328 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 
From the administrative point of view, expeditions may be divided into 
(i) class expeditions in which a whole class takes part, either in school hours 
or on a holiday ; and (ii) voluntary expeditions undertaken for a like purpose 
by groups of pupils from different forms. 
The best results are obtained from biological expeditions if in any one 
year attention is concentrated upon one or two localities only, and visits 
are made at different seasons. Casual expeditions, however enjoyable, are 
liable to be relatively unproductive. It is recommended that before the 
expedition each pupil should be provided with or should make a map of 
the region to be studied. 
Longer voluntary expeditions call for expenditure and are less easily 
arranged ; where they are practicable they justify the trouble involved. 
Some schools arrange a week in the neighbourhood of Port Erin, and while 
studying the flora and fauna of the seashore they are also able to see the 
aquarium, museum and laboratories of the Marine Station there. Similar 
expeditions are made to the Lakes and to Derbyshire. Other schools arrange 
holiday courses in conjunction with the Marine Laboratories at Plymouth 
and at Millport ; while a less advanced course has been devised for younger 
boys at Colwyn Bay during the summer holidays. ‘The biology mistresses 
of several London schools take girls to Seaford for a like purpose in the 
Easter holidays. All teachers of biology who have organised such ex- 
peditions have found them both useful and enjoyable. 
VI. SumMMaRY AND CONCLUSIONS. 
There has been in recent years a definite but relatively slight increase in 
the biological content of school science courses, and good pioneer work is 
being done in the teaching of General Science. 
There is ample evidence that, on the whole, Biology is being taught with 
skill and enthusiasm. The same may be said of General Science, though in 
a few cases the criticism may hold true that the teaching tends to be diffuse 
and generally to lack scientific character. 
There appears to be a general feeling of growing intensity that the 
traditional chemistry and physics or botany of the secondary school is 
insufficient educationally, and that instruction in biology should claim a 
portion of the time available for science. Many arguments in favour of its 
inclusion are given in the historical review. 
There does not seem at present to be any very definite agreement whether 
the biological part of the science course should come early or late in a child’s 
school life. Many teachers would prefer it to be taken in the latter part of 
their school life, so that an adequate foundation of physics and chemistry 
can be assumed. Others think that at an earlier age the pupil’s interests 
will be most easily awakened, and that the work will be less stereotyped 
by shadows of impending examinations. In some schools a compromise 
is effected between these two opinions—viz. that a considerable amount 
of biology and nature study is advisable and possible in the earlier years, 
between 11 and 13, and the subject dropped except for incidental refer- 
ences in relation to both chemistry and physics until the age of 16, when 
the child’s experience enables it to appreciate the more important lessons 
biology has to teach. 
The influence of examinations has been restrictive, so that in many school 
intensive study of some parts of a subject has displaced the conception a 
a more liberal scientific education. 
There seems no reason to think that the introduction of General Science 
into schools will render the science teaching more costly. q 
