December 31, 1908J 



NA TURE 



stance, impossible to distinguish certain green tree- 

 frogs of the African genus Kappia from a Hyla unless 

 we cut them open. If they lived side by side, which 

 they do not, this close resemblance would be extolled 

 as an example of mimicry. In reality, it is a case of 

 heterogeneous convergence brought about by identical 

 environmental conditions. One might almost say that 

 (topical, moist forests must have tree-frogs, and that 

 these are made out of whatever suitable materia' 

 happens to be available." 



Continuing their journey by rail, the travellers 

 reached 'I'ehuantepec, on the Pacific coast, where the 

 lower rainfall is evidenced by less luxuriant vegeta- 

 tion, and thence travelled on horseback north-westward 

 on to the southern plateau. On the way we learn a 

 ^reat deal about a variety of topics, including " white 

 nnis"; Anableps dowci, the "four-eyed" fish; the 

 weaver bird and the method it has devised of suspend- 

 ing its nests from telegraph wires; humming-birds; 

 rattlesnakes, and how they got their rattle, and the 

 1 xemplary Chontal Indians, who never steal " porque 

 110 es costumbre. " 



In some places the vegelation consists mainly of 

 e.icii. .After describing the armament of spines that 

 I fiords them effectual protection, the author re- 

 minds us that " cattle and horses, sheep and goats, 

 were all introduced b\- the Spaniards, and none of 

 the indigenous vegetable- feeders of the plateau, such 

 as stags, squirrels, hares, and mice, can claim to 

 h.ive helped in the evolution of these plants. Are we 

 reduced for an explanation to go back to the extinct 

 fauna? More likely it is one of those cases in which 

 imagination has run away from a more sober and 

 maller-of-fact judgment. It is, no doubt, the case that 

 the conditions prevailing on a high table-land of this 

 kind, subject to prolonged drought, a fierce sun, great 

 and quickly-succeeding changes of temperature, and 

 tlust-storms, have produced the characteristics of this 

 family of plants without regard to the animals.". We 

 must remember, however, that the Camelidae and 

 I''quiil;e must in all probability have formed part of 

 the fauna of Mexico as late as the Pleistocene, as they 

 are found in deposits referred to that period both in 

 North and South .\merica. Some means of defence 

 against these animals would have been absolutely 

 necessary for the preservation of succulent plants in 

 a dry climate where vegetable food was far from 

 plentiful, and it is only reasonable to suppose that 

 I he destruction of unprotected forms contributed to the 

 extraordinary development of spines which now char- 

 acterises the group. 



In the second expedition the author and his wife 

 travelled south from the capital by w-av of Cuerna- 

 vaca to the terminus of the railway at Balsas. Thence 

 ihey made their way on horseback over the mountains 

 10 a densely wooded portion of the Pacific coast, where 

 they camped on a narrow strip of dry land between 

 a lagoon and the sea. There is a fine description of 

 ilie nightly thunderstorm which came up from over 

 the sea, a phenomenon of considerable meteorological 

 interest. Unfortunately, in this and many other cases 

 wc are not iriven the dale or even the month when 

 the observations recorded were made, though this 

 information would have added considerably to their 

 value. , 



The illustrations are plentiful and usually clearly 

 reproduced, though one would have wished for more 

 photographs of the phases of aniinal life which form 

 ^uch an important feature of the te.xt; but with so 

 much compressed into such a brief period it is easy 

 10 understand that there was no time for tele- 

 photographic work. 



J. W. E. 

 NO. 2044, VOL. 79] 



THE HEADMiSTERS' CONFERENCE. 



AFTER a school career prolonged to the age of 

 eighteen in one of the great public schools, a 

 youth should possess certain minima of endowment 

 — moral, physical and intellectual. His intellectual 

 assets should include a reasonable proficiency in the 

 use of the English language, the ability to read in- 

 telligently at least one other language, a notion of 

 what the study of history really means (with some 

 sense of historical perspective), and acquaintance with 

 some fundamental scientific discoveries, together with 

 an inkling of the importance of the advancement of 

 man's control over his environment. He should have 

 an intellectual interest in at least one subject, not 

 necessarily, nor even preferably, included in his school 

 studies. A charge has been preferred against the 

 schools of failing to equip the majority of the young 

 men who leave their ranks with even this modest 

 minimum of mental endowment, and the authors of 

 this charge include men whose experience and ability 

 lend weight to their indictment. Interest in the head- 

 masters' debates concerning curricula should not at 

 this juncture be confined to the lanks of the scholastic 

 profession. 



There were fifty-two headmasters present at the 

 meetings of the conference, which took place at the 

 Merchant Taylors' School, London, on December 22 

 and 23. The Rev. Dr. Nairn presided, and the larger 

 schools were well represented. It may be well to 

 remind our readers that by its constitution the con- 

 ference limits its membership to headmasters of 

 schools where a considerable number of boys remain 

 until the age of eighteen or nineteen. A discussion of 

 the proceedings of the annual congress should throw 

 light on the progress being made towards an improv-ed 

 curriculum. 



.Special interest attaches to the resolutions relating 

 to the age at which the study of Cireek should begin. 

 Two years ago the conference declared that this study 

 should be postponed to the age of thirteen or fourteen, 

 and that Greek should not be a subject of the entrance 

 examination at the schools represented in the con- 

 ference. Forty-two of the leading schools regulate 

 the admission of boys from the preparatory schools 

 by an examination entitled " (?onimon Examination 

 for Entrance to Public Schools." We find that only 

 five of the forty-two schools have definitely dropped 

 Greek, the remaining thirty-seven disregarding the 

 1906 resolution. On the other hand, seventeen schools 

 exclude science, and the remainder make science 

 optional, usually as an alternative to Latin verse. 

 The practical result is that many little boys in pre- 

 paratory schools are specialising in classics, and their 

 general education is impossible. In other cases we 

 find (to quote Mr. R. C. Gilson, of Birmingham) 

 " the present stupid method of trying to teach three 

 foreign languages together to little boys in knicker- 

 bockers." .\t the age when the observation of nature 

 and education of motor-centres are of special import- 

 ance, the public schools insist on the pursuit of Latin 

 and Greek to the practical exclusion of manual and 

 observational training. It is hardly to be wondered 

 at that, to quote Mr. Gilson again, " in the name of 

 teaching Greek the schools were turning out men who 

 could not observe nature." This state of affairs will 

 be remedied to some extent if and when practical 

 effect is given to the resolutions of the conference, 

 which affirmed (i) that the average boy cannot under- 

 t.oke the studv of more than two languages besides 

 English before the age of thirteen years without detri- 

 ment to his general education ; (2) it is the duty of 

 public schools to provide classes in which the study 



