such circulars to boys at school and youths at college. Lord Herschell in introducing the bill said its object was to render penal the sending of what were known as touting, betting circulars to boys at school and youths at college; and it proceeded upon the assumption, in this case quite justifiable, that the receivers at schools and colleges were prima facie persons who were infants and known to be such, leaving it to the sender to show that in any particular case the person to whom a circular was sent was not an infant. He added that if he received encouragement he should be prepared to extend the scope of the bill by including the sending of money-lending circulars. (Schoolm.)

Germany.-The school board of Berlin has ordered the purchase of an ample number of cuspidors for use in the schools. The committee on science and medicine had recommended this on the ground that tuberculosis (consumption) is transmitted through germs in the air, hence that the expectorations of sick children are apt to cause contagion if not confined to spittoons filled with water. The vessels are placed in every class room, on stair landings and corridors, and are attended to twice a day. (Allg. Dr Lztg.)

England.-In 1849 a royal commission investigated the accounts of the eight sc-called public schools of England, namely: Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, Westminster, Merchant Taylors. The report of this commission revealed the following facts: Column I states the income of the principals; column 2. that of the first assistants; column 3 states the amount it takes to keep a boy at these schools a year:

a This signifies only the tuition fee per year. In all the other cases board and lodging are included. (Zeitschr für Geeundhpfe.)

Various alphabets.-The Sandwich Islands alphabet has 12 letters; the Burmese, 19; Italian, 20; Bengalese, 21; Hebrew, Syrian, Chaldee, and Samaritan, 22 each; French, 23; Greek, 24; Latin, 25; German, Dutch, and English, 26 each; Spanish and Sclavonic, 27 each; Arabic, 28; Persian and Coptic, 32; Georgian, 35; Armenian, 38; Russian, 41; Muscovite, 43; Sanskrit and Japanese, 50; Ethiopic and Tartarian have 202 each.

Germany.-School gardens, of which there are more than 9,000 in Austria, are being laid out in different parts of Germany. Their object is to give methodi cal instruction in the cultivation of fruit trees and to be used in the teaching of botany.

The minister of education has sent a notice to the provincial councils, requesting them not to refer candidates for positions as school superintendents to him, but themselves to take the initiative in recommending suitable persons to him. It is of extreme importance," he writes, "for the proper development of edu cation in elementary schools, that the responsible office of school superintendent should be only in the hands of especially trustworthy men, those who have proved themselves to be efficient elementary schoolmasters. This applies equally to masters who have enjoyed a university education. I expect that the local authorities will not restrict themselves to an examination of those candidates who present themselves for election, but will, without regard to expected vacancies, keep themselves conscientiously informed of specially suitable candidates. The school inspections, and an understanding with the provincial school board, will offer ample opportunity to discover such persons." (Lond. Jl. of Ed.)

How to treat stutterers.-Dr. Schellenberg, in Wiesbaden, gives the following advice to teachers as to how to treat stutterers:

(1) Treat the stutterer most kindly, and try to win his entire confidence. (2) Prevent other children from making fun of his trouble, and if necessary punish them for it. (3) Infuse him with courage and self-reliance. (4) During the first few weeks of school ask him no questions in recitation; then begin with such easy questions that he can answer without reflection and hesitation. (5) Direct your attention away from the stutterer as soon as he betrays confusion and disquie tude in his attempt at speaking; repeat your question when he has regained

composure. (6) Urge him to assume a straight posture when speaking. (7) See to it that while speaking he breathes through the mouth, not through the nose, and that he takes a deep breath when he comes to a period or other convenient full stop. He should also take breath before he attempts to answer a question. (8) Advise him to begin his speech slowly and in a lower pitch than usual. (9) If the first word of his sentence begins with a vowel, let him begin that vowel faintly and increase it in strength thus, A-sia. If the word begins with a consonant, let him blur over it to reach the vowel, dwell on that, and then go on thus, ba-thing. (10) The stutterer must learn to run his words into one another so that no hiatus occurs, which would, of course, facilitate or cause stuttering. He should at first speak thus: "A-ll'swellthatendswell," until he has to some extent mastered his infirmity.

These points are exceptionally well taken, and the present writer can confirm them, since he has found them of excellent use in the school room. The English language does not breed so many stutterers as the German, but there are still cases enough in our schools to make advice like the foregoing welcome to teachers of little experience, and of them, alas! we have more than is desirable. (Allg. D. Lztg.)

