TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 49 
The formation of alcohol in this reaction is a virtual conversion of acetic acid 
into alcohol, inasmuch as the triacetyl came from acetic acid, 
Tn the author's opinion the compounds mentioned in Frankland and, Duppa’s 
Bee as derived directly from acetic ether and sodium admit of representation as 
sodium triacetyl, and products derived from sodium triacetyl, 
On Chemistry as a Branch of Education. By Tuomas Woop, Ph.D., F.CS,. 
The author divided chemistry, for the purposes of education, into two distinct 
and separate studies, first, chemistry as a branch of education teaching facts useful 
to be known, and secondly, chemistry used as an instrument or means of general, 
intellectual, and practical training. 'T’o teach the former, the head of a school need 
not invest in either apparatus or a laboratory, as a few well-illustrated lectures are 
sufficient to enable the pupils to read up the subject. For these the lecturer could 
bring the necessary apparatus. The latter necessitates attendance in a well-ap- 
pointed laboratory. ith respect to the former, the author considered the subject 
under three heads; to whom could it be taught ? how most easily and practically P 
when, and at what age P 
With regard to the first of these, he would say, from personal experience, that the 
most elementary and useful facts of chemistry might be taught to all, from the child 
of six to the man of sixty ; but it would be impossible to teach chemical arithmetic 
to a youth who had not learned common arithmetic. 
As to the second, among the readiest means of communicating to a person the 
facts of chemistry were well-arranged lectures and classes, where the master per- 
formed the experiments and the pupil looked on, the latter not being allowed to 
take part in the manipulation of the experiments. The mind of the pupil was thus 
free to observe and store up all that occurred. The author drew a great distinction 
between lectures and lessons. A lecture was a formal discourse, generally to a 
comparatively large number of persons; while a class lesson implied a much more 
intimate communication with the master in the way of question, reply, &c. Ina 
class, although the subject might be dry and dull, the master could command an 
amount of attention from a limited number of pupils; whereas with one hundred 
pupils, if the lecturer were dull, or the subject too dry, he would have little atten- 
tion paid to him. All lectures should be interesting as one of their first recom- 
mendations, and also attractive. At lectures questions should be rarely asked, 
but at lessons continually. The plan of giving a printed list of questions on 
each lecture to every boy, the lecturer to answer all the questions seriatim in 
his lecture, and the boys to answer the questions on paper afterwards, was strongly 
recommended, The author thought six was a good number for a chemical class, 
and it ought not to exceed eight. ith reference to the age, although it was quite 
true that many young persons were capable of receiving benefit from experiments 
on the elementary parts of science, yet it must be confessed that few facts and little 
real useful information could be permanently lodged in their minds until they were 
capable of working decimals. 
nder the head of chemistry, as a means of general intellectual and practical 
training, the author asserted that up to the present it had never been properly 
taught in schools as a means of education. To use chemistry with this object, 
the student must spend not one hour, but hours at a time ‘in the laboratory. 
This took up so much time as to be impracticable in the present school curriculum, 
and required a larger number and a better educated class of men than at present 
existed as teachers of practical science. The author also contended that laboratory 
sae was only suited for boys of fourteen years and upwards. The plan never 
aving been thoroughly tried, heads of schools did not believe, from past experi- 
ence, that there were really the benefits to be derived from chemical study which 
its advocates maintained. The present method of teaching practical chemistry 
in schools is by qualitative sakes only ; that is, by testing according to the 
lan laid down in analytical tables, This gives neither accuracy of manipulation, 
thorough or exact knowledge of the science, nor interest to the pupils, and is there- 
fore almost useless ; consequently chemistry had as yet never been practically taught 
as a means of education. ‘ 
1868. 4 
