Dec. 1 8, 1884] 



NA TURE 



149 



east, on the nth. About 3.30 p.m. the upper edge of a dark, 

 very lofty haze cloud, stretching almost straight from alt. 15° in the 

 south-south-west, to about alt. 20 in the north-west, was fringed 

 with prismatic colours, in parts thrice repeated, separating the 

 dark haze cloud from a bright white haze, like that often seen 

 of late near the sun, which itself was nearly setting. The lumi- 

 nous haze was widest, about 5', above the sun, and was also, 

 but far more faintly fringed, with a hazy blue sky above. It 

 lasted until 4.20, but at 4.10 the dull cloud was a deep violet, 

 and the bright haze a steel blue. They both seemed to dis- 

 appear in the dusk, but the bright glow reappeared about 

 4.40 p.m. 



On both occasions the phenomenon lasted long after sunset, 

 and the cloud was quite distinct from the feathery cirri on which, 

 if near the sun, one so often sees prismatic effects. On the nth 

 the two small oblong clouds affected had the colours in regular 

 bands, in one round a dark, in the other round a bright centre, 

 reminding one of Newton's rings. J. Edmund Clark 



York, December 15 



The " New " Volcanic Island off Iceland 

 Knowing the interest which, from their association with the 

 later years of the Gare-fowTs existence, I have long taken in the 

 islets lying off the south-west point of Iceland, Prof. Lutken 

 has most kindly sent me a copy of the Copenhagen newspaper 

 Dagbladet for the 7th of this month, containing an article by 

 Capt. C. Normann of the Danish Royal Navy, in command of 

 the ship Fylla, during her recent scientific voyage to Greenland, 

 a distinguished officer and an eminent authority in Arctic mat- 

 ters. The article is long — too long for my powers of translation 

 — but, « ith the friendly help of a Danish young gentleman of 

 this University, I have mastered it, and find it exceedingly 

 entertaining. It treats of the island which, as already announced 

 in these columns (vol. xxxi. p. 37) and elsewhere, is said to 

 have been lately thrust up, as other islands have before been 

 known to be upthrust (at least temporarily) in that volcanic 

 neighbourhood. According to the statement of Mr. Consul 

 Paterson {foe. cil.) it is said to have been first observed by the 

 lighthouse-keeper at Reykjanes on July 29 ; and it would seem 

 that news of its apparition speedily reached Reykjavik ; but 

 unfortunately, says Capt. Normann, there was then no ship 

 there available to make search for it. Rather less than a month 

 later, however, the Duplei.x and Romanche, of the French navy, 

 arrived at that port, and the commander of the former, animated 

 with the laudable desire to determine the position of the new 

 island, and if possible to effect a landing upon it, resolved to do 

 so in the course of his homeward voyage, and, with that intcn', 

 set out after a short delay. To the surprise of all at Reykjavik, he, 

 as he subsequently informed the French Consul there, could find 

 no trace of the object of his search on August 24. On the de- 

 parture of the Dupleix, however, the commander of the Ro- 

 manche dispatched two of his officers, equipped with proper 

 instruments, by land to Reykjanes, thence to take the bearings 

 of the new island. On August 26 they undoubtedly saw an 

 island corresponding in position with what they expected to see, 

 and reported accordingly to Reykjavik, where Capt. Normann's 

 Fylla had arrived on the 25th, on her homeward voyage. The 

 Danish commander, equally enthusiastic in the cause of scientific 

 discovery, accordingly left Reykjavik early on the morning of 

 the 27th, and soon after mid-day his ship was off Reykjanes, 

 whence he pursued a course along the northern side of the 

 bank from which the Fowlskerries emerge, seeing nothing of 

 the new island, it is true, but that time the weather was thick. 

 However, he passed cautiously (as well became a navigator in 

 water liable to volcanic upthrusts) along the whole range, and 

 even beyond the furthest of the emerged skerries — theGeirfugla- 

 drangr or Grenadeerhuen, when it began to grow dark, and also 

 to blow. Next morning he turned back, running still along the 

 northern side of the bank. It was dear and beautiful weather, 

 and the rock just named, as well as Eldey or Melsaekken, 

 the innermost of the range, stood out in bright sunshine. 

 Breakers marked the position of the old Geirfuglasker, which 

 sank beneath the waves in 1830, and the neighbouring onst 

 of Iceland, as well as the inland fells, was plainly visible, but 

 nothing in the shape of a "new" island was to be seen. So 

 he came b»ck to about midway between the Meal-sack and Reyk- 

 janes— the lead giving a depth of eighty fathoms of water. 

