June 24, 1887.] 



SCIENCE. 



621 



back view, but was greatly reduced when the 

 right foot was sufficiently propped up, as in the 



FlU. 1. 



cuts. The right shoe was then corrected for the 

 deficiency of the leg. With this change, the 



Fig. 2. 



spinal deformity was nearly rectified, the patient 

 was able to walk without lameness, and the pain 

 in his back entirely disappeared. 



EDUCATION IN URUGUAY. 

 A NOTE in the Journal of the society of arts 

 calls attention to the fact that unusual attention 

 has been given in Uruguay, within the last four or 

 five years, to the education of tlse masses. The 

 United States charge d'affaires at Montevideo says 

 that education is now absolved from any denomi- 

 national inhibition ; in fact, the public schools, 

 now over fifty for primary classes, and over one 

 hundred for second grade, besides three public 

 high schools, are open alike to all religious de- 

 nominations. Of what are termed rustic or rural 

 schools, there are over 170 ; and the total number 

 of scholars, in 1834, amounted to 27,000. Of pri- 

 vate schools, there were 430, having an attendance 

 of about 20,000 pupils. Rudimentary instruction 

 of some sort is compulsory upon all children be- 

 tween the ages of six and fourteen. An educa- 

 tional institution of a peculiar sort has been estab- 

 lished and greatly fostered by the government 

 within the last few years. It is called La escuela 

 de artes y oficios, and its principal aim is to afford 

 to the poor boys of the republic an opportunity to 

 learn different trades and professions at the ex- 

 pense of the government. It is conducted upon a 

 militai'y plan, and its expenses are borne by the 

 ministry of war and marine. The education is 

 altogether practical, and the rules and regulations 

 well defined and understood, and these are strictly 

 adhered to. An applicant for admission to this 

 school must be of Uruguayan extraction, and over 

 fourteen years of age at the time of entry. Vac- 

 cination is insisted upon. The applicant must be 

 an orphan or his parents in indigent circumstances. 

 His father, mother, or guardian must contract for 

 him in writing that he is to remain for six years 

 absolutely under the control of the principal of 

 the school, with no interference from home or 

 elsewhere. If taken ill, he must be sent to the 

 hospital, and return to the school as soon as able. 

 Military discipline of the strictest kind is observed. 

 To show the proficiency of the institution, it is only 

 necessary to state that the Rivera, a gunboat 

 said (o be powerfully built, was constructed en- 

 tirely by the young workmen in this school, and 

 launched by them. The minister, of war and 

 marine, in his last report, alluding to the institu- 

 tion, says that its progress and usefulness are felt 

 more and more from day to day, and that, in ad- 

 dition to the Rivera constructed there, a small 

 steamer, the Pas y Trabagot, has been built, and 

 the steamers General Palleja and General Garibal- 

 di are in course of construction at the school. 



The second volume of Ai)pletons' ' Cyclopaedia 

 of American biography ' will be ready in a few 

 weeks, and the third will appear in the autumn. 



