FEBRUARY 1, 1917] 
has not been, and in some quarters there is not 
at the present time, that straightforward dealing 
with the question to which the advocates of more 
science think they are entitled. The reluctance 
of the literary people to yield up a fair propor- 
tion of the time-table to the modern studies lies 
at the root of the matter. It is now a question 
of curriculum, and even in the schools which boast 
laboratories and appliances the controversy will 
never end until this barrier is overcome. It is, there- 
fore, particularly gratifying to observe the attitude 
of the Headmasters’ Conference as represented 
by the resolutions printed in Nature of January 4 
(p. 359). Among the resolutions passed the fol- 
lowirig is conspicuous :— 
(a) That it is essential to a boy’s general education 
that he should have some knowledge of the natural 
laws underlying the phenomena of daily life, and some 
training in their experimental investigation. (b) 
That, in the opinion of this Conference, this can 
best be ensured by giving to all boys adequate courses 
of generalised science work, which would normally be 
completed for the ordinary boy at the age of sixteen. 
(c) That, after this stage, boys who require it should 
take up science work of a more specialised type. 
Nothing can be better as a statement of a 
generalised opinion, and we may hope that head- 
masters will see that it is put into practical effect. 
There is some ground for belief that this hope will 
not be in every case disappointed. The address 
delivered on Tuesday, January 9, by the Rev. 
J. R. Wynne-Edwards as president of the In- 
porated Association of Headmasters (see NATURE, 
January 11, p. 380) does not appear to be the utter- 
ance of a man who is toying with the question, and 
the distribution of hours at the Leeds Grammar 
School, of which he is headmaster, would doubt- 
less be found more satisfactory than in some other 
places. There is not great divergence of opinion 
in respect to fundamental principles, if we except 
a comparatively few extreme partisans on both 
sides. But a satisfactory position is not allotted 
to the natural sciences in those schools in which an 
engineering or military side composed of special- 
ists has been established, while the majority of 
the boys in the school—namely, those to be found 
on the classical side, which includes many of the 
best—are put off with two hours a week or less 
in a time-table which covers thirty hours for other 
subjects. It is not the function of the schools 
to provide a body of scientific specialists, but 
every boy and girl in the kingdom should have 
time and opportunity for the acquisition of some 
degree of familiarity with the chief methods and 
conclusions of the observational and experimental 
sciences. Concentration on special or technical 
matters should not be encouraged before the age 
_ of sixteen or seventeen, and should not be sought 
in the curriculum of a general education. The 
testimony of a business man on this point ought 
to serve to correct the views of many parents, 
and it is worthy of notice that Mr. W. L. Hichens 
(chairman of Messrs. Cammell Laird and Co.), 
in an important paper contributed to the same 
meeting, expressed the opinion that “specialised 
education at school was of no practical value.” 
NO. 2466, VOL. 98] 
NATURE 
433 
On the second day of the meeting (January 10) 
a paper was read by Mr. A. D. Hall, F.R.S., a 
Development Commissioner and formerly director 
of the Rothamsted Experimental Station, on “A 
General Course of Science for the Secondary 
School.” Mr. Hall made no claim for any kind 
of training directly applicable to industry. He 
desired to see a broad and liberal treatment of 
science, and in the outline he proceeded to sketch 
he included a larger share than is customary of 
studies in the domain of biology. In doing this 
he was not afraid of the charge of smattering. 
It would be interesting indeed to look into the 
details of his scheme of work, remembering that 
this is the outcome of the mature experience of a 
former schoolmaster. Mr. Hall was at one time 
chief science master in King Edward’s School, 
Birmingham. 
A paper by Mr. A. C. Benson, Master of 
Magdalene College, Cambridge, read before the 
Royal Society of Arts on December 20 on the 
subject of “Literature and Science in Education,” 
will be welcomed by all teachers of science and 
others interested in progress towards the com- 
promise which must be arrived at if peace is to 
be secured. Mr. Benson is a well-known literary 
man with full experience as a teacher, having been 
for twenty years a master at Eton. It is all the 
more gratifying, therefore, to find the conciliatory 
spirit, the liberality of view, and the freedom from 
prejudice which pervade his paper. It is impos- 
sible adequately to summarise it, and it should 
be read especially by headmasters. One point on 
which he lays emphasis is the importance of 
securing good and enthusiastic teachers, and this 
implies the necessity for rendering the teaching 
profession more attractive than it has been in the 
past. With regard to subjects he says: “I do 
not believe in intellectual progress being possible 
without intellectual interest "—a view which will 
be generally acceptable to the present generation, 
even among those who are not old enough to 
look back to the time when Latin grammar with 
plenty of cane was looked upon as the one effectual 
and economical basis of education. 
LORD CROMER, O.M., F.R.S. 
eee only those who have worked in Egypt, but 
all who are interested in that country, will 
have learned with deep regret of the death of 
Lord Cromer on Monday last, January 29. 
On returning to Egypt in 1883, six years after 
his first appointment there as a Commissioner of 
the Debt, Lord Cromer found the country in a 
state of administrative chaos after the suppression 
of Arabi’s rebellion, while bankruptcy appeared 
imminent. In the Sudan, troubles were already 
assuming a threatening aspect, and the dervish 
revolt was shortly to take place. Under such 
conditions the most urgent needs were to re- 
organise the administration of the country, and to 
re-establish its financial position by developing the 
great agricultural resources of the Nile Valley 
and Delta. The provision at the International 
