SCIENCE DEMONSTRATION IN SCHOOLS. 563 
very little, if anything, to develop the intelligence of the children, 
but was directly calculated to defeat that object by generating 
in a large proportion of cases a positive distaste for intellectual 
attainments. The Liverpool School Board, as soon as they had 
any schools of their own to manage, were, like most other 
School Boards, greatly impressed with the necessity of providing 
a somewhat more varied curriculum. They also felt strongly 
the importance of introducing some subject. specially calculated 
to awaken and exercise the observing faculties of the children, 
and, by making this subject common to all their schools, to 
render it a distinctive feature in their educational system. With 
this object, they sought and obtained the valuable advice of 
Prof. Huxley, Col. Donnelly, and other gentlemen of eminence 
in the world of Science. The result would, if they had felt 
themselves entirely free, have probably been the adoption of 
Lilementary Physics for both boys and girls ; but, in view of the 
provisions of the New Code as to Government grants, and of 
the importance of having the work tested by independent ex- 
amination, it was decided not to go outside of the subjects 
provided for by the Code. Under these circumstances, the ' 
Board, at the suggestion of the gentlemen before mentioned, 
ultimately selected ‘Mechanics’ for boys, and ‘Domestic Eco- 
nomy ’ for girls, as the subjects most suitable for their purpose,— 
the definition of these subjects given in the New Code being of 
such a nature as to allow of the instruction being considerably 
expanded in the one case in the direction of Elementary Physics, 
and in the other in that of Elementary Chemistry, Physics, and 
Physiology. In reference to the system of instruction, it was, 
by the same advice, decided to absolutely abandon the use of 
text-books by the scholars, and to rely upon oral instruction, 
accompanied by, or rather explaining, appropriate illustrations 
and experiments.” ) 
The general idea of the scheme thus suggested was first 
worked out in detail in Liverpool, but was speedily adopted 
by the Birmingham School Board, and by them still further 
developed. If, in what follows, I lay more stress upon the 
Birmingham work, it will be simply because I have had the 
very great advantage of seeing the system in full work in the 
latter town under the guidance of my friend, the Rev. W. H. 
Crosskey, Chairman of the School Management Committee of 
the Birmingham School Board, and also of Mr Davis, their 
energetic clerk. 
The special feature of the scheme, and one which I regard 
as of the very highest importance in connection with it is, 
that these Science-demonstrations are given, not by the or- 
dinary staff of the school, but by a specially appointed expert, 
whose sole duty it is to go round from school to school, giving 
practically the same lesson in each one, until all have been 
visited. The apparatus necessary is kept, and the experiments 
are prepared, at a central laboratory, built at one of the 
schools, about which I may say more presently; and whatever 
