Feb. 17, 1876] 



NATURE 



311 



with perfect completeness in the space of a few square 

 yards. Watersheds bounding contiguous basins, gently 

 sloping plains, deeper valleys, steeply cut ravines may 

 be recognised according as the rock varies here and there 

 in more or less of cohesiveness. 



The slight inequalities in this respect give rise to maily 

 other details worth noticing. On the vertical surface of 

 the cliffs the rock is etched in a manner scarcely per- 

 ceptible unless the sun shines obliquely on its surface. In 

 this way a rock apparently homogeneous is seen to have 

 been originally built up of layers deposited at the most 

 various angles in the manner characteristic of what is 

 called false bedding. 



Here and there an undisturbed talus at the foot of a cliff 

 has been permeated by water carrying some cementing ma- 

 terial which feebly binds together again the incoherent sand. 

 The base gets washed or blown away, and the surface of 

 the talus is seamed with miniature landslips leaving steep 

 and precipitous cliffs of the frightful height of at least 

 two to three inches. These precipices are scored and 

 columned with the sharpest fluting as they have been 

 planed down by the subsiding soil (Fig. i reduced). 



Here and there again the rock is traversed horizontally 

 by layers, in which the cementing material is ferruginous. 

 When the rock is denuded down to this it first gets 

 washed pretty bare and then broken up into angular 

 fragments by the frost. Each of these fragments pro- 

 tects the rock beneath, and so gradually gets mounted 

 upon a little pedestal like the perched blocks of a Swiss 

 glacier or the mud columns in the valley of Visp (Fig. 2, 

 natural size). T. D. 



PHYSICAL SCIENCE IN SCHOOLS 

 T^HE struggle which Physical Science has had to 

 •*• obtain a footing amongst the regular subjects of the 

 school curriculum has not been altogether in vain, and 

 the study of science now occupies a conspicuous place in 

 the prospectus, at any rate, of many of our schools. But 

 to those who, being behind the scenes, are acquainted 

 with the real facts, the position which science occupies 

 amongst other subjects, with a few honourable exceptions, 

 is insignificant in the extreme. It is admitted as an axiom 

 by all science teachers, that if the study of science is to be 

 of any value, the student must, in some part at least of his 

 work, be brought face to face with the facts of nature, and 

 that imless this be the case the introduction of the sub- 

 ject into the school course is worse than useless ; but how 

 commonly does the so-called science-work of a school 

 consist simply in the acquisition of so much "useful 

 knowledge .-"' And even when in other respects the teach- 

 ing is fairly satisfactory, the practical work is too often 

 optional— an " extra," or taken on half-holidays, and so 

 ruined by the competition of cricket and football. 



We believe that a fair standard by which to judge of the 

 present position of the study of science in schools is to 

 be found in the " Regulations of the Oxford and Cam- 

 bridge Schools Examination Board," and in the papers 

 set at the examination for certificates (the first held) of 

 July 1874. Certificates are awarded to those who succeed 

 in passing in a certain number of subjects ; and the pos- 

 session of such a certificate should indicate that a boy 

 has obtained a thorough education up to the point fairly 

 to be expected on leaving school. 



Regulation 7 provides that " the examination for cer- 

 i tificates shall include the following subjects : — 



"Group I.— (i) Latin; (2) Greek; (3) French and 

 German. 



"Group II.— (i) Mathematics (Elementary) ; (2) Ma- 

 thematics (Additional). 



"Group III.— (i) Scripture Knowledge; (2) English; 

 (3) History. 



" Group IV.— (i) Natural PhUosophy ; (2) Heat and 

 Chemistry ; (3) Botany ; (4) Physical Geography 

 and Elementary Geology. 



Every candidate shall be required to satisfy the examiners 

 in at least four subjects, taken from not less than three 

 different groups." 



From the foregoing Regulation, one would naturally 

 suppose that equal value was attached to each of these 

 subjects, an arrangement which would leave no room for 

 the complaint that science did not receive its proper 

 credit. Let us examine whether such is the case. 



The examination papers show that out of more than 

 fifty-two papers set, only four were set on scientific 

 subjects. To pass in Latin it would seem that /ive 

 different papers must be satisfactorily answered, in 

 Greek /<'7^r, in French and German eight, in Elementary 

 Mathematics three, in Additional Mathematics yi7«r, in 

 Scripture Knowledge three, in English ihree,m. History one, 

 in Natural Philosophy one, in Heat and Chemistry one, in 

 Physical Geography one, in Botany one. We may not 

 unfairly take these numbers as representing the relative 

 value of the different subjects in the eyes of the compilers 

 of the Regulations. 



Thus, while a candidate who, having received his 

 training in languages, selects, say Latin, French and 

 German, English, and Elementary Mathematics, has to 

 answer nineteen papers — the same certificate may be 

 cheaply obtained from seven papers, by selecting Scripture 

 Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics, Chemistry, and 

 Physical Geography. 



Next let us examine the kind of questions set. Ele- 

 mentary Mathematics means simply Arithmetic, Euclid, 

 books i. and ii., and Algebra to simple equations. In Heat 

 and Chemistry we find the following, amongst others 

 (space does not permit to transcribe the whole paper). 



1. Define " co-efficient of expansion." What relations 

 subsist between the linear, superficial, and cubical expan- 

 sion of a piece of iron ? 



2. Describe fully the successive changes which occur 

 when a piece of ice is placed in an open vessel, and the 

 vessel then gradually heated to, say, 150^ C. 



3. What are our available sources of heat ? 



4- What degrees on the Centigrade scale correspond to 

 16° R. and - 4^ F. ? At what temperature will Fahrenheit 

 and Centigrade thermometers give the same reading ? 



5. Distinguish between elements and compounds, and 

 between compounds and mixtures. 



6. What is the composition of the atmosphere .■' Give 

 the outlines of a method for analysing it accurately. How 

 is it proved to be a mixture and not a chemical com- 

 pound ? 



7. I want to convert I32'4 grm. of lead nitrate into 

 lead sulphate. How much potassium sulphate will effect 

 this change, and how much lead sulphate shall I obtain .-* 

 (Pb = 207, K = 39.) 



In Physical Geography : — 



1. How may the earth be proved to be a globe, and in 

 what respects does it differ in form from a perfect sphere 1 



2. Show by examples how climate is affected by the 

 position of a locality independently of the latitude .' 



3. Define the terms watershed, denudation. Give in- 

 stances of denudation effected by rivers. 



4. Explain the terms dip, strike, joints, cLnd/auits. 



5. What is supposed to be the origin of coal, and on 

 what facts is this supposition based .'* 



6. Name and describe fully the accompanying speci- 

 mens : — 



[Specimens : Granite, oolite, dolomite, selenite, and 

 two bivalve fossils.] 



It is to be remarked that, with the exception of the last 

 question, there is no test of a practical kind at all. Is 

 the knowledge of the composition of the air, of the 

 reasons for believing that the earth is round, of the 

 meaning of the terms watershed, dip, &c. — is this the 

 utmost that should be demanded of a boy of eighteen 

 who has studied science instead of the older well-esta- 

 bhshed subjects of classics and mathematics ? 



