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and, provided we know exactly what we propose to make of the boys and girls of this country, there appears to be no question as to the part they can play in the formation of national character and efficiency. Technical High Schools. —ln a comparatively young country where every factor which goes to make up the sum total of its life and activities is growing, and adapting itself to the ideals and needs of the country, every institution designed to assist in the formation of the national life must pass through the natural evolutionary changes before the type is fixed; and technical schools in common with other educational institutions not only assist in shaping the character, but are themselves moulded by many and varied forces and influences. At their inception there was little to guide us except the experience of older lands, and if mistakes were made they were no doubt due to an attempt to establish in this country (the industries of which were practically in their infancy) a type of school better adapted to older countries where industries of every kind had been established for centuries. It is now, however, being realized that while the fundamental educational needs of new and old lands may be similar, the conditions of new lands demand that schools adapted to their special needs must grow with the needs; and this is what has been going on in the Dominion. The needs of young people who had left school and were waiting for employment, the necessity for a type of school designed to give instruction in the foundation principles underlying all vocational training, and thus prepare the ground for more advanced work, called day technical classes into being. It was soon discovered that the need for such classes had been accurately gauged. They were appreciated by parents who saw that in the new form of practical instruction an education having a closer relationship to industrial life was available, and from their inception onwards, the classes and the appreciation of their value, as shown in the number of young persons in attendance, and the work they are doing, have grown apace. From this small beginning has grown the sturdy institutions known as technical high schools, and present indications are that as fuller knowledge of the intention and value of vocational training is realized and the growth of the country demands it, these schools will take a very much more important place in the industrial life. The courses of instruction appear to meet present-day needs. Commercial interests loom largest, although it must be noted that while in the commercial course (which appears to offer an easy and direct path to remunerative employment) the highest percentage of attendances are maintained, the other courses are either fully maintaining their average or the number in attendance is increasing. One of the most gratifying features is the steady growth of the course in agriculture, and it would appear that the technical high schools may presently be in the position to do for the primary industry what they have done and are doing for other industries. The commercial course provides a sound elementary training in business principles, practice, and methods, and as the classes in connection therewith are for the most part in charge of instructors who know their business not only from the book but from actual contact with commercial life, a training which fits young persons to fill creditably at once junior posts in offices is responsible for the large and increasing demands for their services. While fully recognizing the value of the instruction given, it may not be out of place briefly to indicate an addition to the course that appears to have features worthy of consideration. Vocational education demands that this training shall be given under the closest possible approximations to> the actual conditions of demands and use. The college office may therefore become a training-ground for more advanced students; but this only opens a limited field, and there appears to be no reasonable objection to the adoption of a method of instruction which has produced good results elsewhere. It is this : The interest of business men having a large clerical staff is secured, and, assuming that business arrangements permit and all interests are duly safeguarded, selected senior students from technical high schools are permitted to visit the offices at stated times, to see, with certain limitations, the routine and methods adopted, and if time allow to take part in some of the work. A report on the visit is afterwards written by each student, and these reports after careful scrutiny by the instructors are forwarded to the head of the firms visited, who makes such comments on them as will give guidance to both instructors and students. It is considered that some such method, if adopted, would help employers more readily to discover suitable junior clerks, and at the same time assist those taking up this form of life work to discover the place they are best adapted to occupy. The domestic course not only provides a suitable training for those whose circumstances permit them to remain at home and intelligently and methodically assist in home duties, but also the elementary training required by those who propose to become teachers of domestic subjects; and for the latter, as for the former, the type of instructors, and the kind and quality of the instruction, with few exceptions, appear admirably suitable. The importance of a sound training in elementary science and scientific method is steadily being realized, and although circumstances do not yet permit of the science and domestic work being correlated as closely as appears desirable, the instruction is sound along certain lines. We may expect, however, that the best results in this branch, as in others, will be attained when trained domestic-science teachers are available for all the schools. A fuller interest could be added to this part of the report if a brief outline of the activities of a day in the domestic department of the schools could be given. Space, however, forbids; but the suggestion is offered that the institution of what is known as "mothers' day" would not be without interest. In a number of the American institutions of a similar character to our technical high schools the domestic department is open to mothers on certain days of the year. As the ordinary work of the school is not altered, it is necessary that the number of visitors be limited by invitation. They attend and have an oportunity of seeing for themselves the kind of training offered, and it is affirmed that many mothers in doubt as to the value of the instruction have shown their appreciation by sending their daughters to the school. The day is not used for advertising purposes, nor is the work of the day arranged on spectacular