2()8 



NA TORE 



[January 26, 1899 



and the three remaining volumes (xxiii., xxiv. and xxvi.) 

 were assigned to the hard-worked officials of the British 

 Museum. Of these Dr. Sharpe got out one in 1894, and 

 another in 1896. The twenty-sixth volume, of which the 

 first half was prepared by Dr. Sharpe, and the second by 

 Mr. Grant, has now just made its appearance, and renders 

 the long series of twenty-seven volumes complete. 



Taking this laborious piece of systematic work as a 

 whole, there can be no question, we think, of its value. 

 This has been indeed acknowledged by naturalists all 

 over the world, whose anxious inquiries for many years 

 have been as to the prospects of its being brought to a 

 conclusion. The variation in treatment of the different 

 portions of the work, caused by the idiosyncracies of the 

 eleven ornithologists who contributed to its composition, 

 •was of course unavoidable. No one person could have 

 accomplished the task, and a wise discretion on minor 

 points was left to those who helped in its composition. 

 Some of them have made many generic divisions, others 

 few. Some have written long descriptions, others short 

 ones. Some have employed one set of rules of nomen- 

 clature, others have followed another code. Greater 

 uniformity on all these points would, of course, have 

 been very desirable. But it was practically unattainable, 

 and its absence has scarcely diminished the usefulness of 

 the whole series. During its progress, however, great 

 additions have been made to our knowledge of many of 

 the groups, especially to those treated of in the earlier 

 volumes. From .Sir William Flower's preface to the 

 twenty-sixth volume we are pleased to learn that a 

 supplement, containing references to every species of 

 bird described subsequently to the publication of the 

 volume which treats of the group to which it belongs, is 

 in preparation, and will be accompanied by a general 

 index. This will be a most valuable addition, and will 

 serve to render the vast stores of ornithological lore 

 comprised in the twenty-seven volumes of the " Great 

 Catalogue of Birds '' still more useful to future workers. 

 Those who have planned and those who have carried 

 out this important undertaking alike deserve the grateful 

 thanks of all zoologists. 



SIG2VS OF PROGRESS IN SCIENCE 

 TEACHING. 

 TOURING the past Christmas vacation, London, 

 ^-^ Manchester, .Shrewsbury and other places have 

 been astir with educational conferences. These have 

 been attended by teachers of all ranks. The College 

 of Preceptors held a gathering which lasted a fortnight, 

 with daily morning and afternoon sessions, including 

 a conference of science teachers organised by the 

 Technical Education Board of the London County 

 Council. These conferences have dealt not only with 

 •questions of organisation, but largely with the subjects 

 to be taught, and the methods of teaching them. The 

 increasing interest in the movement is also indicated by 

 the appearance of new educational journals, in addition 

 to those that already occupy the field. One of these. 

 The Sc/topf ]l'oild, has special reference to modes of 

 instruction, together with articles on different depart- 

 ments of the subject by good writers of the advancing 

 school. Progress is nlso shown by the much more 

 general introduction of the teaching of science. The 

 public elementary schools have mostly introduced 

 science into their scheme of instruction, and it occupies 

 a more and more worthy place in their time tables. All 

 the great public schools include some amount of science 

 in their curriculum. The universities of course have 

 professorships of various sciences, and these are better 

 attended by students than formerly. The intermediate 

 schools, which are under private management, are 

 following suit, though in very various degrees. 



NO. 1526, VOL. 59] 



But what is the teaching of science'' The time is 

 past for the chemistry lesson to consist merely of the 

 precipitation of the highly coloured chromates or iodides, 

 and the explosion of oxygen and hydrogen ; or to appear 

 as " la chimie amusante " in the prospectus of a young 

 ladies' school. It is perhaps generally recognised that 

 physics and chemistry cannot be taught merely from 

 text-books ; that would be uninteresting, and scarcely 

 instructive. Xor must the teaching depend solely upon 

 showy demonstrations on the lecturer's table. These 

 may be attractive, but they often leave only a confusion 

 of ideas in the mind of the student. There is a great 

 tendency now to recognise that the pupils should not 

 only read descriptions of objects, but see and handle 

 them ; not only watch experiments, but perform them. 

 There is a movement in many quarters to adopt the 

 "Heuristic" method, so strongly advocated by Prof 

 .■\rmstrong, by which the student is led to find out 

 results or causes for himself, and to express them in- 

 telligently in writing. This is a truly educational method ; 

 but it has its limitations. One of these is the amount of 

 time that can be given, as from the very nature of it this 

 must be a slow process ; another is that the teacher ought 

 himself to suggest certain lines of research, and watch 

 over the student's progress, directing him unconsciously 

 towards the right conclusions. 



In this transition period there are two practical 

 difficulties. First, the want of teachers sufficiently 

 imbued with the new methods to carry them out suc- 

 cessfully. Secondly, the examination which usually 

 forms a necessary part of the student's career. This 

 examination is generally founded more upon the old 

 than the new methods, and is directed to ascertaining 

 the amount of the student's knowledge rather than the 

 discipline which his mind has received. It is important 

 to bear in mind what is the chief object in view ; not so 

 much to teach a specific science as to indoctrinate the 

 student in the principles which underlie all science, and 

 which will be of essential service to him in whatever 

 calling he may afterwards engage : not so much to store 

 his mind with facts, as to develop his faculties— his 

 powers of observation and reasoning. In bringing 

 about such a reform the practical teacher may often find 

 it necessary to proceed, not by a sudden revolution, but 

 by gradual modifications and improvements in method. 

 J. H. GLAD.STONE. 



PROFESSOR ALLEY NE NICHOLSON. 



TO all students of zoology (in its most extended 

 sense) the name of .A.lleyne Nicholson is so 

 familiar, that the recent announcement of his premature 

 death will probably have caused a sense of personal 

 loss even to those who never enjoyed the pleasure of his 

 acquaintance. By those who did know him personally, the 

 general charm of his manner, and his enthusiasm for 

 his favourite science, will not readily be forgotten. 



Henry Alleyne Nicholson was born at Penrith, 

 Cumberland, in the autumn of 1844 ; his father being 

 Dr. John Nicholson, who gained considerable distinction 

 as a linguist and philologist, especially in Oriental 

 literature. The son was educated first at .Appleby 

 Grammar School, subsequently at Gottingen, and 

 finally at the University of Edinburgh. .At the latter 

 University he gained the Baxter X.atural Science 

 Scholarship; and when only twenty-five he was appointed 

 Cin 1869) Lecturer on .\atural History in the Extra- 

 Mural School of Medicine in that city, an .appointment 

 which he held till 1871, when he became Professor of 

 Natural History and Botany in the University of 

 Toronto. He did not, however, remain long at the 

 latter post, moving to Durham in the same capacity in 

 1874; while one year later ^1875 , he .accepted the 