Saxony. In the Kingdom of Saxony the lower schools have on an average 73 pupils to the teacher. The greatest number is found in inspection-District Loebau, namely, 95; then Chemnitz, with nearly 94; then Schwarzenberg, 92, and Marienberg, 91. The smallest number is found in Leipzig, where it is 43; in Dresden itis 44; other districts have respectively 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, and 74 pupils to the teacher. There are still 128 schools of three grades with but one teacher, and averaging 132 pupils. In 1,117 continuation schools (post-graduate courses of elementary schools) instruction is given all the year round; in 712 only during the winter. (Allg. D. Lztg.)

Germany.-The Society for the Promotion of Public Games for the young and for the people in Germany, which was founded in May in Berlin, has already begun to make itself felt. Committees have been formed under the direction of Dr. Eitner, of Görlitz, and Dr. Schmidt, of Bonn. The latter, who is also a member of the Committee of the German Gymnastic Society, announces that the latter society is ready to join in active cooperation for the promotion of healthgiving games for the people. The minister of education, Graf Zedlitz, has expressed his heartiest sympathy in the aims of the society. In June, 1891, a course of instruction in public-school games was held in Görlitz for the benefit of the teachers. Dr. Eitner and Herr Jordan, the head teacher of gymnastics, conducted the classes, which were numerously attended.

Görlitz, a very progressive town in the province of Silesia, which was one of the first cities in Germany which introduced manual training, again comes to the front with normal courses for teachers in public games. Public play, supplementary to gymnastic exercises, has recently become an object of much attention of the Government as well as educational circles. (German Ed. Press.) France.-Levasseur, the noted French statistician, makes the following statements concerning the population in France: France (or Gaul) had at the time of Cæsar 6,700,000 inhabitants, estimated according to the size and number of Gallic tribes. Roman Gaul during the time of the Antonines is said to have had 8,500,000, but this is a mere hypothesis. At the time of Charlemagne Gaul is said to have had only 5,500,000 inhabitants, according to Irmions Polyptique, but 8,000,000 or 9,000,000 according to an estimate made at the time. During the first half of the fourteenth century Gaul had 20,000,000 or 22,000,000, estimated by means of the number of hearths. At the end of the sixteenth century Froumenteau credited Gaul with 20,000,000 inhabitants. In 1700 the number is said to have been 21,136,000, estimated in the "Memoirs of an administrative officer." In 1715 the estimate was 18,000,000. Numerous positive statements go to show that in 1770 the number of inhabitants was 24,500,000, and in the great memorable year of the revolution, 1789, it was stated to be 26,000,000. In 1801 a rectified census proved the inhabitants of France to be 27,347,800; in 1866, 38,067,064 (with Alsace-Lorraine); in 1872, 36,102,921 (without Alsace-Lorraine), and in 1886, 37,930,759.

Germany. Recently statistics have been published concerning suicides of children in Prussia. The Neue Freie Presse of Vienna on May 26 published a statement which permits a comparison between Prussia and Italy. Since in population the two countries are nearly alike, a comparison seems just. The cases mentioned are all committed by children below 15 years of age.

ED 90-77

Notice that in Prussia shame, fear of punishment, drives children to commit suicide, while in Italy the strongest motive is family or home trouble. The figures for Italy appear to be somewhat unreliable. The last column, particularly, looks suspiciously regular.

15.-MUSEUMS IN SCHOOL.

France.-In the year 1888, at the general teachers' meeting in Frankfurt-amMain, a speaker claimed that every school should have its own local museum, in which should be kept not only the tools of all the trades and industries, but also the raw material necessary for those trades, as well as the finished products in their development from the smallest and simplest beginnings to their com pletion. This demand, made in all earnest, has been recognized as just in France for some years, at least partly. The school museums in that country (called local museums) form an indispensable means for object lessons. Their establishment was an unavoidable consequence of universal application of objective teaching, which had been advocated by such men as Montaigne, Rabelais, Fenelon, and Rousseau and others, especially after the great revival of popular elementary instruction (since 1871). Men of science and educational leaders were elequent in advocating the teaching of visible things and processes in preference to empty words.

