506 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 



Botany is studied in most forms. The aim throughout is for the work to be 

 thoroughly practical ; the girls have, therefore, to make their own experiments. 

 After experiments have been carried out the results obtained by each girl are received 

 and tabulated, and conclusions are then drawn from these results by the whole class. 



No text books are used in botany in pre-matriculation forms, but each girl in the 

 Upper Forms possesses a small Flora. 



Plants are studied mainly as living things by means of observations and experi- 

 ments. Drawings are made from actual specimens and experiments, and not from 

 drawings on the blackboard. 



Microscopes are not used by girls taking the pre-specialisation science course, 

 except in the highest classes, where the structure of a green cell, a stomate, and a 

 leaf are studied. Ql . ■■- 



Great help has been derived in the study of botany from the Botany Gardens, 

 which have been gradually made in response to the needs of the botany teaching in 

 the laboratory. As a rule, two girls are responsible for a garden ; and every year 

 the girls change their gardens. The work in the Botany Gardens each year is deter- 

 mined by the nature of the work in the laboratory, and the indoor and out-of-door 

 work are closely connected. As far as possible the girls choose the gardens for which 

 they will be responsible. 



No time is allowed in the actual school hours for gardening : the girls look after 

 their gardens in the mid-morning and mid-day recesses. The work is voluntary, 

 but so many applications are received for botany gardens that the difficulty has 

 been to provide gardens for all who wished to have them. The numbers of girls 

 who had botany gardens in three recent successive years were 270, 281, 288. 



The science work of the pre-speciaUsation period may be divided roughly into 

 three stages, namely : — ■ 



Division I. — The work in the younger forms, before a course of systematic science 

 is begun. 



Division II. — The work in the middle part of the school, where definite courses 

 of botany and elementary physics and chemistry are taken. 



Division III. — The work in two Upper Forms, where botany is studied by all, and 

 chemistry can be taken by every girl who wishes to do so (two of three subjects, 

 chemistry, geography and a second language are taken by every girl). 



At the end of the tvvo years' course all the girls take botany in the General School 

 Examination of the London University. Some girls take chemistry in addition. 



Division I. 



Age of girls, seven to eleven years approximately. Time per week : two lessons 

 of forty minutes each in three classes, and one lesson of forty minutes in the Upper 

 First Form and in the Lower First Form. 



The work varies in different years : an account of what has been done in a par- 

 ticular year is given below : — 



Land plants and animals in school gardens. Water plants and animals in school 

 gardens. Trees in winter, spring, summer. Study of common weeds, with special 

 reference to the reasons for their success in competition with other plants. Simple 

 descriptions of flowers. Stages in life-histories of various plants grown by the girls 

 in their own plots. Study of fruits in the lane and in the wood of Botany Gardens, 

 and various methods of dispersal of seeds observed in the Botany Gardens and 

 elsewhere. 



Study of Plants in Lane in the Botany Gardens. 



The girls of the highest class in this section are responsible for the care and 

 development of the lane in the Botany Gardens, and the indoor work for the year 

 is in close connection with the outdoor work. 



The plants are examined in spring, summer, autumn, winter. As often as possible 

 the whole plant is taken. Drawings of the plant are made by the girls, and detailed 

 descriptions are given of various parts. In this way roots, underground stems, 

 above-ground stems, foliage leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and seedhngs are studied in 

 a simple way, and practice is obtained in making accurate drawings. Records are 

 kept of the plants in flower in the lane in successive months. 



Study of Animal Life. 

 In addition to the study of plant life described in the previous paragraph the study 

 of animal life is an important part of the work of every class in this division. The 



