MATHEMATICS The Theory of Integration. By L. C. YOUNG. (5s. net. Cambridge University Press.) " It is a difficult matter for those engaged in school teaching to keep in touch with modern developments, partly from lack of leisure but more from difficulty of access to suitable literature. At a meeting of the Mathematical Association a year ago, Prof. Hardy said: I hope that members realize that, in order to be a serious mathematician, it is necessary to have some knowledge of modern theories of integration. To be a serious mathematician and not to use the Lebesgue integral is to adopt the attitude of the old man in a country village who refuses to travel in a train." Hitherto there has been no English text-book which dealt with these ideas in a sufficiently simple and compact form to be of any real service to school teachers. This gap has now been filled by this admirable tract, the latest of a well-known and authoritative series. It is not easy reading, but the tract assumes no previous specialized knowledge, so that any trained mathematician who is prepared to take the trouble can master its contents. The path of the reader would be smoothed if, in a future edition, the arguments could be illustrated more frequently by examples. Differential Geometry of Three Dimensions. By Prof. C. E. WEATHERBURN. (12s. 6d. net. Cambridge University Press.) The vector calculus is full of interest, and no more difficult to master than any other form of mathematical apparatus. In this volume the author sets out to show that it can be used to simplify the treatment and condense the presentation of the theory of differential geometry. He has done much pioneer work, and has broken new ground. The interest of the subject-matter and the originality of treatment should attract many readers. Preliminary Geometry. By H. MCKAY. (25. Oxford University Press.) A well-arranged course of examples in drawing and arithmetical calculations. As a preliminary introduction to the subject-matter of geometry, this course should be valuable, for it makes very little demand on powers of reasoning. Elementary Book-Keeping: For Day and Evening Classes. By D. MACARA. (Is. 6d. Chambers.) The Story of Reckoning in the Middle Ages. By FLORENCE A. YELDHAM. (4s. 6d. net. Harrap.) Chambers's Practical Concentric Arithmetics. Book VIII. Edited by W. WOODBURN. (Without Answers, Cloth, 2s. Limp Cloth, Is. 9d. Chambers.) Pitman's Mental and Intelligence Tests in Commonsense Arithmetic. By F. F. POTTER. (Books I, II, Pupil's Books, 4d. each. Teacher's Books (with Answers), 8d. each. Books III, IV, V, 5d. each and rod. each respectively. Book Va, 6d. and IS. Books VI, VII, 5d. each and 10d. each Pitman.) Parts 1 and 2. Exercises in Arithmetic. By E. R. PIGRome. The New Matriculation Geometry. By A. G. CRACKNELL and Junior Test Papers in Arithmetic and Algebra: for the Use of Stories About Mathematics-Land. Book II. By D. PONTON. The Way of Arithmetic. Compiled by P. C. STAINES and T. INGRAM. Under the Direction of P. F. BINNS. Book III. (Paper, 9d.; Cloth, Is.) The Elements of Modern Mathematics: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Mensuration. By H. H. PEARCE and G. A. S. ATKINSON. (Without Answers, 3s. With Answers, 3s. 6d. McDougall.) French Practice for General School Examinations. CATHELIN. (2s. 9d. Blackie.) MODERN LANGUAGES By R. G. " Like Mrs. Bearman's "Translation from and into French this book has been compiled with a view to meeting the requirements of candidates for the First Public Examination. Both books contain a grammatical introduction, French prose extracts and English ones based on these, and a number of poems. The English passages contain, in brackets, references to sections of the introduction; but neither the prose nor the verse extracts in French have any notes, such as Mrs. Bearman provides in her book. At the end are some synopses of the French and English passages which should be found useful for retelling the stories in a free composition" form. " " " Chateaubriand (Selections). With Appreciations by Thierry, Flaubert, Vinet, Sainte-Beuve, Nisard, Faguet, Brunetière, and Lamaître. With an Introduction and Notes by G. ROGER. (4s. 6d. net. Clarendon Press.) The romantic movement is of such outstanding importance in French literature, that its great precursor deserves careful study. It is convenient for the student to have a selection from his works, and the one compiled by M. Roger represents every aspect of Chateaubriand's work by suitable extracts. A brief but adequate introduction deals with his writings and his position in French literature, and the editor did well to include also a number of appreciations and criticisms by Thierry, Flaubert, Vinet, Sainte-Beuve, Nisard, Faguet, Brunetière, and Lemaître. A good reproduction of Trioson's well-known portrait, now in the Musée de Versailles, is the frontispiece. Practical Spanish Grammar. By Dr. A. R. SEYMOUR and ADELAIDE E. SMITHERS. (4s. 6d. Longmans.) This is a most attractive book for beginners. The lessons are compact and limited only to thirty, in which space all the groundwork of grammar is treated. The lesson material is