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is the demand made by geography on the scientific attainments and general culture of the teacher. Geography is a composite science, the competent treatment of which involves, in addition to a sound knowledge of its constituent sciences, a knowledge of history and sociology, and nothing short of a working-knowledge of them all is an adequate equipment for the teacher, who, to make it an instrument of culture, must be able to read and train his pupils to read the book of Nature that lies open before him and them—to read it not as a record of facts unrelated to one another, to them, and to the rest of the world, but as a record revealing to the seeing eye the marvellous history and relation of the things that lie within and beyond its ken, The beauty in which all things live and move, and tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything. In the Australian States, as in New Zealand, the bulk of the schools are rural schools ; and there, as here, very little has been done to equip teachers for the teaching of sfubjects that have special bearing on rural life. But, though we are in line with the Australians in respect to absence of training in " nature study," we are greatly in advance of them in respect to what is actually done in this class of work in our rural schools, in all of which we have for years insisted upon the teaching of the elements of agricultural knowledge. In Australia this department of work is, I was informed, almost entirely neglected. We are about to reorganize our training system, and I trust that our authorities will not forget the needs of rural schools. In one South Australian school (Rose Park) I saw some good chip carving, and in two others (Richmond and Plympton) some excellent gardening. One hour a week is given to gardening, and during the last two years sufficient flowers and vegetables were grown to enable the teachers to buy all the implements used in the work and, in addition, decorations for the school-walls and apparatus for school-work. Among the things purchased with the proceeds of the sales are a sewing-machine and a lathe. The Inspectors informed me that similar work is done in several other schools, but that in the majority nothing of the kind is attempted. In one school I saw clay modelling, which, however, was inferior to the plasticine modelling I have seen in one of our own schools. I was much pleased with the sloyd and cookery classes of the Victorian schools. In these subjects Victoria is in advance of the other Australian States and of New Zealand. When the Victorian Department resolved to introduce manual instruction into its schools it brought from England and elsewhere teachers specially trained in the work to be introduced, and imposed upon them the training of a body of teachers whose duty it should be to teach the manual exercises in suitable centres in the cities and larger towns. The number of teachers receiving instruction in manual work is constantly increasing, and the aim of the Department is to qualify a sufficent number to make practicable the competent teaching of hand-work in every school of the State. In the centres now established each teacher of sloyd teaches 200 boys a week—that is, a draft of twenty every morning and every afternoon. Every exercise of the pupils is the concrete realisation of a sketch or a scale drawing. The work is optional to the boys, and no fee is charged. The whole of the manual work for boys is under the direction and supervision of the Manual Instruction Inspector. With us manual instruction is a new subject, and therefore I am unable to compare ours with that of Victoria ; but I may say that, in my opinion, our kindergarten work, is equal to any I saw in Australia. For the discipline of the Australian schools I have nothing but praise; but I was especially pleased with the smart orderly assembling and dismissal of two of the Adelaide schools, each numbering over a thousand pupils. I may briefly describe the method of assembling, using the present tense: — The children are all playing in the ground. The teacher blows his whistle, and they at once stand at attention and facing in one direction on the spot where they are playing. At a signal from the teacher the drum-and-fife band plays a march, and the children march quickly and silently to their class places and take up their alignment. The teacher again blows his whistle, and the band stops playing. The teacher gives the order, Right (or Left) turn, and a signal to the band to begin playing. The children at once begin marching to the music of the band, keeping perfect time and perfect dressing in ground, lobby, and staircase. There is no thumping with the feet, no talking, no disorder of any kind. The standard of attainment necessary for exemption from further attendance at school is higher in New Zealand than in the Australian States, and in South Australia than in the other States, where a child may claim exemption if he has passed in the reading, spelling, writing, and arithmetic of Class IV. in Victoria, and of Class HI. in New South Wales, classes the work of which corresponds in the main with that of our Standard IV. In New Zealand the " standard of exemption " is Standard V., and to get his exemption certificate a child must pass the Inspector's examination in reading, spelling, writing, composition, and arithmetic, and must satisfy the Inspector that he has received regular and suitable instruction in drawing, grammar, history, elementary science, and recitation. Technical Schools. Apart from the technical work of the universities and university colleges, Victoria and New South Wales are far in advance of South Australia and New Zealand in the provision they have made for trade and technical instruction. Of the technical schools I visited, the Sydney Technical College struck me as being the best. It is under the direct control of the Education Department, is splendidly equipped, and has a staff of 124 teachers, comprising 12 lecturers in charge of departments, 7 resident masters in charge of schools in the country, 56 teachers, 20 salaried assistant teachers, and 29 class-teachers remunerated by class fees alone. The number of individuals attend-