1 A. A classroom is considered to be sufficiently lighted by daylight' in all parts in which a portion of the sky is visible by the scholar; by artificial light when small type known as brilliant can be read in any part of the room at the distance of 18 inches from the normal eyes. In place of blinds a sliding screen covering only part of the window should be arranged so that sunlight may be prevented falling directly on the scholars, and that with a minimum loss of daylight. Windows should always be carried as near to the ceiling as possible so as to secure the largest amount of sky. The height of the window-sill from the floor also requires careful consideration. It should never be so low as to cause dazzling of the scholars' eyes.

The window-glass should be perfectly clear without any muffling or clouding, not only on account of securing the largest amount of light, but to save the check to the eye-nerve of thwarted vision. Windows ought not to be broken up by bars where these can be avoided; and plateglass is preferable, where possible, as being a good non-conductor. It retains the heat of the fire in the room, and also takes the heat out of the sunlight entering the room. Careful attention should be paid to the ratio between window area and floor space.

Reflected light from the ceiling becomes well dispersed and is steady. 2 A. The correct position for a child, when sitting at a desk to write, is such that his feet may be firmly planted on the floor or foot-rest, the seat of his chair reaching forward to his knee, the back of the seat supporting both middle spine and shoulders. The front of the desk should come well over the knees and be at such a height that both arms can be laid on it easily without raising the shoulders. The slope of the desk should be about 30°, and this position will be found to bring the paper at about the distance of from 18 to 20 inches from the eyes of the normally proportioned child.

In reading the slope of the book should be 45°; and this exercise should for the most part be taken sitting rather than standing in order not to dissipate nervous energy from intelligence and eyesight; and great liberty of movement must be allowed within these requirements, either when standing or sitting, to avoid strain upon the delicate nervous organism.

Desks and seats must be so placed that light falls from above (dispersed light causing no shadows) or from the left. Light must be steady and not flickering, and must fall upon the work and not upon the eyes of the worker.

3 A. School books are considered to be appropriate and well printed when the paper is thick enough to prevent the ink showing through; the colour of the paper slightly toned white, not glazed; the ink a good black; the size of type pica leaded; and the length of line about four inches.

A feeling is expressed by many that school books should be 'passed' by some hygienic authority as appropriate to eyesight before being received in schools from the publishers.

Blackboards should be slated black to receive the white chalk. They should be at a maximum distance of 30 feet from the observer, should be well illuminated, and the writing upon them should be well spaced and not less than an inch depth.

Special instruments have been devised to measure exactly the amount of daylight in any part of the room.

As while hypermetropia (longsightedness) is generally congenital, myopia (shortsightedness) is generally acquired. The simple methods adopted for discovering defective eyesight in its early stages and maintaining an alertness in observing an increased deficiency are as follows:

An examination of the eyes in any case where a child appears to be stupid; tends to hold the book or object at which he is set to work too near his face; cannot see the blackboard so easily as his comrades; complains of headache, seeing 'colours,' or has watering or redness in the eye, or squints.

The examination of all children over the first standard annually by means of Snellen's letter test, or by tests of broken circles or incomplete squares. Anything more complex has been found to be misleading except when used by experts. In the use of Snellen's letter tests, daylight being variable, it is desirable to arrange a couple of argand burners or electric lights so that the types shall be thoroughly illuminated while the lights are screened from the child under observation. But it should be remembered that the test so conducted only gives the working power of those eyes under identical conditions in the schoolroom, and it should not be supposed that a less illuminated or less clearly written blackboard will be readable at a similar distance.

Children need to be taught and trained to secure for themselves proper lighting at work, and to maintain proper habits of posture, &c., with regard to light; while remembering that the habit may be the result of eye defects or defects of lighting, teachers should make a point of correcting any tendency to form a mere habit of getting objects close to the eyes, in order to protect the children against loss of eyesight in school life.

Separate classes might be arranged in large schools for high myopic cases. In all cases special attention has to be given to the myopic under the guidance of the oculist.