interesting and varied, while grammatical difficulties are explained lucidly and interestingly. The verbs are very fully explained, a useful appendix adding to the value of the book. There is a full vocabulary and a series of excellent illustrations. La France Laborieuse. Edited by Dr. F. C. ROE. (2s. 6d. Nelson.) A Book of French Conversation. By E. T. GRIFFITHS and E. How I Learnt French : a Brief Record, with Suggestions for The Essentials of French Syntax. By C. J. M. ADIE. (IS. net. Le Gendre de Monsieur Poirier: Comédie par Émile Augier et Jules Sandeau. (IS. 9d. Dent.) Les Mille et un Matins; 25 Contes et Nouvelles d'Auteurs Contemporains. (IS. 9d. Dent.) (Is. 9d. Dent.) Selected and Tartarin de Tarascon. Par ALPHONSE DAUDET. Malficeli. By A. REBALD. Edited by R. P. JAGO. Authorized Systematic French Dictation in Conjunction with Pronunciation Exercises. By B. YANDELL. (Pupils' Book, Is. 6d. Teachers' Book, 3s. 6d. net. Heffer.) Notre Dame de Paris. By VICTOR HUGO. Abridged and Edited, with Notes, Questionnaire and Idioms, by Dr. J. H. WILSON. Vocabulary prepared by G. M. SMITH. (5s. New York: Macmillan.) Le Livre de mon Ami. By ANATOLE FRANCE. Adapted for the Use of Schools, with Introduction, Notes, Phrases, &c., by V. F. BOYSON. Authorized Edition. (2s. net. Oxford University Press.) A Welsh Phonetic Reader. By S. JONES. (s. 6d. net. University of London Press.) French Verbs Conjugated. By Prof. W. H. FRASER and Prof. J. SQUAIR. (6d. Heath.) (Continued on page 272) LE LIVRE DE MON AMI By Anatole France. Adapted with an introduction, GENS QUI PASSENT Nine Tales by Paul Margueritte. Chosen and edited, with introduction, notes, and glossary, by F. C. Green. ('The Contemporary French Series.") 1s. 6d. net. THE ESSENTIALS OF FRENCH SYNTAX By C. J. M. Adie. Is. net. Contents: The Articles; Adjectives; Adverbs; A guide to the study of Animal Biology correlating A MANUAL OF RADIOACTIVITY This book is a manual for students of physics and ¶ ART DRAWING FOR CHILDREN AND By Vernon Blake. With 46 illustrations. 6s. net. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AMEN HOUSE, LONDON, E.C. 4 PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY The sub-title of this book will show readers that they must not expect in it a systematic exposition of " Platonic philosophy." Such attempts too often end in transforming Plato's thought into a justification of the particular philosophic creed of the modern interpreter. To Plato's works, as to the Bible, the couplet may very truthfully be applied: Hic liber est in quo quaerit sua dogmata quisque, Prof. Taylor's plan has been, after two chapters on the life My own comments are intended to supply exegesis, based as closely as may be on Plato's own words, not to applaud or denounce. The result, I hope, is a picture which may claim the merit of historical fidelity. For the same reason I have been unusually careful to determine the date and historical setting assumed for each dialogue." At the end of each chapter there is a brief bibliography of editions and works useful to the reader. The book should prove most useful, we think, as a companion to the Greek text for those whose chief purpose is to grasp the various aspects of Plato's thought. They will also derive from it excellent pictures of Plato and Socrates as masters and teachers of the practical life. than on gifted children, though it is the latter on whom the progress of civilization depends. She removes current misconceptions as to the physique and the character of highly intelligent children, showing that teachers tend to compare them unfairly with their schoolmates who are two or three years older. Her conclusions as to the all-round superiority of the majority of gifted children are based on a large number of cases where records have been systematically kept of their development, physical, mental and moral. The later chapters deal not only with suggestions for the education of gifted children, but also with actual experiments undertaken in special classes in American schools. Guidance of Childhood and Youth: Readings in Child Study. The Mind and its Mechanism, with Special Reference to Ideo- Genetic Studies of Genius. Vol. I-Mental and Physical Traits An Introduction to Social Psychology. By L. L. BERNARD. (18s. net. Allen & Unwin.) SCIENCE The Principles of Petrology: An Introduction to the Science of Fertilizers their Sources, Manufacture and Uses. By H. CAve. It is a This latest addition to Pitman's Common Commodities Series, earlier volumes in which have been favourably noticed in these columns, is of the usual type and well up to standard. book which should find a place in every school science library, and will be of particular value in rural schools, where the fertilizer problem is a matter of everyday observation. In addition, every teacher of chemistry will find numerous points of interest in it, which he may use with advantage in his ordinary courses to effect that connection with daily life so valuable for teaching purposes. Three Lectures on Atomic Physics. By Prof. A. SOMMErfeld. Translated by Dr. H. L. BROSE. (2s. 6d. net. Methuen.) These lectures were