 Thence, thinking that after all there might be some mistake in the 

 reported position of the island, he put his ship's head about, 



and ran along the southern side of the bank. But again wa he 

 disappointed, for no new island met the anxious gaze of all on 

 board. 



It remains to be said that a day or two later the Romanche 

 came to the same spot, but alas, nothing new was to be found — 

 not even a pumice-stone by which, as Capt. Normann remarks, 

 all decent volcanic islands are expected to indicate their position, 

 even when submerged. Still, the form of the "new" island 

 went on gratifying the vision of the lighthouse-keeper at 

 Reykjanes ; and, as Mr. Paterson has told us (loc. eit) it was 

 seen by him through a telescope on September 9. I do not for 

 a moment doubt that both he and previously the officers of the 

 Romanche saw what was pointed out to them as the "new" 

 island ; but, from all that has been said before, and from my 

 own knowledge of the locality, gained during a two months' 

 stay at Kykjuvogr and the neighbourhood in 1858, neither do 

 I doubt that Capt. Normann is perfectly right in asserting that 

 the supposed "new" island is a very old friend of mine— the 

 Geirfugladrangr or Grenadeerhuen before mentioned — the outer- 

 most of the emerged Fowlskerries, and our best thanks should be 

 given to that gallant and scientific officer for dispelling the 

 mystery. Alfred Newti » 



December 14 



Overpressure in Schools 

 I have carefully read Dr. Gladstone's article on over-pres- 

 sure. Over-pressure is due more to the action of inspectors and 

 teachers than to the requirements of the Code ; e.g. a teacher in 

 my district has a first class in an infant school, the children 

 being all about six years of age. Owing to the unusual bright- 

 ness of the children and their regular attendance, the teacher 

 has had no difficulty in training her class in the three R's for 

 first standard work, which, under ordinary circumstances, they 

 could not do until they were a year older and in a higher class. 

 What is the result? An inspector visits that school, finds the 

 children can do much more than is required by the Code, and, 

 without reflecting how this has been accomplished, he gives a 

 good report for that class. The following week he visits another 

 school in the same neighbourhood and examines a similar class ; 

 these children, he finds, are not so far advanced as those ex- 

 amined the previous week, and therefore he makes a less favour- 

 able report, thinking that the teaching-powers are not so good, 

 although the children have really been quite as well taught, and 

 are fully up to the requirements of the Code. When the report 

 comes to the latter school, the teacher cannot understand how 

 it is that the class has not gained the report it deserved, until 

 by and by she hears indirectly what has been accomplished at 

 the school previously examined. Then she says, " If they can 

 do it at that school, we can do it here." Hence over-pressure. 

 If inspectors did not examine beyond the Code, teachers would 

 not train children for a higher standard than the Code requires. 

 Dr. Gladstone says, "Teachers used to be paid partly from 

 the Government grant, and thus had a pecuniary incentive to 

 press forward the feeble so as to insure a pass." That is quite 

 true, but teachers will be found in the future to be quite as 

 anxious as they were in the past as to the results of the examina- 

 tions. They know quite well that now the salaries are fixed, 

 and do not depend on results, it would be said directly that they 

 did not take the same interest in their work as formerly if 

 perchance the schools passed a less favourable examination, and 

 on this point they are keenly sensitive. 



Dr. Gladstone advocates "varied and appropriate occupations 

 in infant schools." It is no doubt very monotonous for little 

 children to be kept closely to the study of the three R's, but 

 there are very few who really like the Kinder Garten as taught 

 in our infant schools, unless it be the Kinder Garten games : it 

 is not play, but hard work for such little ones to do. It is im- 

 possible for the work to be taught successfully when a teacher 

 has too large a class under her control ; in Belgium an assistant 

 mistress has a class of fifty children with a pupil teacher to help her, 

 and then no doubt Kinder Garten can really be carried out with 

 beneficial results to the children, but in the London Board schools, 

 where an assistant teacher has seventy or eighty or even more 

 in her class without help, how is it possible to obtain good 

 results ? If Kinder Garten is to be taught with success there 

 ought to be a Kinder Garten mistress appointed by the Board 

 to teach it to the children, and I think there are very few- 

 teachers who would not agree in this. Of course it would entail 

 extra expense, but it would be an expense more beneficial to the 



