34 
Proceedings of the Royal Society 
are showing signs of progress. The Royal English Agricultural 
Society last year set apart L.500 to be given yearly in scholarships 
to encourage instruction in the sciences bearing on agriculture. 
The Highland and Agricultural Society has this year set apart 
L.250 for a similar purpose. 
But I must here offer a word of apology for the managers of the 
English endowed schools, which, in their programmes of studies, 
made no provision whatever for science. I remember when my son 
was at one of these schools, that I went to the head master and 
ventured to hint the disappointment I felt at the want of such pro- 
vision. His answer was— “ We are obliged to suit our teaching to 
university requirements. Only certain subjects are taught at 
Oxford and Cambridge ; and we endeavour to prepare our scholars 
in the subjects taught in these universities.” 
I thought the excuse satisfactory ; but now that the old univer- 
sities have introduced science teaching, and now that new colleges 
are being established all over the land with the same view, and 
bursaries are given by societies, corporations, and associations, in 
almost every large town, these secondary endowed schools will have 
no longer an excuse for not giving science instruction ; they will 
be even under a necessity to give it for their own sakes. 
Here again, however, I have to observe that the country refused 
to wait this slow progress of school amelioration. The G-overnment, 
with the entire approval of Parliament, by means of a special 
department at Kensington, encouraged the establishment through- 
out England and Scotland of schools and classes for the teaching of 
science and art. This encouragement was and is now given by 
prizes to scholars, remuneration to teachers, and loans of apparatus 
to the schools. The result has been marvellous. The scheme has 
been in operation for only nine years. At first it was little known 
and not well understood; but now these schools are extending 
rapidly; for whilst in the year 1869, that is three years after the 
scheme was started, there were in G-reat Britain only 523 schools 
with 24,865 scholars, there were in 1874 (since which date I have 
seen no reports), 1336 schools and 53,050 scholars. 
It is also proper to mention that the national elementary schools 
which are recognised by the Education Act for England and for 
Scotland, are encouraged to include various sciences in their pro- 
