10 
LAND & WATER 
December 21, 1916 
loss of undcr-watcr sight, and if it did, if the scale would 
then be turned in the submarine's favour ? Lord Kelvin's 
answer was that he saw no hmit to the development of 
nnder-water Iiearinp;. There was no reason why its range 
should not be indelinitely extended, and means foiuid for 
estimating, with very close accuracy, both the distance 
and even the bearing of the sound detected, and hence the 
position of the unit making the sound. " But," he added, 
"rem'Mnber that no development of under-water iiearing 
can be made available to the submarine only, so that in 
theory the submarine should be unable to get any in- 
formation about its surface enemy that its surface enemy 
t^nnot get about the submarine. Now if the low speed 
and vulnerability of the submarine are inherent and 
necessary marks of inferiority, and if secrecy is really 
the onlj'. point of superioritj' that it now possesses, will 
not the development we speak about rob it of its only 
^•irtuc and, so far from restoring the present positiop, 
actually create one that must \>c disastrous to the sub- 
marine ? Does it not stand to reason that, with under- 
water communications equal and one side haxing a 
monopoly of sight on the surface, with all the advantages 
of superior speed, of wide choice of weapons and, moi-e 
important than anything, of exact co-operation of a large 
number of imits, the days of the submarine must be 
numbered ? " 
It is, 1 think, interesting to recall this conversation 
now, and it is at any late reassuring in this respect 
that we can remain perfectly content with the recog- 
nition of the following principles : 
(1) There is no invention that can help a submarine 
in the evasion of surface craft that cannot equally help 
the surface ship in pursuit and attack. 
(2) That to rob the submarine of the capacity of secret 
approach — and, therefore, of secret passage— is to rob 
it of the only quality that enables it to fmcl the oiwn sea 
to-day. 
(,5) That there is no form of scientific in\ention, used 
by the (lermans, that has not been either anticiixited by 
British inventors or cannot be incomparably , surpassed 
by the British inventor, when occasion requires. 
If we are behind, therefore, it is a mere matter of time 
to catch up —and then to surpass. 
Arthur Pollen 
Education and the Land 
By Christopher Turnor 
IF we are to make the most of our resources and 
develop our industries, urban and rural, so that 
we maj' recuperate quickly after the war, great 
changes will have to be made in our whole system 
of education. Such as it is, the system has been of hap- 
hazard growth. If we are to maintain our position 
in the world against the very keen competition of 
nations whose people possess a higher standard of educa- 
tion than ours, it is clear that we must devise a system 
which will give iis the most efhcient citizens possible. 
And before we begin to devise we must consider and 
answer the question — what special classes of citizens do 
we stand most in need of ? 
As regards the first point, general efficiency, our 
record is not satisfactory. Under the existing system we 
turn out a larger proportion of unskilled labour and 
" casuals " than is the case in any other country. 
Although it is well known that the greater portion of 
e\ery nation lives by manual work, yet we have con- 
centrated our efforts, to quote the phrase of the Poor 
Law Commission, upon " turning out petty clerks." 
In other countries the importance of maintaining the 
rural population has be<>n clearly recognised ; but in the 
United Kingdom the tendency has been to cchuate the 
children away from the country. And this has been so 
effective that the agricultural population continues 
steadily to decline. It is indeed the one country in the 
world in which the rural population has decreased abso- 
lutely, for though the urban population of other countries 
has increased like ours at a far faster rate than the rural, 
the latter has increased too. The drift from the country 
to the town is a phenomenon observed throughout the 
world, but abroad wise measures have been taken to 
reduce it to a minimum, and the most potent of all 
measures is education. For not only can education 
properly devised produce the class of citizen the State 
stands most in need of, but it can be made to mould the 
character and guide the inclinations of the rising generation 
in whatever direction wise statesmanship may decree. 
In the past elementary education has centred round 
urban industrialism, not rural. Now we must have citizens 
with a far higher standard of education than we have 
had in the past. Also their scientific and mechanical 
capacity must be much greater. How is this to be 
achieved ? 
I'-irst, there must be a longer school life. A school-leaving 
age of fourteen without any exemption is an immediate 
essential. Secondly, because it is the height of folly to 
spend money — or rather waste it — in educating children 
■up to the age of fourteen and then leaving them without 
further instruction or mental discipline to forget most of the 
knowledge it has been so costly to give, there must be 
compulsory continuation instruction up to the age of 
eighteen. Speaking generally, this instruction should be 
given in day continuation schools, and for a period of 
not less than eight hours per week, including the time 
given to physical exercise. Thirdly, a larger number of 
children must not only be induced to go to .secondary 
schools, but also to stay there for at least a four years 
course. It is most disheartening to see the number of 
children at the age of fifteen, especially in' rural districts, 
who have entirely discontinued every sort of education. 
Fourthly, our Universities must in the future play a more 
important role. The meritorious scholar must be able 
to benefit by a University course, unhindered by 
financial considerations. This will mean a recasting of 
the system of scholarships, so that the brilliant boy and 
girl, no matter how poor their parents, can obtain the 
highest grades of instruction. 
So much, briefly, for the machinery. Great alterations 
are also needed in the methods and the direction of 
teaching. The manual side in our elementary schools 
must be rapidly developed, for it is only by giving to 
manual instruction its proper place in the curriculum 
that a full and complete g>neral education can be secured. 
In nearly e\ery county there are already some schools 
in which manual work is admirably handled. The 
work has long passed the experimental stage, and the 
practical results are clearly to be seen. They are an all- 
round greater intelligence in the pupils, a keener interest 
in their school life, a greater power to think for them- 
selves and think correctly, a better grasp of circumstances, 
a mechanical turn of mind and the ability to use theii 
hands. Above all, where the manual method is properly 
used the dull child, whose intelligence would never be 
stirred by mere 'lextbook work, has his interest aroused 
by doing and making things, and his intelligence gradually 
awakens. Further, tlie parents can see the things made 
by their children at school and notice their increasing 
" handiness," and so they become themselves interested 
in the school life of their children — a fact which in a 
country where the rank and file takes so little interest 
in education is most important. Woodwork, gardening, 
practical drawing, are all important subjects of manual 
mstruction. 
The case of the girls must not be overlooked. Fvery 
elementary school should give instruction in homecraft 
and homemaking. It is essential for English women to 
be better housewives than they too often are at present. 
They must know how to do things. They must learn to 
be thrifty — and this they can be taught at school, for 
it will be in the power of the future housewives to render 
the nation most valuable help in its recuperation after 
the war. Above all things they must be taught hygiene, 
and gain some knowledge of the upbringing of children. 
To make good the losses in human and material wealth 
caused by the war, it is vitally im])ortant that every child 
should have a chance of growing up into a healthy and 
