404 
NATURE 
[arch 23, 1871 

not how rubbishy a book of Natural History may be, 
for, provided that it be of such a kind as to command a 
large sale, it must foster a taste for the subject among 
the million. This isa most pestilent doctrine. If the 
tares occupy the ground, how can the wheat grow? and 
the publication of every book of spurious science pre- 
cludes the publication of a really scientific book on the 
same subject. 


OUR BOOK SHELF 
The Arts in the Middle Ages, and at the Period of the 
Renaissance. By Paul Lacroix, Curator of the Imperial 
Library of the Arsenal, Paris. (London: Chapman and 
Hall, 1870.) 
A TASTE for art usually comes to us somewhat late in life, 
because, in nine cases out of ten, the taste is not culti- 
vated or developed till long after school life. We have, 
in fact, no regular art education in this country, although 
endeavours are being made at South Kensington to form 
Art Schools, and to accumulate art students. A love for 
high art is certainly more common in France and Italy 
than in England, and this is partly accounted for by the 
fact that some education in the first principles of the 
arts is given in all the government schools and colleges. 
The work before us is well calculated to foster such tastes. 
It discusses not alone the principal arts :—“ We pass in 
review,” says M. Lacroix, “all the Arts, starting from the 
fourth century to the second half of the sixteenth. Archi- 
tecture raising churches and abbeys, palaces and public 
memorials, strong fortresses, and the ramparts of cities ; 
sculpture adorning and perfecting other arts by its 
works in stone, marble, bronze, wood, and ivory ; paint- 
ing, commencing with mosaic and enamels, contributing 
to the decoration of buildings jointly with stained glass and 
frescoes, embellishing and illuminating manuscripts be- 
fore it arrived at its highest point of perfection, with the 
art of Giotto and Raphael, of Hemling and Albert Diirer ; 
engraving on wood and metal, with which is associated 
the work of the medallist and the goldsmith ; and after 
attempting to touch upon playing cards and niello-work, 
we suddenly evoke that sublime invention destined to 
change the face of the world—Printing.” Although M. 
Lacroix speaks above of passing in review a// ¢he arts, 
we notice at once that he has mixed up the fine and the 
useful arts, and omitted some of each of them, More- 
over, he has chiefly discussed what we call the “ decora- 
tive arts.” Poetry is omitted altogether, and the only 
account of music is given under the heading “ Musical 
Instruments.” 
The book itself is gorgeous. It is well printed, and is 
full of good engravings and woodcuts. Moreover it con- 
tains nineteen excellent chromo-lithographs, by Keller- 
hoven, the most notable of which are the sixth (“ Biberon 
of Henri Deux Faience”) and the thirteenth (“The 
Dream of Life,” a fresco by Orcagna). We have no book 
in our own language which satisfies the want, which 
must so often have been felt, of a work of this nature. 
It is a positive art-educator, and what with the appoint- 
ment of Professors of the Fine Arts at Oxford and Cam- 
bridge, and the appearance of a few works of this kind, 
we may hope before long really to possess in this country 
some critical taste for all that is beautiful in art. 
G. FoR. 
Descriptive Travel and Adventures; or Hubert Preston 
Abroad. By Catharine Morell. Edited by J. R. Mo- 
rell, formerly one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of 
Schools. (London: T. Murby.) 
WE hope this is not a sample of “The Consecutive Nar- 
rative Series of Reading Books,” of which it appears to be 
the 6th volume, for the sake of the unfortunate youths 


in whose hands they may be placed. We scarcely know 
a book which we should take greater pains to keep out of 
the hands of young people eager for knowledge. It is full 
of the grossest and most palpable blunders. We will 
quote the three first we came across, giving chapter and 
verse, as we hardly expect to be believed without affording 
our readers the opportunity of verifying our quotations for 
themselves, if they wish to. When we read (Chemistry, 
p. 83) that “‘ quicklime is simple carbonate of lime taken 
from the limestone of your mountains !” we thought we 
had pitched upon a curious slip of the pen; when we 
found that “ marsupials,” (which, by the bye, are known 
as being animals ‘hat jump instead of run) “ are peculiar 
to Australia,” and “the tiger peculiarto the New World !!” 
(Growth of Plants, p. 173) we opened our eyes with 
astonishment ; and when we were told that che elephant 
chews the cud!!! (The Elephant, p. 197). we closed the 
book in disgust. Surely any boy on the lowest form of 
any school which the gentleman who edits the book 
“formerly inspected,” would have set him right on all 
these points. Seriously, it is very sad that at this time of 
day it should be found possible to circulate such rubbish 
under the name of instruction in science. If this is what 
is to come of inspecting schools, the less we have of it the 
better, till we have trained up a staff of inspectors ac- 
quainted with at least the rudiments of science. B. 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 
[Zhe Editer does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 
by his Correspondents. No notice ts taken of anonymous 
communications. | 
The Teaching of Science 
I am the principal of a private school. I have long 
taken an interest in science, and have, by proceeding very 
gradually and cautiously, succeeded in making Scientific Teach- 
ing for a limited time in the week a part of the regular school 
course. There are many more difficulties, however, in the way 
of this than some of your off-hand devotees of science seem to be 
aware of. 
Not the least of these is the decided opposition of some parents, 
who object altogether to any portion of their sons’ time being 
devoted to that, the direct practical use of which they do not see. 
My school may be divided into three classes ; those who are 
preparing for one or other of the public schools; those who 
are preparing for special examinations at Woolwich, and those 
who will complete their education with me. The first two 
classes cannot afford to lose any time upon any subject 
that will not tell directly upon the examinations to which they 
are respectively looking forward, otherwise the result might be 
the loss of a scholarship in the one case, and in the other the 
loss of a place altogether. And how utterly void of all chance 
Science is, in the former case at least, you can well judge. So 
that until our Public Schools set us the example, it is very little 
scientific teaching that we can give to this class of pupils at all 
events. While with regard to the last class, all that parents 
wish is that their sons should receive a classical and general edu- 
cation ; but any meddling with Science I can assure you some of 
them leok upon as simply an amusement of the master’s, ob- 
tained at the expense of their sons’ time, Nevertheless, as I have 
already said, I have made Scientific Teaching a regular part of the 
schoo] course for a short time every week, and am only prevented 
from extending it much further by the causes named above. The 
subjects we have taken up hitherto have been elementary physio- 
logy and chemistry. For the former we have used Dr. Mapother’s 
‘*The Body and its Health,” while one or two of the elder 
pupils have gone on to Huxley’s “Elementary Lessons in 
Physiology.” And when it is considered that the average age of 
our pupils is only about twelve or thirteen years, I think this is 
as much as could be expected. For chemistry, we have been 
very much puzzled to finda suitable text-book ; for though there 
is no want of really first-class books, we have not been able to 
obtain what we wish. Both Wilson’s (published by Chambers) 
and Roscoe's ‘‘ Elementary Lessons” are too long, and (considering 
the objections of parents named above) too high in price for 
school boys. What we want is something about half the size 