The French school museums contain natural and art productions which are suitable for offering clear concepts of things surrounding the child. All these objects are systematically and methodically arranged, and adapted to each grade of school. It is most instructive to learn the history of these museums. Their beginning dates back to the year 1867. At the "World's Exposition" in Paris a few collections of objects were exhibited and Madame Pape-Carpentier gave lectures in which she dwelt on the good use to which these collections might be put in schools. This suggestion fell upon fertile soil, and when in 1873 M. Buisson reported upon the Vienna Exposition he could already state, that France was not behind other countries in matters of school museums, and that some provinces (departments) possessed more than a hundred of them filled with agricul tural and industrial objects. Their number has increased rapidly. It is noteworthy that most of them had their origin in the initiative of the teachers who began, aided by their pupils, to collect models and natural objects, and arrange them systematically. In 1890 France had over 14,000 school museums, which are to be distinguished from simple collections of beetles, mineral and the like, such as may be found in almost any school where natural history is the hobby of the teacher.

Legal provisions for the establishment of school museums are not in existence in France. It was not a question of introducing a new branch of study or a new method of teaching, but simply a question of procuring the means for teaching object lessons. The authorities merely issued some suggestions for managing the instructions and exhibited a lively interest in them. A new impetus was given the idea of school museums through the report of M. Buisson, mentioned above, in which the various collections for school purposes exhibited in Vienna were minutely described. This report did much to awaken interest among local authorities, so that a few years later in 1882-all the inspectors (superintendents) reporting on the schools of their districts and provinces were unanimous in acknowledging the usefulness of these collections for elementary school instruction.

Through public lectures to teachers on the subject of objective teaching, M. Buisson, in 1878, succeeded in awakening great enthusiasm among teachers. On

returning home they resolved to follow the example set and establish museums. Soon after there was scarcely a province of France (department in which teachers did not from the rostrum and through the press agitate the introduction of object lessons and school museums.

Most of the museums were established by teachers and pupils themselves, who bore the expense; hence material aid on the part of the state was not necessary. Some communities defrayed the cost of original establishment, others brought collections offered by private citizens. All were agreed upon the principle that instruction in things without having the things to show is irrational, and that both in the kindergarten and primary school the same method of object lessons should be followed which a mother applies in order to create ideas, namely, by means of objects and not words. The child must be led to know the objects within its vicinity distinctly. This is best accomplished by means of the intuitive method for whose application the reading lesson offers the best opportunity. During a reading lesson a great variety of objects are mentioned, and if they can be given into the children's hands attention is secured, the mind is being sharpened, the power of judgment developed in short, the child is accustomed to distinct seeing and clear comprehension. The teacher is enabled to abridge verbal explanations where he has objects to show; he can thereby make his lessons more interesting, banish the ghost of indifference from his class room and keep alive the joy in work. After the children have left school they are not apt to lose the desire to observe, to reflect, and to judge. If the school museum had no other result than this that one alone would justify its establishment and maintenance. A school museum offers no little advantage also to the study of language; the child learns to express its ideas better; its vocabulary is increased more rapidly; it replies more fluently when it sees and handles things, and it certainly remembers technical terms more easily than in the utter absence of objects.

Experience has shown all this in schools where museums are kept, while in schools which are without museums the teachers have great difficulty in accustoming their pupils to a clear and distinct expression and flow of thought. It is generally considered best to have the museums established by the pupils themselves under the guidance of their teachers, aided by friends of popular education outside of the school. Care must be taken to proceed methodically, for it is not a question of preparing for exhibition some apparatus or objects of luxury or curios," which must not be touched from fear of breaking or injuring them. The museum should contain those objects which illustrate the teacher's instruction; objects should be selected which cost little or nothing and may easily be procured by the pupils. The more the pupils participate in gathering the objects to be placed in the museum, the more intense will be the interest in the lessons, for every one wishes to view the objects his comrade has contributed. If these suggestions are followed the museum will be made by the school, for the school. It was a wise remark of M. Buisson when he said: "The great advantage of a school museum is, not in having it, but in making it."

In order that the objects brought to school be safely placed where they are protected from dust and remain visible and easily accessible, a good-sized cupboard with glass doors is recommended. In case the school authorities refuse to procure it, an appeal is made to a friend of the school, or to some wealthy parents of pupils. Such an appeal is rarely made in vain in France. In most schools a cupboard is used large enough to accommodate the juvenile library of the schools, as well as the museum of objects.

