214 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 



So long ago as 1867 the distinction between subject and method was 

 clearly stated by a Committee of the British Association, which included 

 among its members Professor Huxley, Professor Tyndall, and Canon 

 Wilson. It was pointed out that general literary acquaintance with 

 scientific things in actual life, and knowledge relating to common facts 

 and phenomena of Nature, were as desirable as the habits of mind aimed 

 at in scientific training through ' experimental physics, elementary 

 chemistry, and botany.' The subjects which the Committee recom- 

 mended for scientific information, as distinguished from training, com- 

 prehended ' a general description of the solar system ; of the form 

 and physical geography of the earth, and such natural phenomena as 

 tides, currents, winds, and the causes that influence climate; of the 

 broad facts of geology ; of elementary natural history with especial 

 reference to the useful plants and animals ; and of the rudiments of 

 physiology.' If we add to this outline a few suitable topics illustrating 

 applications of science to everyday life, we have a course of instruction 

 much more suitable for all pupils as a part of their general education 

 than what is now commonly followed in secondary schools. It will be 

 a course which will excite wonder and stimulate the imagination, will 

 promote active interest in the beauty and order of Nature, and the 

 extension of the Kingdom of Man, and provide guidance in the laws 

 of healthy life. 



The purpose of this kind of instruction is, of course, altogether 

 different from that of practical experiment in the laboratory. One of 

 the functions is to provide pupils with a knowledge of the nature of 

 everyday phenomena and applications of science, and of the meaning of 

 scientific words in common use. Instead of aiming at creating appre- 

 ciation of scientific method by an intensive study of a narrow field, a 

 wide range of subjects should be presented in order to give extensive 

 views which cannot possibly be obtained through experimental work 

 alone. The object is indeed almost as much literary as scientific, and 

 the early lessons necessary for its attainment ought to be within the 

 capacity of every qualified teacher of English. Without acquaintance 

 with the common vocabulary of natural science a large and increasing 

 body of current literature is unintelligible, and there are classical 

 scientific works which are just as worthy of study in both style and 

 substance as many of the English texts prescribed for use in schools. 

 We all now accept the view that science students should be taught to 

 express themselves in good English, but little is heard of the equal 

 necessity for students of the English language to possess even an-j 

 elementary knowledge of the ideas and terminology of everyday science, 

 which are vital elements in the modern world, and which it is the 

 business of literatm'e to present and interpret. 



So much has been, and can be, said in favour of broad com-ses of 

 'general informative science in addition to laboratory instruction and- 

 lessons which follow closely upon it, that the rarity of such courses in 

 our secondary schools is a little surprising at first sight. Their absence J 

 seems to be due to several reasons. In the first place, the teachers i 

 themselves are specialists in physics, chemistry, biology, or some other' 

 department of science, and they occupy their own territory in school 