It might be well to recommend the appointment of a medical man skilled in eye disorders to each large school or group of schools, when all cases of defective sight should be referred to him for examination and report.

APPENDIX III.

Need for Appointment of Women-inspectors.

The Sub-Committee has confined its inquiry chiefly to the need for women-inspectors in elementary schools, in pupil teachers' centres, and in technical institutes. Information has been sought in country schools, in town schools, from head teachers, and also from inspectors. The evidence is of great interest, but naturally of limited extent. No special effort has been made to restrict inquiries to districts where women-inspectors have worked, but on the other hand it has not been possible to prosecute inquiries very widely. The general line of inquiry has been directed to obtaining authentic instances of reforms suggested by women-inspectors, and of cases where, in the opinion of the teachers, desirable reforms would have received earlier and more attention had the school been visited by a competent woman-inspector, and this under various heads as buildings,

sanitary conditions affecting both teachers and scholars, scholastic defects and difficulties, and morals.

Evidence given by inspectors has mainly referred to points in which attention has been drawn by women to such defects in girls' and infant schools, and cases in which teachers have specially sought advice and help from a woman-inspector.

An abstract is appended from a valuable letter from Miss Ravenhill covering nearly all the points of importance that have arisen in the inquiry. The correspondence with teachers, inspectors, and others has been of great interest, and the Committee only regret that it is not possible to print fuller extracts.

It should perhaps be mentioned that while not all teachers are in favour of having women-inspectors, it seems that it is usually those who work under the happiest conditions who have not felt the need. Almost all are glad of the inquiry, and express hopes that it may be acted on, though many are anxious it should not be known that they have given evidence. The need is as great, if not greater, in pupil-teachers' centres and in science schools for girls as anywhere. One woman, twelve years member of a School Board, writes that women-inspectors will be more needed under the Education Act than before.

Stress has been laid by several correspondents on the care desirable in selecting women to serve as inspectors, and the Committee wish to emphasise this point. It is most important that inspectors, whether men or women, should possess a practical knowledge of hygiene, especially as regards school structures and child-life. Some evidence of such knowledge might well be required in the future.

It is earnestly hoped that the attention, both of the Board of Education and of the new Local Education Authorities may be drawn to the importance of the subject.

Extract from Letter from Miss RAVENHILL referring to Returns
obtained by her from School Teachers.

'Instances of very serious defects in the ventilation and heating of elementary schools appear in my returns; for example, classrooms underground, of which the air is always foul, and another case where the temperature of the babies' room was rarely above 48° F. for some weeks in the winter of 1902. It is believed that a woman-inspector would be more alive than male inspectors have shown themselves to be to the deteriorating influences exercised upon health by these and similar conditions of work. A glaring example of insanitary conditions is given in a school a portion of the foundations of which stand in water: fungus grows abundantly beneath the school floor, causing an unpleasant odour, but the only steps taken to remedy the evil is the placing of lime from time to time under the floor.'

The information collected this year again, as last year, emphasises the need for and the importance of a greater diffusion among teachers and among those who have charge of schools, of a true knowledge regarding the working of the healthy body and mind. As to this knowledge required by teachers the influence of school habits and of school work

