V.-Cities and counties from which pupils were received during the official year ending County or city. District of Algoma.. 30th September, 1899. 31230 10 66 Dufferin. 1 66 Peel 66 Perth 66 1 Prince Edward Prescott Renfrew 1 Stratford.. 66 Lennox North-West Territory. *Manitoba.. *British Columbia. MY DEAR SIR,-I beg to again present the annual report of the physician to the Ontario Institute for the Blind for the year ending September 30th, 1899. The general health for the year has been good. Principal Dymond was confined to the house for some weeks in the early part of the year with a severe attack of influenza complicated with a sharp broncho-pneumonia. By the aid of a wonderful physique and by the able assistance of J. W. Digby, Esq., M.D., we were enabled to baffle the disease and in the early spring he was restored to perfect health. In October and November there was an outbreak of diphtheria of a mild type. In all there were six cases and all made good recoveries. Antitoxin was used in treatment and also as an immunizing agent with remarkable effect. In March of 1899 an old and faithful employee, Henry Kerr, was obliged to stop work and died in May of acute tuberculosis. With these few exceptions the health of the officers, pupils and employees has been exceptional, the pupils particularly thriving because of the regular life and careful management of the Institution. I have the honor to be, Sir, Brantford, October 8th, 1899. Your obedient servant, JOHN A. MARQUIS, Acting Pyhsician. LITERARY EXAMINERS' REPORT. TO DR. CHAMBERLAIN, Inspector of Prisons, Charities, etc., for Ontario. SIR, -We have the honor to submit for your consideration the following report of the results of the examination of the literary classes in the Institution for the Instruc tion of the Blind at Brantford for the year 1898-9. The examination was held on the 6th, 7th and 8th of June, a little later than usual The weather was fine but warm and the spacious grounds around the Institution were looking their very best. Within, everything was, as usual, clean and orderly and the tone and management all that could be desired. The examination this year presented some novel features deserving of a passing notice here and which are a concession to certain demands of the "new" education. In addition to the purely literary work, classes were examined in Domestic Science, Typewriting, etc. The results were as follows: (a) MR. WICKEN'S CLASSES. I. Arithmetic.-Class B. -A bright active class of boys and girls who have been during the year, learning all about fractions and have mastered them fairly well. They certainly do understand their work and do it with speed and accuracy. Of course all the work is done mentally and an examiner has to use judgment in giving questions that involve the principles under consideration but do not contain quantities of such magnitude as would make them too difficult for mental operations. The questions given would be considered too difficult for mental arithmetic for pupils of the same age in our public schools, yet these blind pupils seemed to regard them as fair. II. Geography.-Class A.-The work of this class in this subject was Asia. The pupils have a very correct and comparatively full knowledge of the character of the continent, the countries that compose it, its peoples, their modes of government, religions and customs The productions of the different countries have been well mastered and also the exports of each. An examiner can easily see that the knowledge is new, late changes and late occurrences in the countries have been noted. The political geography of Asia is well understood, and some of its features seemed decidedly interesting to them. The average of the seventeen pupils was 83 per cent. III. Writing.-Class A.—To test their ability to write legibly and to arrange their writing in proper order, the pupils were assigned a business letter and some business forms. The writing is legible. Of course it must be judged by a standard of its own, for it differs in so many ways from the writing of seeing pupils that to judge it by the standards we adopt in determining the character of the latter would be unfair. The form in which the correspondence was got up showed careful teaching. IV. Type Writing.-A class of four young ladies. They have attained a very fair speed and write a very fair copy. The typewriter seems to be very popular. Its use gives the pupil a degree of independent action that is beneficial, apart from the benefit derived from the ability to use it. V. Grammar-Class B. Nine members-Limit: Etymology, Simple Analysis, Parts of speech. Class has a satisfactory knowledge of words and their classification. Knows the parts of speech and their inflections and can analyze simple sentences readily and parse with facility. VI. Reading.-Class A. Eleven in class. Point Print. Selections from Bryant The reading is very fairly done with good expression and generally correct emphasis Four or five excel. VII. Bible Class.—Boys, A. Eighteen in number. The Old Testament was pretty thoroughly reviewed. They showed a satisfactory knowledge of the Pentateuch, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, etc. They also know something of the Maccabean rule and of Greek and Roman domination. (b) MISS GILLEN'S CLASSES. I. Geography.-Class B.-The class was examined pretty thoroughly on the geography of the United States and South America with a slight review of the West Indies. We made the United States the chief part of the examination, and found they were able to state with great accuracy the positions of all the States, their chief towns, the water system of each and the topography of each State generally. The imports and exports and their relations commercially to us are well understood. The same system was pursued with South America with excellent results. II. Canadian History.-This is quite a large class, 26 in all. Their limit is from 1763 to the present time. The class has mastered very well the chief events of this period. Their answers are correct but brief. No important event has been overlooked, and many of the pupils have a pretty good idea of the chief men in Canadian history. With the great majority of the class I am sure Miss Gillen must have a very pleasant time, as they seem to appreciate her efforts. III. Type Writing-Miss Gillen has one pupil in this subject. She did very good work. When she gets the confidence, that practice is sure to bring, she will do very well. IV. Bible Class A.-This class is composed of eighteen senior girls. They have pursued a very thorough course in Bible study, comprehending in part, the history of the Bible, its principal manuscripts, principal versions, a sketch of Jewish history; the books of the Bible and their authors, and a very complete study of the life of Christ as contained in the Gospels. The tone of the class is excellent, becoming the subject taught and showing the influence of a wise, careful and judicious teacher. There can be no question of the utility of this knowledge if considered merely from a literarly standpoint. While the lessons drawn from the lives of the greatest of men and their teaching must have a benefical moral effect. V. Arithmetic.-Class 6.—14 in class. Limit: Definitions, tables, examples from these and problems Pupils know definitions and tables well and can solve practical problems based on the latter with very fair facility and accuracy. Good tone. The VI. English Grammar.-Class A-Class of fourteen. Limit: History of English language, Review of principal divisions of grammar, False Syntax, Synonyms members of this class evinced a satisfactory knowledge of the history of the English tongue from the date of the Venerable Bede down, the various changes it has undergone, the influx and in fluence of foreign elements, its usefulness, force and range as a vehicle of thought at the present time. Several rather difficult passages were analyzed and the words parsed. The result, as a whole, was very satisfactory. VII. Writing-Class D. A large class. Simple words and sentences. There is quite a number of good writers in the class and their work is legible and done with facility. VIII. English History-Twenty five pupils. Limit of work: From the end of the "Wars of the Roses" to the "Revolution," 1688. The examinati on was thorough and rather minute, embracing most of the principal events, the principal men, the advance of literature, the changes in religion, manners and customs, and the constitutional changes that distinguished that eventful period. The answering was generally good, prompt and accurate, and indicated that much time and care had been devoted to the instruction of the class IX. English Literature.-Eighteen in class, the most advanced pupils of the Institution. Except in relation to Shakespeare the examination this year was confined to the writers of the 19th century. Something of the lives of the principal authors and a brief notice of their most noted productions were gone over. Longfellow's "Hyperion," and Coleridge's "Cruise of the Ancient Mariner" had been particularly studied. The Shakesperian play this year was "Julius Cæsar." Incidentally the other Roman plays were touched upon. Of Julius Cæsar the pupils evinced a satisfactory knowledge. They were |