“CORRESPONDENCE. 565 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
—_————___ 
OXFORD CHALK. 
To the Editor. 
Sir,—ln my paper on the Geology of New Zealand (“ Quart. 
Jour. Geol. Soc.” Vol. XLI. p. 205) I say that I could find no Forami- 
nifera in the Oxford chalk. When I wrote this I had only examined 
the chalk in powder in the ordinary way, and saw no traces of 
Foranunifera, although Coccoliths were abundant. However, I kave 
lately prepared some thin sections of the chalk for microscopical 
examination, and in them I find Poraminifera, or impressions of 
Foraminifera, scattered sporadically through the rock, but only in 
small numbers. 
F. W. Hurtoy. 
Christchurch, 1st Oct., 1885. 
SCIENCE TEACHING. 
~— 
The importance of Science Teaching in schools and colleges has 
received an unusual amount of discussion at the late meetings of the 
British and American Associations for the advancement of science. 
While a cry has been made for more science in place of the former 
exclusive predominance of classics, there is a strong feeling abroad 
among those who are thoroughly imbued with the scientific spirit, 
that the thing which goes by the name of science teaching is very 
often of little value. The examination “curse” as it may almost be 
termed is chiefly blamed for this result. In this Colony, the 
“popular ” teaching of science is being persistently cried up by those 
who ought to know better, and lectures and “testing classes” are 
being got up all over the country at considerable public expense. 
‘The empirical knowledge thus diffused no doubt does good in some 
eases by inciting to the further pursuit of learning, but in far more 
cases it does evil, leading numbers to the idea that they are acquiring 
“scientific” knowledge. We hold that one of the first principles to 
be learned by any one desirous of acquiring such knowledge is that 
“‘there is no royal road to learning.” ‘“ Popular science” is a fallacy 
and a humbug, and the sooner people learn this the better for them. 
Our readers will probably not thank us for an editorial disquisition on 
the subject, but we are sure that somc extracts from important recent 
utterances on it will prove valuable. We shall deal with the British 
Association report first. 
In his opening address to the Mathematical and Physical 
Science section Prof. G. Chrystal says:—......... “Let us 
«confine ourselves for the present to the most elementary of all the 