delivered at London University. Readers who have studied very deeply the current problems of atomic physics will enjoy the privilege of learning the views of a great authority. Matter and Gravity in Newton's Physical Philosophy: A Study in the Natural Philosophy of Newton's Time. By A. J. SNOW. (7s. 6d. net. Oxford University Press.) A thoughtful and interesting study of what the author rightly calls the most important and critical period of natural science. Teachers of chemistry will find much pleasure and profit in Mr. Snow's account of the atomic revival under Gassendi and Descartes, while physicists will appreciate particularly the light which is thrown upon the development of Newton's doctrine of gravity. Not the least attractive part of the book is that in which the author considers the influence of mystic thought upon Newton, who was a constant reader and admirer of Jacob Boehme. Text-book of Biological Chemistry. By Prof. J. B. SUMner. (15s. net. New York; Macmillan.) A Treatise on Light. By Dr. R. A. HOUSTOUN. Fifth Edition. By LIBBIE H. Motors and Motoring. By E. T. BROWN. (2s. Williams & Trees. By Dr. M. SKENE. (2s. Williams & Norgate.) Test Papers in Physics (Heat, Light, and Sound; Magnetism and Readable Physiology and Hygiene; a Book for Beginners. By The Science of Everyday Life. Physics. Chemistry. By E. C. Modern Scientific Ideas, Especially the Idea of Discontinuity: The Age of the Earth: an Introduction to Geological Ideas. The Atom. By Prof. E. N. da C. ANDRADE. (6d. Benn.) -MACMILLAN COMPOSITION FOR UPPER CLASSES By ED. J. S. LAY and ELLA BRAY, B.A., Hons. THE SCIENCE OF PIANOFORTE TECHNIQUE Illustrated. 2s. 3d. By THOMAS FIELDEN, Professor of the Pianoforte, Royal College of Music. Illustrated. 8s. 6d. net. This new and thought-provoking book should be read and re-read by every pianoforte teacher, no matter whether he is a devotee of Matthay or of Leschetizsky. THE TECHNIQUE OF EXAMINING A Quest for Capacity. By B. C. WALLIS. 3s. 6d. LAY'S PUPILS' CLASS BOOK Books I and II. Paper, 7d.; Limp Cloth, 10d. each. Books III and IV. Paper, Is.; Limp Cloth, Is. 3d. each. Books V and VI. Paper, Is. 3d.; Limp Cloth, Is. 6d. each. Book VII. FOR THE HIGHER CLASSES, 25. 3d. Teachers' Book I, 2s. Book II, 2S. Bocks III to VI, 2s. 6d. each. Book VII, 3s. 6d. *Send for Macmillan's Educational Catalogue Post free on application. MACMILLAN & CO., LTD., LONDON, W.C.2 RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE The Life of Jesus. By J. M. MURRY. (10s. 6d. net. Cape.) Mr. Middleton Murry's Life of Jesus" is a remarkable and, in many ways, a very attractive book. It is, in fact, an impressionist sketch constructed by a gifted literary artist. The Jesus who is presented in these pages," he says, is simply the Jesus who is real to me the Jesus in whose real existence I can, and in whom I do, believe. Because I desired to present Him clearly, not only have I excluded, without warning or apology, incidents in the familiar story which I hold to be apocryphal, but I have put aside many sayings and incidents which I believe to be wholly authentic, because to include them would obscure the narrative." The book suggests comparison with Renan's well-known " Life." But Renan was not only a literary artist, but a great scholar in the special sense of the word. This Mr. Middleton Murry can scarcely claim to be-he goes hopelessly wrong, e.g. in his presentation of the popular Messianic Hope in the time of Jesus. The book, however, is valuable as presenting a point of view essentially modern and in touch with modern interests, e.g. psychology. It is, of course, charmingly written. The Conduct of Public Worship. By B. D. JONES. (2s. 6d. net. Heffer.) Many will agree with Mr. Jones, though perhaps not all, in his indictment of the methods employed by the clergy in the conduct of public worship. In this little book he gives useful hints on the voice, speaking, singing, &c. The volume is intended primarily for ordinands. From Babylon to Bethlehem: The Story of the Jews for the last Five Centuries before Christ. By L. E. BROWNE. (3s. 6d. net. Heffer.) It is a pleasure to welcome this little book, simple and popular as it is, but thoroughly scholarly. It is what we should expect from the author of "Early Judaism." In a series of nine chapters. he traces the history of the Jews from the exile to the death of Herod. Mr. Browne rightly places Ezra well after Nehemiah. We warmly commend the volume. An Integrated Program of Religious Education. By W. A. HARPER. (7s. 6d. net. New York: Macmillan.) The God of Love; a Literary Research into the Origin and Meaning The Believing World; a Simple Account of the Great Religions of A Great Resolve. RUSSIA. Foreign and Dominion Notes The Berlin Neue Erziehung for March prints in full a speech delivered by Commissioner Lunatscharski in Moscow at the end of last year on the need for making compulsory education universal in all the Russias. A decree of 1925 fixes the end of 1933 for the accomplishment of the stupendous task. The Commissioner's speech gives a sketch of educational development since 1917, and a picture of the Soviet schools of to-day. It