TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION I. 691 



(2) As men in the flesh know Magic, so do their ghosts, and all demons or 

 gods derived from ghosts or imagined by analogy with them. Hence : (a) 

 Spirits teach Magic; (b) assist at Magic rites; (c) depend upon IV^agic for their 

 own power, {d) Black Magic is merely unauthorised Magic, assisted by evil 

 spirits. 



(3) By retrogradation, after spiritual intervention has long been recognised, 

 it may again be forgotten ; so that a fetish again becomes a cliarm ; a prayer, 

 a spell, &c. 



(4) The purpose of Magic is to obtain power over events, and the certainty 

 of power. When spirits are believed in, they are propitiated for the same end. 

 But their caprice is an abatement of certainty. Then arises the belief that 

 I hey may be rontrolled by Magic, as the development of several religions shows 

 us. For the only ground of certainty is uniformity. 



3. Philnaopliy aui] the War. By Dr. Wtt-don Carr. 



THURSDAY, SEPTEMIiER 9. 

 The followiiig Papers were read : — 



1. 0« ilie. Special Interests of Children in the War al Different Ages. 

 By G.W.KmmNS, M. A., D.Sc. 



In order 'to obtain information as to the special interests of children at 

 different ages in regard to the War, essays were written by all the children in 

 ten senior dejiartments (five boys" and five girls') of elementary schools. No 

 preparation was allowed and no notice given. The children were told to write 

 as much as they could about the War in fifteen minutes. No child was allowed 

 to exceed the time-limit. 



In all, 3,081 papers were written, 1,511 boys, 1,570 girls. In order to obtain 

 as far as possible the real interests and ideas of the children, the common 

 material in the various groups, indicative of lessons or talks on the subject by 

 the teachers, was carefully eliminated. 



In spite of a large amount of overlapping in the interests and ideas at 

 different stages, it was possible to group them broadly according to the ages 

 of the children. 



The results of the investigation are classified under six age-grou]3s (S to 14) 

 corresponding to the ages of children in the senior departments of elementary 

 schools. The main interests of boys and girls are given separately in each ao-e- 

 group. It was found on examination to be better to group them according to 

 mental ages. Thus, in the eight-year-old group there were some backward 

 children of ten, eleven, and twelve years of age, and occasionally clever children 

 of seven. In such a group a large majority of the children were eight years 

 of age, and the comparatively few older and younger children were always 

 taught with them. It was interesting to notice that the interests of these older 

 or younger children did not differ materially from those of the normal age for 

 tlie group. 



Not only do the interests of boys and girls vary for each particular group, 

 but the nature of the variations which appeared in passing up through the 

 school varies also with sex. 



The fact that emerges most clearly from the investigation is the bellicose 

 attitude of the girls of ten, the wave of depression at eleven, and the establish- 

 ment of normal interests at twelve years of age. The boys, on the other hand, 

 become more warlike at eleven, and, though a period of slight depresfiion follows 

 upon this, it is much less marked than in the case of the girls. 



T Y 2 



