18 J. B. CLELAND. 
children healthy in body, normal in mentality, and original 
in initiative. Mixing with the parents and in the surround- 
ines of the home, they assimilate the acquired knowledge 
of their parents, and acquire that touch of individuality 
that must be lacking to a great extent in the barrack-sys- 
tem. It is recognised that State children develop better 
and more naturally in the home surroundings of foster- 
parents than in reformatories. Now the flat system is a 
half-way house to the barrack-system. Families live, one 
piled on the other in layers, like the Chinamen in the 
steerage of an Eastern-going vessel. The seclusiveness of 
family life is lessened from the intimate proximity of 
neighbours, whilst the children home from school have no 
garden to play in nor free scope for their many activities. 
How the difficulty can be overcome is one for legislators to 
decide. Attention may also be called to the health value 
of large gardens round houses, and no municipal legisla- 
tion should exist which tends to make it unduly costly for 
homes to be surrounded by adequate air spaces. 
The Commonwealth Advisory Council of Science and 
Industry—The permanent establishment of the Institute 
of Science and Industry has not yet been accomplished. 
The Advisory Council, however, has continued its excellent 
work of initiation, supervision and direction, and it behoves 
all science workers to aid, in every possible way, investiga- 
tions of such national importance now being carried out 
under its auspices. It seems plainly to be the duty of any- 
one, with information, ideas or suggestions that may be of 
value, to place these, even though unsolicited, unreservedly 
and immediately at the disposal of the Council. The value 
of team-work, especially in unravelling difficult problems, 
ean hardly be over-emphasised, whilst batteries of workers, 
in cordial co-operation and representing all branches of 
knowledge possibly having a bearing on the question at 
