SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—L. 377 
Prof. W. J. Daxin. 
By the term ‘ biology ’ is understood the study of animal and plant life. By the 
expression ‘ biology’ in schools is understood such a judicious combination as will 
result in a knowledge of the general phenomena of life. The study must include 
experiment as well as observation, and its bearings upon human life should be clearly 
indicated. 
The advantages and the desirability of teaching biology in schools have been 
stressed by so many authorities and recognised in so many places that it is interesting 
to look for some of the reasons for its backward position in Great Britain. 
This backward position is indicated by the following figures, giving the numbers 
taking the various Science subjects at the examinations of the Joint Matriculation 
Board of the Northern Universities :— 
1921 1922 1923 1924 
Physics ar Se AS eles 125289 3,212 3,903 4,355 
Chemistry ... seid as .» 3,528 4,773 5,627 6,227 
Botany Soe age oot a 1,920 2,735 5,224 3,547 
Biology (Natural History) ae 127 233 245 291 
In my opinion the neglect of biology is due to :— : 
I. Lack of accurate information on the part of some who are responsible for the 
framing of curricula in the schools, and incidentally in the lack of interest in general 
education shown by the public. 
Il. The comparative ease of merely following the past. 
Botany was apparently considered a ‘ lady-like ’ subject six decades ago. This 
seems, to some extent, responsible for teaching ‘half a subject’ in many schools to-day. 
III. Failure to recognise that biology must be treated as scientifically as chemistry 
and physics, and not be supplanted by a sickly kind of nature study. 
IV. Frequent inability to teach the subject in schools, especially the animal side, 
on the part of many university graduates appointed to take it. 
V. The mistaken idea that biology is too difficult to take up and entails considerable 
expense. 
_ YI. A peculiar attitude to the study of the animal side of biology taken up by 
certain officials of the Board of Education, and expressed in a Report (Report of 
Investigators, 1918). 
_VII. An idea prevalent in some quarters, that one should preferably teach a 
subject which offers teaching posts for the few, rather than the subject which certainly 
enters the lives of all. 
VIII. Definite dislike felt by some authorities to the handling of animals by 
the pupils. 
Of these reasons, No. VIII. is of rare occurrence. Details of the points raised which 
have been discovered by inquiries amongst the secondary schools were given in the 
paper. 
Dr. Lintan Cuarxke. 
There is need to study biology scientifically in school. In order that plant physiology 
may become an exact science the same methods must be used as in chemical and 
physical laboratories. It presents many difficulties, and involves much time and 
thought on the part of the teacher ; we ought to show that it can be taught so as to 
afford a training in scientific method. Care must be taken not to generalise on in- 
sufficient data—that pupils should do typical experiments before any general state- 
ment is made ; they should then be introduced to previous records made, and only 
on the consideration of these many results should conclusions be drawn, e.g. pupils 
should not be told the function of pollen. They can make experiments to see what is 
the effect of removing stamens, and in other ways study the effect of pollinating, or 
not pollinating, flowers, using fine muslin to prevent access of insects. At the James 
_ Allen’s Girls’ School, Dulwich, there are the results of more than 2000 experiments 
_ on the use of pollen in wallflower, foxgloves, Canterbury bells, sea-campions, snap- 
dragons, columbines, stocks, blue-bells, buttercups, toad flax, honesty, on which 
generalisations may be based. Numerous experiments can be made by pupils on the 
influence of light and gravity on the direction of growths of roots and stems, the 
presence of pores in leaves, transpiration in plants, &c. But in all experimental work 
the necessity of rigorous examination of the conditions of the experiment, and the 
value of control experiments should be acknowledged. 
