48 



NATURE 



\Nov. 1 8, 1875 



1877, we find approximate places for 1875, of 134 out of 

 138 planets — materials for calculation not being available 

 in four cases — and accurate opposition-ephemerides are 

 given where the elements have been perturbed to the 

 year, and for those planets for which Tables have been 

 prepared. The initiated in these matters will be aware 

 that a work of this extent involves a vast amount of 

 labour, which will be greatly increased with the present 

 rate of discoveries of new members of the group of 

 small planets. 



In some few instances the perturbations have been 

 determined with every possible precision, with a parti- 

 cular object in view, as in the case of Themis, the motion 

 of which was rigorously investigated by Dr. Kriiger, for a 

 determination of the mass of Jupiter ; and for those 

 planets whose perturbations have been thrown into the 

 form of Tables, it was also necessary to settle the elements 

 with great accuracy, though the results have not been in 

 every case so satisfactory as might have been expected. 

 We have now Tables of Aniphitrite, by Becker ; of Iris, 

 Flora, and Victoria, by Briinnow ; Egeria, by Hansen ; 

 Metis, Lutetia, and Pomona, by Lesser ; and of Par- 

 thenope, Eunomia, Melpomene, and Harmonia, by Schu- 

 bert. 



Even with approximate places of these bodies, so long 

 as they are situated within about 3° from the ecHptic, the 

 charts of small stars now in the hands of astronomers 

 allow of their being identified without much difficulty with 

 the equatorial, and the errors of the predicted places being 

 determined by this instrument, their meridional observa- 

 tion is greatly facilitated. Still, rough ephemerides must 

 be prepared, and a considerable amount of time will be 

 involved in ascertaining their errors, and as observations 

 made with this purpose in view may be so conducted as 

 to give positions pretty nearly as reliable as those gene- 

 rally resulting from meridional observations, we shall not 

 be surprised to learn that the latter are soon relinquished, 

 except perhaps for the older minor planets and for such 

 as attain the brightness of stars of the eighth or ninth 

 magnitude, and are accurately predicted. The subdivi- 

 sion of labour as regards observations does not appear to 

 have so far worked very efficiently, though proposed many 

 years since — another effort, however, rhay be necessary in 

 this direction, and it may at least be expected that those 

 who by their discoveries are so rapidly increasing the list 

 of planets, will keep them in view for a sufficient length 

 of time to allow of their elements being well determined. 



Egeria, which has now about the brightness of an 

 average star of the ninth magnitude, is favourably situ- 

 ated for observation ; it has lately passed amongst the 

 outliers of the Pleiades. The following places are for 

 Berlin midnight : — 



RA. N.PD. Distance 



h. m. s. o ' from earth. 



Nov. 18 3 18 59 65 53-3 1-478 



„ 20 3 16 32 65 47-8 1-479 



,,22 3 14 6 65 42-6 1-481 



„ 24 3 II 42 65 37-7 1-4-84 



,,26 39 21 65 33'i 1-488 



,,28 3 7 3 65 28-8 1-493 



Lutetia, a bright eleventh magnitude, is approaching 

 opposition. Places, also for Berlin midnight, are : — 



B.A. N.P.D. Distance 



h. m. s. o / from earth. 



Nov. 18 4 54 II 68 34-1 1-480 



,, 20 4 52 8 68 35-0 1-477 



„ 22 4 50 I 68 36-1 1-474 



„ 24 4 47 52 68 37-3 1-472 



„ 26 4 45 40 68 38 -6 I "472 



,,28 4 43 26 68 40-0 1-472 



SCIENCE TEACHING TO YOUNG CHILDREN 



THE leading article in Nature of Oct. 28, on the Sixth 

 Report of the Science Commission has made me 

 think that possibly a short account of an attempt to teach 



science to boys younger than those to whom that report 

 refers, may be not without interest for some of your 

 readers. 



There are at present about fifty boys in this school, 

 varying in age from seven to fourteen, the majority of 

 whom are going to one or other of the great public schools. 

 In order to attain the high standard of classical work 

 necessary, half the school-hours have to be given up to 

 Latin and Greek. Enough time still remains, however, 

 even after providing for the requirements of mathematics, 

 French, and the usual English subjects, to enable every 

 boy to learn either botany or chemistry. For this purpose 

 the school is divided into three classes, the lowest of which 

 contains about twenty boys, whose average age is nine. 

 Class II. is composed of ten boys of an average age of 

 twelve, while the first class contains twelve boys of an 

 average age of twelve and a half. Class III. has two 

 lessons in botany of three-qOarters of an hour each, and 

 one hour's lesson on physical geography in the course of 

 the week. The boys in it are taught to distinguish the 

 parts of a flower, and by the help of a chart similar to that 

 given by Mrs. Kitchener in her " Year's Botany " to dis- 

 cover the order to which any plant belongs. The winter is 

 employed in learning the chart, and in studying the 

 characters of the different ordei-s as shown on Henslow's 

 Botanical Diagrams. Illustrations taken from Sir John 

 Lubbock's and Mr. Darwin's books, of the relations 

 between plants and insects, and facts bearing on the geo- 

 graphical distribution and economical uses of plants, add 

 interest to these lessons. The second class also does 

 botany, but is able to give two-and-a-half hours per week 

 to it. The standard of knowledge aimed at is such as is 

 contained in Prof. Oliver's or Mrs. Kitchener's books and 

 the boys are expected to be able to find out any given 

 plant in Benlham's British Flora. The boys in Class 

 I. learn chemistry, and spend one afternoon of one-and-a- 

 half hours at practical work in a small laboratory. 

 Another afternoon is employed in listening to a lecture 

 founded upon Miller's Chemistry (Text-books of Science 

 series). Two additional half-hours are given to getting 

 up the portion of Miller lectured on, so as to be able to 

 answer questions on it at the beginning of the next lesson. 

 The boys have also to keep notes of the lectures and of 

 the laboratory work. The standard aimed at is the power 

 to discover a simple acid and base, and an acquaintance 

 with the text-book. During the summer the chemistry 

 boys have a botany lesson once a fortnight, in order that 

 they may keep up what they had previously learned. In 

 addition to this regular work. Classes I. and II. have 

 occasional lectures either on chemical physics, "Erd- 

 kunde," or some such subject. As regards marks, all the 

 various school subjects stand on an equal footing. 



The science lessons are very popular with the boys, as 

 is shown by their frequently referring to them out of 

 school, and by their occasionally bringing home plants in 

 order to make them out. But we hope that the boys will 

 retain some considerable amount of knowledge beyond 

 the mere power of making out the flowers given to them, 

 or that of doing simple analysis, and though perhaps few 

 of the younger boys would be able to pass a thoroughly 

 satisfactory 'ujritteii examination, in either chemistry or 

 botany, yet a good deal more knowledge might be ques- 

 tioned out of even them by an experienced examiner than 

 they would be able to put upon paper. Mere knowledge 

 of the facts of either science is not the object at which we 

 have been chiefly aiming. These sciences were chosen 

 less as subjects of study than as instruments of training 

 in order to cultivate the powers of observation, and to 

 encourage a habit of inductive reasoning. If the teach- 

 ing of science in its early stages is thus regarded more as 

 a means than as an end, there is no child, who has begun 

 to.learn anything at all, who may not be taught some 

 branch of it with advantage. 



At the same time there is a danger to be avoided. 



