SCIENCE DEMONSTRATION IN SCHOOLS. 507 
As carried out in Birmingham, however, the duties of the 
demonstrators are by no means confined to the day lessons given 
to the boys and girls in the three stages above named. On two 
evenings in the week there are two classes held, in which 180 
pupil teachers. exhibitioners, &c., are receiving instruction in 
Chemistry, Electricity and Magnetism, Physiology, and Physio- 
graphy. 
Children who really distinguish themselvesare granted Scholar- 
ships of £10 per year (in connection with South Kensington) or 
free admissions, and come to evening classes at the new Science 
Rooms, just opened in connection with the latest school erected 
by the Board. This part of the system is now just developing 
itself; an assistant will in future be stationed at this central la- 
boratory, and selected pupils will go there to do practical work 
at fixed times. Here also is kept the store of apparatus, and 
here the experiments are prepared for the school demonstrators. 
I carefully went over the arrangements of this new laboratory, 
and was much struck with the completeness of the appliances 
for demonstrating to classes the elements of Physics and Che- 
mistry, and for encouraging actual work by the pupils themselves, 
The small lecture-room on these premises for the selected pupils, 
under-teachers, &c., is quite a little gem of its kind. I may, 
perhaps, take this opportunity of remarking that all the new 
Board Schools in Birmingham are built upon what is known as 
the class-room system, which greatly facilitates the Science 
demonstration. 
Further, Mr. Harrison, the chief demonstrator, devotes at 
least one evening per week in the winter months to giving ele- 
mentary popular lectures at the various schools, illustrated with 
photographs and transparencies projected by a very good bi-unial 
lantern presented to the Board for such purposes by Mr, Tangye, 
of Tangye Brothers, who also gave £250 to found Scholarships. 
Of this work Mr. Harrison says, “The effect in improving the 
general intelligence of the children, in attracting them to school, 
and in improving the regularity of the attendance, is, I believe, 
unquestioned.” I may add that, for such purposes, the series of 
lantern photographs illustrating Physics, already published by 
York and Son, and the series illustrating Biology, at present in 
course of publication, are especially suited. 
In this connection, also, I ought to mention that, acting upon 
a deficiency in their system pointed out by H.M. Inspector for 
the Birmingham district, the Board have just issued “ Sugges- 
tions regarding the preparation of progressive schemes of object- 
lessons, in boys’, girls’, and infants’ schools,” in order to help the 
teachers to prepare the scholars of the first four standards syste- 
matically for the Science courses which they enter upon when 
the 4th standard is passed. The number of new lessons in 
any one year is fixed at 36; and their aim is “to place the 
child in intelligent connection with the phenomena by which it 
is surrounded,” The lessons, however, are confined to “objects,” 
