3°6 



NATURE 



[July 27, 1882 



l.iught in nearly all the academies and high schools in the land. 

 Few cities report no teaching ; and this circular is an attempt to 

 catch the present aspect of affairs, and to assist and guide them. 

 The supply of science students from the training colleges is 

 increasing fast, and the number of teachers able to give labora- 

 tory instruction will soon be equal to the demand. The teaching 

 at some of the older colleges, where the accustomed routine of a 

 classical education cannot be dropped, is among the least satis- 

 factory. The newer schools recognise science as a mental gym- 

 nastics and training equal to " Euclid's Elements and the Latin 

 Grammar," always insisting upon the importance of experiment 

 with didactic instruction. In a great majority of case=, never- 

 theless, mere text-book work is done, and as such work is little 

 else than mischievous cram, our report advises that it be left out 

 in primary and intermediate schools. Far better so, 'han a long 

 series of lectures listened to term after term ; for " three months 

 of laboratory work will give more real insight into any science 

 than a whole year's study of the printed page ; the latter is like 

 learning language from a grammar, only without attempting to 

 translate or write exercises." It is specially urged, therefore, 

 that the experimenting be done by the pupils, and the excellent 

 results of such teaching, even to the youngest learners, are 

 shown in very interesting cases quoted ; and the same principle 

 is followed in recommending that apparatus should be extempo- 

 rised — this also by the pupils especially. " It will be invaluable 

 to the future teacher ; it vastly increases his power to interest 

 and instruct his pupils, and at the same time it deepens his own 

 insight into the subjects taught" The value of physical and 

 chemical knowledge to medical men, the inadequate training of 

 many of whom in America we recently noticed, to naval officers, 

 and to women, is specially indicated and enlarged upon. But 

 any such appeal to practical motives is hardly necessary in 

 America, for the complaint is also made that applied science is 

 most in demand, while pure science and research are too 

 commonly ignored. 



At the last meeting of the Anthropological Institute, held at 

 4, Grosvenor Gardens, the residence of the President, General 

 Pitt-Rivers, F.R.S., who occupied the chair, Lord Talbot de 

 Malahide read a paper on the Longevity of the Romans in North 

 Africa. The author gave several instances of epitaphs and 

 inscriptions on tombs of persons w hose age had exceeded too 

 years, in some cases an age of 120, 130, and even 140 years had 

 been attained. An interesting discussion ensued in which Mr. 

 Villiers Stuart, M.P., Mr. Moncure Conway, Capt. Cameron, 

 Mr. John Evans, Mr. Francis Galton, Sir Joseph Fayrer, Dr. 

 Allen Thomson, Mr. Carmichael, and the President took part. 

 Capt. R. F. Burton read a paper on some Neolithic Stone 

 Implements and other objects brought by himself and Capt. 

 Cameron from Wasa, on the Gold Coast. A large number of 

 objects were exhibited by the authors and Mr. Ross. General 

 Pitt-Rivers read a paper on the Egyptian Boomerang, and exhi- 

 bited several specimens. A large collection of Bushman drawings 

 was exhibited by Mr. M. Hutchinson. 



A new volume of the Classified Catalogue of the Library of 

 the Royal Institution of Great Britain, by Mr. Vincent, the 

 Librarian, i- now ready ; it includes the most important works 

 published during the last twenty-five years, placed under then- 

 respective heads, accompanied by a Synopsis and Indexes of 

 Authors and Subjects. 



The half-yearly general meeting of the Scottish Meteorological 

 Society will be held to-day. The business consists of (1) Report 

 from the Council of the Society ; (2) Address by D. Milne Home, 

 of Milne Graden, Chairman ; (3) The Rainfall of the British 

 Islands, by Alexander Buchan, Secretary ; (4) The Climate of 

 Jerusalem, by Alexander Buchan, Secretary. 



In a paper recently read before the Asiatic Society of Japan, 

 entitled " Religious and political ideas of the early Japanese ; 



beginnings of the Japanese nation, and credibility of *he natioral 

 records," Mr. B. H. Chamberlain (according to Ae Japan Mail), 

 after mentioning the difficulties which beset investigation, and 

 giving an analysis of the religious and so-called historical tradi- 

 tions of early Japan, proceeded to draw, both from the matter 

 itself and from the manner in which it was put together in the 

 histories as we now have them, several conclusions as to the 

 condition of the early Japanese, and the influences which 

 moulded them into the united nation which meets us at the dawn 

 of authentic history. The most important of these conclusions 

 were : — 1. That there were three centres of legendary cycles in 

 ancient Japanese, Idzumo, Vamato, and Kinshsiu, and that the 

 country was probably divided into three or even a greater number 

 of states. 2. That instead of having only begun to communi- 

 cate with the mainland of Asia at about the year 200 A. D., as 

 was commonly supposed, there had never been, so far as we 

 can judge, a time when communication did not exist, and that 

 much of the so-called autochtonous civilisation was really im- 

 ported, as was proved by a sifting of myths, and even by the 

 test of knguage, the most archaic form of Japanese, containing 

 a number of Chinese words for implements or ideas that had them- 

 selves been borrowed. 3. That authentic history did not in Japan 

 go back farther than A.D. 400, i.e. more than a thousand years 

 later than the date commonly accepted for its commencement. 

 Mr. Chamberlain noticed in detail the items scattered through 

 Kozhiki, or oldest monument of Japanese literature, relative to 

 the governmental arrangements and religious belief of ancient 

 times, and showed that Shinto was not a religious system properly 

 so-called, but rather a bundle of miscellaneous and often incon- 

 sistent superstitions. 



During a heavy thunderstorm in the Shetland Islands on 

 Tuesday, which lasted several hours, a hill, three miles from 

 Lerwick, was struck by lightning, and huge masses of rock and 

 dc'bris were thrown down on the public road which the hill over- 

 hangs, filling up the road and the valley at the other side, and 

 suspending traffic. The total weight of the fallen rock is 

 estimated at 4C0 tons. 



Last week the statue of Mariette Bey, the great French 

 Egyptologist, was unveiled at Boulogne, in presence of a large 

 assembly, includinr; several high officials of the French Republic. 



The report on the proposed grant to the French Minister of 

 Po ts and Telegraphs of a sum of 3600/., in view of the meeting 

 of Electricians, has been sent to the French Senate, after having 

 been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies. This meeting will 

 take place only in October. One of the reasons alleged for the 

 delay is the necessity of installing the magnetic instruments now 

 in course of construction for the Observatory of Paris. The 

 assent of the Fre ich Senate is stated to be beyond a doubt. 



From the "Mineral Statistics of Victoria" for 1881 we see 

 that the quantity of gold raised last year was 858,850 oz., being 

 29,729 oz. more than the quantity obtained in 1880. The 

 deepest shaft in the Colony is the Magdala at Stawell, which is 

 2409 feet deep. 



Some instructive results have been recently obtained by M. 

 Spring, in studying the dilatation of isomorphous substances 

 (Bull. Belg. Acad., No. 4). He experimented with five alums. 

 These, he shows, expand very regularly, and very little with rise 

 of temperature from zero tdl a critical temperature is reached 

 (different for each), at which there is rapid expansion, indicating 

 decomposition. Up to 60°, the mean critical temperature, these 

 alums may be said to expand equally, and M. Spring is led to 

 affirm that isomorphous substances have the same coefficient of 

 expansion, or at least coefficients very little different. A pro- 

 bable inference is that they have the same coefficient of com- 

 pressibility ; this he has yet to test. Thus, a similarity in 



