TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION L. 633 



general body of schools. But it is desirable that there should be a large 

 number of schools in which German is the staple language. Of these at 

 present there are very few. 



It is also very desirable that there should be a number of schools, like the 

 German Nealschulen, in which English and modern languages would be made 

 the backbone of humanistic studies, and Latin taught only as a special subject 

 to those who needed it. 



The Board of Education shows no sympathy with German. A joint memo- 

 randum calling attention to the state of German in schools was sent to the 

 President in 1908 by the British Science Guild, the London Chamber of Com- 

 merce, the Teachers' Guild, the Society of German University Teachers, and 

 the Modern Language Association, but the reply amounted practically to this — 

 that nothing could be done. 



It remains for public opinion to require that German should be effectively 

 taught to a much larger number of children than study it at present. 



3. School-books and Eyesight. By G. F. Daniell, B.Sc. 



Short sight is rarely, if ever, congenital, and is usually an artificial condition 

 induced by the misuse of eyes during the period of growth. Short sight (1) is 

 rare before the age of six; (2) increases in amount and degree in the higher 

 classes or standards of schools, and is the only disease of which the incidence is 

 higher among the older than among the younger scholars; (3) increases with the 

 number of hours employed in literary work; (4) is worse in badly-lighted than in 

 well-lighted schools. 



Becognising that short sight is mainly the result of faulty education, several 

 authorities have laid down rules to be observed in the production of books to 

 be used by children under twelve years of age. Thus I find the following : 

 School books should have sufficient thickness of paper, and large, thick-faced, 

 well-defined type. Letters and lines well spaced, and good margins to the pages. 

 Ink black and paper white or tinted yellow. Unbleached paper of a tawny-grey 

 tint has been recommended. Glazed paper is strongly condemned. The lines 

 of the school-book should not exceed 4 inches, or 10 cm., in length. No type 

 should be allowed which necessitates holding the book at a less distance than 

 twelve inches. Types recommended are ' double-pica ' for very young children ; 

 ' pica leaded ' for children of age six to eleven, and ' small pica leaded ' for the 

 older children. Small type annotations are undesirable. Not more than two 

 lines of type should be included within a vertical distance of 1 cm. (The height 

 of small pica letters is 1.75 mm., and of pica is 2.0 mm.). I have recently 

 tested various books exhibited by publishers at educational conferences, and have 

 found that the above rules are not consistently observed. The matter is of 

 sufficient importance to call for action by education authorities, either central 

 or local. Now that the organisation of educational administration has proceeded 

 so far, and especially in view of the responsibilities undertaken by education 

 authorities as regards medical inspection, it appears desirable that Section L 

 should investigate the question of the relation of school-books to eyesight. It 

 should not be forgotten that the short-sighted lose much unconscious education. 

 It is hoped that a British Association report may formulate a standard to 

 which all school-books should conform; at least, all books intended for use by 

 children under twelve. Education authorities might exclude from their requisi- 

 tion-lists (after an appointed date, of which notice would be given to publishers) 

 all books which did not satisfy the standard requirements. Thereby much 

 preventable injury to eyesight would be prevented. 



4. Suggested Reforms in the Teaching of Science. By P. Shaw Jeffeky. 



