286 



REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 



per cent.) 

 per cent.) 

 per cent.) 



per cent.) 

 per cent.) 



Main types of sedimentary rocks : sandstone, grit, con- 

 glomerate, shale, clay, fireclay, marl, limestone, iron- 

 stone, coal. (8 



Igneous rocks : granite, basalt, obsidian, porphyry. Vol- 

 canoes ; lavas, ash and agglomerate. (S 



Metamorphic rocks : illustrated by reference to slate, schist, 

 gneiss, marble. (2 



Structural geology : dip, strike, simple folds, faults, uncon- 

 formity ; boss, dyke, sill, neck. Practical work to in- 

 clude a study of very simple geological maps and draw- 

 ing of sections across them. (15 



Movements of earth's crust : raised beaches, submerged 

 forests and drowned valleys ; folding and faulting ; 

 folded mountains ; rift valleys and block mountains. (6 



Fossils and their uses : evidence of past climates and con- 

 ditions of formation of sedimentary rocks ; a .general 

 idea of the sequence of fossil vertebrates ; the character- 

 istic fossils of the main periods (e.g. Trilobites and 

 Graptolites in the Lower Palaeozoic, Ammonites and 

 Belemnites in the Mesozoic). The general characters of 

 the main groups of fossils only to be required, rather 

 than any names of genera (except possibly of fossils of 

 importance in the locality) ; overloading of the course 

 by lists of names to be avoided. (7 per cent.) 



A general study of the character of the major rock groups of 

 Britain, and of the scenic features to which they give rise 

 (e.g. the slate groups of Wales and the Lake District, 

 the Chalk areas, the Carboniferous Limestone, the Coal- 

 fields, etc.). (7 per cent.) 



Local geology : a study of the features in the school area ; 

 examination of quarries and natural sections ; observa- 

 tion of escarpments and river erosion and deposition. 

 Simple field sketching should be encouraged. Study of 

 local geological maps and of the physical features ex- 

 hibited in Ordnance maps. (20 per cent.) 



Practical work illustrating the above topics, included in the time allotted 

 to the various sections. Simple tests of minerals, including hardness, 

 density, solubility and reactions to dilute acid. The study of rocks and 

 fossils, the study of maps and the construction of block models ; field 

 excursions. Other aspects of practical work are discussed below. 



Higher School Certificate. 



For the Higher School Certificate a syllabus is put forward for a course 

 in Geology as a principal subject, to occupy approximately one-third of 

 two years' school work. Some teachers may prefer to introduce Geology 

 only as a subsidiary subject at this stage, in which case the syllabus would 

 need to be reduced considerably as regards detail ; others, while keeping 

 it as a principal subject, may wish to make the sections dealing with physical 

 geography identical with some portion of the Geography syllabus, so that 

 when these two subjects are taken together they do not represent two 

 complete principal subjects. It has appeared more useful, however, to 

 design a syllabus which covers the whole range of the subject and thus 

 preserves its essential unity. 