dwells on the many difficulties in the way of universal compulsion-especially on the provision of training for the necessary teachers, and of money for their salaries-and ends by sharply contrasting the spirit of the old education still prevailing in Western Europe and that of the new spirit in Russia, with its one co-educational labourschool for all. The speech was first made public in the Moscow Teachers' Journal, with an éditorial comment from which the Neue Erziehung quotes as follows: "To-day, when the gigantic contours of Russia's economic development are fully revealed, it is clear that no further forward movement is possible until illiteracy has been destroyed. The opinion, even of the peasants themselves, is unanimous that the speedy provision of universal compulsory schooling is a task that can no longer be neglecteda task, moreover, of immense proportions owing to the Tsarist legacy of illiteracy and impoverishment. Particularly disturbing is the low level of popular education in the republics of the national minorities, and in certain outlying districts where the people have scarcely moved at all since the days of Ivan the Terrible. Milliards of money will be needed if this appalling darkness is to be overcome." INDIA. The Bombay Municipality sends us the Report of its Schools Committee for 1926. Among other signs of A New Era. the universal forward movement we note Baby Weeks and Education Weeks, Visual Instruction and Systematic Music, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. The most prominent feature of the year has been the partial introduction (after a preparation period of ten years) of Free and Compulsory Primary Education" the foundation of a new era in the educational history of Bombay." In the districts affected fortytwo new schools have been opened, and the attendance (out of a possible total of eighteen thousand) has already risen from six thousand to twelve thousand. It is confidently anticipated that the current year will bring in the rest. Most of these new schools are at present mixed, but separate schools are promised as the number of girls increases. With co-education gaining ground in nearly every civilized country, this projected separation, even in India, strikes us as timidly reactionary. Mohammedan girls are at present exempted from compulsion, but the Government is being urged to bring them also under the law-at least to the age of ten. Water Fees. Women and Education. "" A further reform, consequent upon the abolition of schoolfees, is the abolition of water-fees. It has been the custom, it seems, in certain schools to collect monthly from the pupils from one anna to two annas per head to defray the expenses of providing them with water." And these pupils are our fellow-citizens ! The Progress of Education reports an All-India Women's Conference in Poona, at which the Maharani of Baroda struck a significant note: “The majority of women at present occupied with the problems of female education have had their own education along lines laid down by men. That is still the only kind of education available in our girls' schools and our universities. The first step in reform is freedom from this bias." Education reports a similar Conference in Madras, opened by Viscountess Goschen, at which the President (also an Indian lady) declared that the time had come for Indian women to have a say in the guidance and training of their own sons and daughters." This Conference demanded compulsory moral instruction and domestic science, greater facilities for hygiene and the fine arts, and the prevention of marriage before sixteen. NEW ZEALAND. The latest Report of the Minister of Education (July, 1926) opens with a "confident statement as to a A Good Year. further substantial increase of efficiency in the working of the educational system." Methods and curricula are being modernized, and the heating, lighting, and ventilation of school-buildings greatly improved. To bridge the gap between primary and secondary, junior high-schools have been introduced. Rural education has been strengthened by a further consolidation of small schools-despite difficulties of transport. And the serious problem of retardation has been partially met by a reduction in the size of classes, and by the establishment of special classes for backward children-in which numbers are limited to sixteen, and the working day divided equally between head, hand, and body. The results of this experiment are reported as most encouraging. "" A Correspondence School for backblocks" children, in operation for the past five years, is now regarded as Backblocks. permanent. The work of the five hundred children on the roll last year was regarded as thoroughly satisfactory. Of special interest are the sections on Native Education and Child Welfare. Our space is too limited for detailed reference, but it is not without significance that last year's Child Welfare Act provides for the creation of a special branch of the Education Department, to be known as the Child Welfare Branch. This whole section reads like a page from the Bulletin of our own National Council of Social Service. |