At first mistakes were made in getting school museums. Some teachers went too far in their zeal by collecting objects which stand in no relation to elementary instruction. Others, not intending to be surpassed, bought and procured more or less complete collections, instead of letting their pupils bring the objects as they were needed. It is evident that the true purpose aimed at was missed. Large museums which dazzle the eye of the children are injurious rather than useful in school; for since the children do not know all the objects exhibited they care little for them, and interest turns into indifference. Costly museums in which the "wonderful objects on exhibition" bear the label "Hands off!" are not in their proper place in the elementary school, which is to be a workshop for mental work. Neither will ready-made collections suffice; they serve for decoration more than for actual study.

However, these mistakes were soon rectified. The teachers now procced methodically, generally classifying the objects according to the natural kingdoms. In Havre, one of the most progressive cities in France in educational affairs, another classification has been adopted. The school museums in that city are

divided into: (1) Objects of food; (2) objects of clothing; (3) objects pertaining to the dwelling; (4) miscellaneous objects. Each group has a number of divisions. This classification has recently been adopted by other schools, because it seemed more practical and suitable than the other, affording an easier finding of objects and also an easier cataloguing.

It goes without saying that the teacher is the chief custodian. He must not refuse a single object, in order not to hurt the feelings of his pupils. He must urge them all to bring objects for exhibition, so that they are able to say "our museum," not "the museum."

A chief characteristic of the school museum is that it is never complete. The pupils must know that there is always something missing. When, during geography lesson, for instance, it should be said," Such and such a thing is needed to fill a vacancy in the museum," the pupils either individually or collectively procure it. Thus the museum remains an object of interest. Of course, every object found worthy of preservation is to be described, numbered, labeled, and placed in its proper compartment. The name of the donor may be attached, and this naturally incites further efforts. Many objects are collected during excursions which the teacher makes with his school into the country and the mountains, through factories, along wharves, and through parks. Thus it becomes possible to gather in these school museums all the objects illustrating the natural and artificial products of the town or village in which the school is situated. Commerce, various industries, agriculture, forestry, all are represented.

The law of July 27, 1882, prescribes for the elementary schools, "instruction in the elements of agriculture, horticulture, physics, and natural history." Though the mere rudiments is all that can be expected, the study of physics requires some apparatus. Some normal schools induce their students to get practice in making such apparatus themselves in their school workshops and then allow them to take these objects with them, if they are appointed to a teachership, to use them as a ground stock at their collection of apparatus. In the Grenoble Normal School every student is required to make a certain number of objects for illustrating the study of physics. The State pays for the material about 10 francs (or $2) per student.

To the legitimate contents of a good school museum belong pictures, charts, photographs, etc., for they aid instruction essentially. Generally, pictorial illustrations play an important rôle in French school instruction. Recently magic lanterns (solar and calcium light cameras) are used, owing to the active work of the "Society for Promotion of Object Lessons." These cameras are sold at very reasonable prices.

If the museums are thus provided with all the necessary and useful objects, selected according to pedagogical principles and local circumstances, an agricultural population will have a different collection in its schools from that of an industrial population, and a girls' school is apt to have a different collection from a boys' school. It goes without saying that the institution will be a prolific source of incentive to study.

The idea of school museums is not a new one. It was first carried out in Germany, but at present France has left Germany far behind in fostering and supporting the institutions. Victor Cousin once said: "The true greatness of a nation does not consist in not imitating others, but on the contrary, in borrowing good ideas from them and adapting them to the existing conditions of the culture at home." (After L. Fleischer.)

16.-NATIONAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS.

Argentine Republic.-When the Argentines freed themselves in 1810 from the yoke under which they had bowed for three centuries there was practically no education in the Republic. There certainly was a somewhat decayed university (for Spaniards and Indians) founded in 1622 at Cordoba, but its influence was as valueless as its work. The early history of the Republic was hardly favorable to the establishment of a regular educational system, but the clouds were gradually clearing away; and from the promulgation of the constitution of 1853, which received its final form in 1860, the progress of public instruction, until the temporary financial disturbances of a year ago, has been uninterrupted. There are 2 universities, Cordoba and Buenos Ayres (1821), 15 secondary schools, 35 normal schools, 2,396 primary schools, and 831 private schools. Primary instruction is free and obligatory for all children between the ages of 6 and 14 years of ages. Urban districts of between 1,000 and 1,500 inhabitants and rural districts of from