June 17, 1909J 



NA TURE 



473 



ihi-n be converted into nitric acid by Ostwald's electro- 

 lytic process. A risume of the recent work on the electro- 

 metallurgy of iron and steel was given by Mr. F. \. 

 l-'itzgeraid'. Prof. Taussig read important papers on large 

 electric furnaces, and on the electrolysis of sodium chloride, 

 in which the recent developments in the Castner-Kellner 

 process were reviewed. A recommendation for national 

 and international conservation of water-power was intro- 

 duced by Mr. E. R. Taylor, in which the author deprecated 

 the failure to employ the waste power of rivers and 

 streams. The combination of nitric oxide and oxygen was 

 shown by Dr. M. Bodcnstein to consist of a trimolccular 

 reaction. M. A. Coppadoro described a process for the 

 simultaneous production of hydrochloric and sulphuric 

 acids, in which electrolytic chlorine was caused to interact 

 with sulphurous acid. The question of the amount of 

 chemical work produced by light was discussed by Dr. 

 K. Weigert, who by examination of the photochemical 

 change of anthracene into dianthracene concluded that 

 nearly 5 per cent, of the tot.il amount of absorbed light 

 was converted into work. M. Malfitano, in a paper on 

 the constitution of colloids, described the use of celluloid 

 membranes, which permit the passage of electrolytes, but 

 remain impermeable to colloids. The mechanism of the 

 absorption of hydrogen by carbon at low temperatures was 

 shown by Dr. J. \V. .McBain to depend entirely upon 

 condensation of the hydrogen upon the surface of the 

 carbon. 



THE .«;t/PPLY OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 



IN ENGLAND AND ELSEWHERE. 

 T X their report, published in 1895, the Secondary Educa- 

 ■*■ tion Commissioners, when discussing the amount of 

 secondary education required for the whole country, 

 stated : — 



" After the most careful consideration we have been 

 forced to the conclusion that the problem contains so 

 many indeterminate elements that any attempt at a solu- 

 tion applicable to the whole country would necessarily be 

 misleading." 



The Schools Inquiry Commissioners of 1868, however, 

 had no such hesitation, and light.'hcartedly estimated 

 requirements at 16 per 1000 of the population for boys 

 in towns, of whom one-half would be third-grade pupils. 



Circumstances have changed since 1895. A new Educa- 

 tion Act has been in operation for six years ; a list of 

 recognised schools has been prepared and issued : surveys 

 of their districts have been instituted by many educational 

 authorities. These facts give warrant for making an 

 approximation to the result. Any such approximation 

 must be subject to errors; in some cases it is well-nigh 

 impossible to obtain information, and the difficulty of 

 standardisation is ever present. 



Presuming that the reader is acquainted with, and can 

 make allowance for. disturbing influences, we will place 

 before him material which will enable him to answer 

 three questions, and will throw light incidentally on others. 

 These three questions are : — 



(i) How many of our population receive a secondary 

 education? 



(2) What proportion continue their education after the 

 age of sixteen as all-day scholars? 



(t,) How do we compare in these respects with the 

 foreigner? 



The latest returns concerning higher elementary educa- 

 tion in England give the number of pupils as : — 



Boys „ ... 803s ... Girls ... 6178 



Average attendance 94 "3 per cent. ... 924 per cent. 



These pupils correspond to Biirgerschiiler, and represent 

 those who, under more favourable conditions, would 

 receive secondary education. In Germany the Biirger- 

 schule exists in many places on sufferance ; the local 

 authority wishes to have the whole elementary education 

 under its control, and maintains a Biirgerschule as a 

 means of checking the establishment of private schools. 

 In Great Britain we have encouraged the private school, 

 and have thus only this small pittance of higher elementary 

 pupils to put forward. We shall discover our missing 

 BLirgerschiiler later. 



NO. 2068, VOL. 80] 



The number of pupil-teachers and pupils in classes pre- 

 paring for pupil-tcachership, or its equivalent, was given 

 in 1906-7 as : — ... 



Boys Girls , 



Preparatory classes 1,077 5>473 



Pupil-teachers (a) .. 

 Pupil-teachers {i) ... 



2,771 

 2,468 



10.735 

 8,550 



5,239 



19,285 



5.645 



Training college students ... 2,663 •• 



In this same year the secondary schools under the Board 



account for 62,712 boys and- 50,,S77 girls, i.e. five boys to 

 four girls nearly, classed as follows : — 



Boys Girls 



Preparatory classes ... 18,214 ... 13-993 



Age 12-13 

 Age 13-14 

 Age 14-15 

 Age 15-16 



12,521 (4,011) 

 9,812 (3,179) 

 5,248 (3,377) 

 2,551 (i,So6) 



10,505 (1,433^ 

 9,iSo (1,445) 

 6,673 (1,276) 

 3.052 (637) 



Over 16 1,993 ■■■ ^.683 



where the numbers in brackets refer to those taking special 

 courses. 



If, for the moment, we class pupil-teachers as secondary 

 scholars, these figures show that secondary education for 

 a girl too frequently means preparation for the teaching 

 profession. If we analyse our table we find that for every 



100 boys 100 girls age 12-13 



there were 



785 89-0 age 13-14 



522 666 age 14-15 



263 30'9 ag« '5-i6 



12-0 22-5 over 16 



who were taking an approved course. That is, only about 

 one boy in four who begins a course of secondary educa- 

 tion ever remains to finish it. Our national view of 

 secondary education is that it is simply a veneer of re- 

 spectability which has no bearing on the capacity of the 

 individual or the future of the nation. This statement of 

 the national conception of education is unjust to some 

 local areas. Let us consider London, the State-aided 

 schools of Scotland, and Wales. The corresponding figures 

 read : — 



London Scotland Wales 



Age 

 12-13 



i3->4 

 14-15 

 15-16 

 16-17 

 17-18 

 18-19 



.\fter her sacrifices for education, no one will accuse 

 Wales of indifference. Yet her standard is still far from 

 satisfactory. London is showing that she appreciates the 

 value of a course of secondary education. What about 

 Scotland? Explain that the Scotch parent is satisfied with 

 the primary school, and keeps his children there until 

 thirteen or 'fourteen years of age, and you give deserved 

 praise to the elementary school. Explain that the lower 

 age of entrance to the Scotch universities induces a parent 

 to give his son a full secondary education so that he may 

 see, if he does not gather, the' prizes that lie beyond, and 

 vou compliment the foresight of the nation. Allege that 

 'the Scot does not succeed in life and you will be laughed 

 to scorn. Protest that his success is not due to superior 

 insight or fertile imagination or sporting enterprise, and 

 you only accentuate the value of steady, disciplined in- 

 telligence. The German has this virtue, and so has the 

 Scot. If vou wish to know where the Scot gained it, 

 remember the traditions of the country and study closely 

 the middle column. 



The list of secondary schools recognised as efficient for 

 1907 (Cd. 4374) accounts for 132,849 children, classed 

 thus :— 



