworthy on account of 

 the inclusion of eight beautifully coloured plates to illus- 

 trate Mr. Meyrick's article on Microlepidoptera published 

 In an earlier part. 



REPORT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

 "PHE report of the Board of Education for the year 

 1909-10, published a few days ago (Cd. 5616, price 

 %d.), contains an instructive statement of the position of 

 elementary, secondary, and technical education in England. 

 One section of the report, dealing with the teaching of 

 science in secondary schools, was reprinted in Nature of 

 May 4 (p. 326), and we now give an abstract of other 

 portions. The section of the report devoted to elementary 

 education reviews the history and recent development of the 

 provision made for teaching the pupils in public elementary 

 schools, and touches upon certain aspects of the subject of 

 school staffing which have been especially prominent very 

 recently. With this subject we are not particularly con- 

 cerned in these columns, but the subjoined extracts, relat- 

 ing chiefly to higher education, will interest readers of 

 Nature. 



Establishment of the Universities Branch of the Board. 

 The Board has recently organised a special branch of 

 its department to deal with the many matters arising from 

 the connection with the work done by the modern uni- 

 versities. Experience had shown that the technological and 

 professional instruction (including the training of teachers 

 for elementary and for secondary schools) given by the 

 universities and aided by grants from the Board, could not 

 be properly dealt with as part of the ordinary administra- 

 tion of the Board as applied to institutions which have less 

 autonomy, responsibility, and prestige than the universities. 

 'I'lie universities need the greatest possible degree of 

 firedom in organising and carrying out their important 

 national aQd international functions, and the Board has 

 for long been convinced that their relations with the 

 universities should be so adjusted as to further this end. 

 In April, 1910, the President accordingly appointed the 

 Board's director of special inquiries and reports, Mr. 

 II. F. Heath, to the office of principal assistant secretary 

 for the new universities branch of the Board. Mr. Heath 

 had a long connection with, and an intimate knowledge 

 of, the modern universities before his appointment to the 

 Board in 1903, and his work in the Board's staff as an 

 advisory rather than an administrative officer since that 

 date markfd him out as specially qualified for the new post. 

 Mr. Heath continues to hold his office as director of special 

 inquiries and reports. 



The Iiilcrniitional Commission on the Teaching of 

 Mathematics. 



In view of the fact that a meeting of the International 

 Congress of Mathematicians is to be held at Cambridge in 

 1912, and that an International Commission on the Teach- 

 ing of Mathematics has been constituted in connection with 

 the educational section of the congress, the office of special 

 inquiries and reports has made arrangements to publish a 

 series of papers dealing with the teaching of mathematics. 

 It js intended that copies of these papers shall be placed 

 at the disposal of the International Commission, and that 

 they shall iiltimateiv form a volume or volumes in the series 

 of special reports on educationril subjects. 



An advisory committee has further been appointed by the 

 Presidf>nt of the Board to assist in the collociion of papers 

 and In advise ns lo the suitability of the contributions sent 

 in. This committ'>e will also act as the British Sub- 

 commission — one of a number of national subcommissions 

 established to assist the Int<!rnational Commission in its 

 work — and is constituted as follows : — Mr. C. E. .Ashford, 

 Sir (,. H. Darwin, K.C.B., F.R.S., Prof. G. A. Gibson, 

 Vr. C. Godfrey. Sir George Greenhill, F.R.S.. Mr. 

 G. II. Hardy. F.R.S.. Prof. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., 



NO. 2167, VOL. 86] 



Mr. C. S. Jackson, Sir Joseph Larmor, M.P., F.R.S., 

 Prof. A. E. H. Love, F.R.S. 



Mr. C. S. Jackson is honorary secretary to the British 

 Subcommission. 



The Science Museum. 



The needs of the Science Museum have been before the 

 Board for some years, and it has recently become possible 

 to take active steps to provide for them. The matter 

 formed the subject of a memorial of great weight, presented 

 just a year ago by a deputation representing the learned 

 societies, the universities, and the technical colleges of 

 the country ; and the evidence then put before the Board 

 amply confirmed the view that the science collections are 

 even now of great value to the nation, but that their 

 usefulness is crippled, and their growth prevented, by the 

 inadequacy of the buildings in which they are housed. 



The accommodation for these rich collections, which 

 include many inventions that have proved to be pioneers in 

 industrial arts and afford much effective e.xposition of 

 modern developments of pure and applied science, ought to 

 be in every way worthy of the interests which they serve. 

 What has no.w to be done to meet this requirement ought 

 to be done on a scale and in a form that will give the 

 Science Museum an assured place among the permanent 

 national institutions of the country. The Board is anxious 

 that the scheme for the future development of this museum 

 should receive adequate consideration before the work is 

 actually put in hand, and it feels that the requirements of 

 the collections in the Museum of Practical Geology "n 

 Jermyn Street should be discussed at the same time. In 

 whatever action it may take in this matter, it wishes to 

 assign to the valuable collections in these two museums 

 definite part in the provision of facilities by nationai 

 museums. A Departmental Committee was therefore ap- 

 pointed in March, 19 10, to consider and report upon various 

 questions in regard to the collections. In particular the 

 committee was asked " to advise (a) as to the precise 

 educational and other purposes which the collections can 

 best serve in the national interests ; (h) as to the lines on 

 which the collections should be arranged and developed, 

 and possibly modified, so as more effectively to fulfil these 

 purposes ; and (c) as to the special characteristics which 

 should be possessed by the new buildings, which it is hoped 

 will shortly be erected on the South Kensington site to 

 house these collections, so as to enable the latter to be 

 cl.issified and exhibited in the manner most fitted to accom- 

 plish the purposes they are intended to fulfil." [See 

 Nature, May 4.] 



The committee informed the Board in a preliminary 

 report in Julv last as to the general conclusions it had then 

 reached on these questions, and in particular as to the 

 nature and extent of the collections and as to the size of 

 the buildings that would be required for such a develop- 

 ment of the collections as they contemplated. The Royal 

 Commission for the Exhibition of iSi^i has intimated that 

 it is prepared to make a grant of lOo.oooZ. from the funds 

 at its disposal towards the erection of a new building for 

 the museum, the balance of the cost of which would be 

 provided from public funds. 



Secondary Schools (England). 



The total number of schools regarded as eligible for grant 

 during 1909-10 was 841, as compared with 804 during 

 1908-0. Of these, 325; were controlled bv local authorities, 

 447 were endowed schools or schools of a similar type. 

 29 were schools belonging to the Girls' Public Day School 

 Trust, and 40 were controlled by Roman Catholic teaching 

 orders. In these schools there were on January 31, 1910, 

 76,009 boys and 64,640 girls, as compared with 73.273 boys 

 and 62,401 girls on January 31. 1009. 



In addition to the 841 schools on the grant list there 

 were 87 other schools recognised bv the Board as efficient 

 during 1000-10, being an increase of :; on the number 

 recognised as efficient during 1908-0. Of these 67 were 

 endowed schools or schools of a similar type, 3 were con- 

 trolled bv Roman Catholic teaching orders, and 17 were 

 private schools. In these schools there were on -January 31, 

 1910, 8715 boys and 7240 girls, as compared with 7117 boys 

 and 7179 girls on October i, 1908. 



Thus during the year 1909-10 there were in England 

 altogether 028 schools recognised by the Board as efficient, 

 educating 85,124 boys and 71.898 girls, as comnnrod with 