upon health, the proper care of sight and hearing and of the muscular sense and powers, the regulating of sanitary conditions in warming, lighting, ventilation, and cleanliness both of rooms and of persons, attention to clothing, safeguarding against fatigue-all these are duties for which authorities should encourage the teacher to acquire knowledge and training to undertake them adequately. Suitable instruction in the principles and practice of modern hygiene can alone equip the teacher to perform such duties intelligently. Modern hygiene utilises the sciences of chemistry, physics, and physiology, and from these it welds together an applied knowledge devoted ad hoc to the regulation of the conditions promoting health of body and determining to a large extent that of mind also. It is not the whole of the wide study of hygiene that is required for the purposes of the school teacher. It is a knowledge of hygiene devoted ad hoc to the conditions of school life. This should be regarded as a conditio sine quá non for those who have the care of children and the working management of school life. This requirement has been forgotten by the framers of the Education Acts. It is not for one moment to be thought that it is the acquirement of any medical knowledge that we are urging as necessary for the professional equipment of school teachers and inspectors. The study of chemistry, physics, and physiology is, it is true, at the basis of medicine as well as of hygiene; but the daily routine of the teacher's supervision of maintenance of health conditions in the school would not take the place of a skilled expert's advice and the opinion of the medical man required at stated intervals or as occasion arose. The former would, however, most usefully and importantly co-operate with the latter. Teachers well and practically instructed in hygiene would provide an organisation able to co-operate intelligently with medical advisers. Dr. Kerr in his recent Report as Medical Officer of the London School Board writes: The definite requirement of hygienic knowledge as part of the equipment of every teacher is a necessity if a great part of the work of this department is not to be useless in result. Praiseworthy as are the efforts of head teachers to comply with all requirements and instructions, zeal cannot replace knowledge; and until this knowledge becomes a necessity for qualification as a teacher it would be well if special importance were attached to its possession in any future appointments to the headship of departments.'

The Committee in this belief desire to urge the Association to memorialise the Education Department (1) to adopt or recognise some more thorough and practical test of a teacher's knowledge and experience of the application of health conditions in school life; (2) to protect health in school life by making practical knowledge of hygiene as applied to school life an essential qualification for those to whom it intrusts its school inspection.

The Committee desire to be reappointed, and ask to be allowed to use the unexpended portion of this year's grant.

Corresponding Societies Committee. -Report of the Committee, consisting of Mr. W. WHITAKER (Chairman), Mr. F. W. RUDLER (Secretary), Sir JOHN EVANS, Rev. J. O. BEVAN, Dr. HORACE T. BROWN, Dr. VAUGHAN CORNISH, Dr. J. G. GARSON, Mr. T. V. HOLMES, Mr. J. HOPKINSON, Professor R. MELDOLA, Dr. H. R. MILL, Mr. C. H. READ, Rev. T. R. R. STEBBING, and Professor W. W. WATTS. (Drawn up by the Secretary.)

THE Corresponding Societies Committee have to report that at their suggestion, since the last meeting, the Council of the British Association have resolved to recommend to the General Committee that the work at present entrusted to the Secretaries of the Sectional Committees under Rule 10 (p. xxxvii of the last Report) shall henceforth devolve upon the Organising Committees. The effect of this alteration will be that the Organising Committee of each Section will transmit to the Secretaries of Sections, and through these to the Secretaries of the Conference of Delegates, any recommendations bearing upon matters in which the co-operation of the Corresponding Societies is desired. It is hoped that by this means the Organising Committees will specify what local work can be usefully undertaken by the Corresponding Societies, with the view of assisting the various scientific Committees of the Association.

The Council of the Association, at the instance of a Committee which they appointed to consider the relation of the Corresponding Societies to the Association, have directed that an official invitation should be addressed to the various Societies, through the Corresponding Societies. Committee, asking them to appoint standing British Association SubCommittees to be elected by themselves with the object of dealing with all those subjects of investigation common to their Societies and to the British Association Committees, and to look after the general interests of science and scientific education throughout the provinces and provincial

centres.

For further consideration of these subjects a Conference was held on June 24 between the Committee of Council and the Corresponding Societies Committee, when it was decided that the questions raised in the Report of the Committee of Council should be brought forward for discussion at the Conference of Delegates at Southport.

The following circular-letter was accordingly addressed to the Presi dents, Secretaries, and Delegates of the various Corresponding Societies ;

'Burlington House, London, W.,
'June 24, 1903.

'DEAR SIR, -We are directed by the Council of the British Association for the Advancement of Science to suggest to your Society the advantage of securing closer co-operation with the Corresponding Societies Committee by the appointment of a Special Committee to deal with such subjects of investigation as are common to your Society and to the Committees of the British Association. Such an organisation, it is believed, might be of great use in creating and sustaining local interest in scientific work and in increasing the scientific activity of your Society,

1903.