July 15, 1875] 



NATURE 



205 



It is abundantly clear then that through the enhghtened 

 and vigorous action of the Science and Art Depart- 

 ment, a large bulk of the population of our country has 

 received and is receiving an elementary scientific educa- 

 tion. The work which Sir Henry Cole began can no 

 longer be sneered at nor overlooked; its value to this 

 country is beginning to be widely recognised, and the 

 man who laid its foundations so wisely and well deserves 

 the highest gratitude of his countrymen. Let us re- 

 member that only a few years ago there was Httle science 

 education in the higher classes, and absolutely none 

 in the lower ; whereas, scattered over Great Britain, 

 there are in active work this year no less than 1,707 

 certificated science teachers engaged in 1,374 science 

 schools, teaching 4,104 separate classes, and the number 

 of individuals actually receiving science instruction by 

 this means reaches the enormous total of 48,274. 



The Department, however, has not been content to 

 rest on its laurels. Within the last few years it has under- 

 taken a new work, which promises to be of the highest 

 value. It was felt that the system of examinations needed 

 supplementing. Teachers could gain certificates, and 

 thus receive payment upon the results of their teaching, 

 without any evidence of their having more than book 

 knowledge. And it was found, indeed, that the great 

 body of certificated teachers had, with few exceptions, 

 little practical knowledge of the various subjects they 

 taught. They could accurately describe an electrophorus, 

 but they could not make one, nor use it perhaps when 

 made ; they knew all about the circulation of the blood 

 or the structure of the heart, but they had never seen the 

 one nor dissected the other. For the most part they 

 knew nature as words, not as living facts. The eminent 

 men who conduct the examinations for [the Department 

 saw the danger that was arising. Prof. Huxley addressed 

 the Government upon the subject, and urged a practical 

 class in Physiologyfor a certain number of science teachers 

 certificated in that subject. By taking fresh men each year 

 it was hoped that a large am.ount of practical knowledge 

 would be diffused and gradually make its way through the 

 various science classes. The late Government promptly 

 acceded to the wish thus expressed, and in 1869 two short 

 practical courses of a week each were given, the one on 

 Animal Physiology and the other on Light. 



The importance of even such brief instruction was so 

 manifest that it was decided to enlarge the original concep- 

 tion. The details of the scheme were, however, difficult 

 and needed to be grappled with in earnest. The body of 

 teachers was large and distributed over wide areas ; they 

 could not afford the time nor money to come to London for 

 instruction, and even if they had the requisite knowledge 

 their means were to» slender to enable them to purchase 

 the apparatus needed for the proper demonstration of 

 their subject. To the administrative genius of Major 

 Donelly, the present chief of the Science Staff at South 

 Kensington, no less than to his untiring zeal in the cause 

 of scientific education, the country is mainly indebted for 

 the solution of this formidable difficulty. Announce- 

 ments were made to all the certificated science teachers 

 throughout the country that a month or six weeks' 

 gratuitous course of daily practical mstruction, in various 

 branches of experimental science, would be held at the 

 new Science Schools at South Kensington during the 



summer vacation. Those who wished for this instruc- 

 tion were to apply to the Department ; if selected, their 

 expenses to and from London would be paid, and thirty 

 shillings a week given to each as amaintenance allowance 

 whilst they remained in London. It was soon found 

 imposssible to accommodate all who applied j at present 

 the applications are about three times as many as can be 

 taken. In the selection of the men most needing this 

 kind of instruction, and who would afterwards make the 

 best use of it, arose another difficulty. But, as before, the 

 excellent judgment of the Secretary of the Science and 

 Art Department, and the careful scrutiny of his officers, 

 led to a choice of such capital men that the wisdom of 

 their mode of selection has been shown in the happiest 

 manner. 



At the present moment sixty teachers are working at 

 Practical Chemistry under Prof. Frankland and Mr. 

 Valentin ; thirty-one teachers are studying Heat practi- 

 cally under Prof. Guthrie ; these have been preceded by 

 the same number who have worked at Light ; twenty-one 

 are studying Mechanics with Professors Goodeve and 

 Shelley ; twenty-eight are being taught Geometrical 

 Drawing by Prof. Bradley ; and thirty-eight are work- 

 ing at Machine Construction and Drawing under Prof. 

 Unwin. 



The applicants give a list of the courses they wish 

 to attend, in much the same way that one hands in 

 a selected list of books to Mudie's Library ; they are 

 allotted courses as far as possible in their order of pre- 

 ference, and may, in successive years, take successive 

 subjects. The courses only last from three to six weeks. 

 Chemistry this year runs on from the 1st to the 23rd of 

 July ; Physics, from June 23rdto Aug. 3rd ; Mechanics 

 and Geometrical Drawing from June 30th to July 22nd j 

 and Machine Construction from 27th July to 1 3th of August. 

 It might be imagined that such short courses could be ot 

 little real use ; experience has, however, shown the 

 reverse. The fact is, the men in each subject are thirst- 

 ing for information, they know they have now a chance 

 which may never recur to them ; in a few short weeks 

 they must strive to win much knowledge, which they not 

 only desire for its own sake, but which means bread and 

 cheese to their families. They are prompted, therefore, 

 by every inducement to make the best possible use of 

 their time. It is this heartiness of work combined with 

 the admirable system of instruction given by each pro- 

 fessor that has made these short summer courses so 

 remarkably effective. 



Capital evidence of the value of what is being done 

 may be had by simply walking through the different 

 rooms of the Science Schools and observing the teachers at 

 work. If, for example, we go into the Biological depart- 

 ment,* we find every man busily dissecting plants or 

 animals, each one seated at a separate little table, and 

 each provided with an excellent microscope and proper 

 instruments and suitable specimens. The earnestness of 

 everybody in the room strikes one very forcibly ; and as 

 we look at the fresh specimens at every table, we think "of 

 the labour implied in choosing typical objects and se- 

 curing forty or fifty of each daily Professors and stu- 

 dents unquestionably are hard at work. If we now go 

 into the fine chemical laboratories a like impression is 

 produced. Here are qpe set making perhaps their first 



