NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 151
Kings and Chadwell Heath Stations. There they found 12 to 14 feet of
Gravel capped by 3 or 4 feet of Brick-earth. The section was very fresh and
clear, and the gravel was seen to be very well stratified and uniform in
composition.3
MISCELLANEA.
The Countess of Warwick's Village Science School.—We have much
pleasure in recording further progress in the conduct of this institution, the
development of which is being followed with so much interest and hopeful
expectation by the friends of scientific education throughout the country.
The inauguration of the school at Bigods near Dunmow on July 29th, 1898,
was commented upon in the last volume of the Essex Naturalist (vol. x.,
p. 376). On Friday, July 28th last, a very large and distinguished company
assembled at the School to celebrate the first annual prize distribution.
Among the speakers were Sir John Gorst (Vice-President of the Council of
Education), Sir John Donnelly, Mr. J. Round, M.P., Prof. Marshall Ward,
F.R.S., Prof. Tilden, F.R.S., Mr. Bottomley, Prof. Teegan, Mrs. Brydges
Adam and Mr. McCann. The speakers one and all commended the experi-
ment as a praiseworthy attempt to solve a most difficult problem. Sir John
Gorst's speech has attracted very considerable notice not only by reason of
its importance as being the views of the leader of education in this country,
but also because of the home-truths which he expressed in humorous and
somewhat paradoxical language, as for instance when he said that in England
"he did not think we were teaching the right things. He very gravely
doubted whether reading, writing, and arithmetic and that most useless of all
branches of knowledge, grammar—were exactly the intellectual food upon
which to develop the intelligence of country lads and lasses." One great
benefit to be derived from Lady Warwick's experiment is that her position
thus assumed as a practical educationist is attracting a widespread interest in
the problem of how to impart to children real instruction in science which
will be useful to them in after life, while at the same time affording a good
sound educational training. A pamphlet has been issued by Lady Warwick
and Prof. Meldola, F.R.S. (who is so efficiently acting as her scientific adviser)
entitled "A Plea for Secondary Rural Education" which all well-wishes of
progress in village life should read. The authors sum up the case by saying
"We known that our system is sound ; we are confident that such pupils as we
hope in time to turn out would sweep all before them if sent on to agricul-
tural colleges. Our confidence rests upon the fact that from the beginning of
the child's education to the end, the science subjects will never be dropped,
but will be carried on the higher and higher stages." The kind of training
given at Bigods is probably unique in experiments in elementary education in
England. For the first time science is treated as an integral part of the
child's education, not as an "extra," to be taken upon sufferance and dropped
at the first pretext.
Queen Elizabeth's Lodge and the Epping Forest Museum.—The
news that the Corporation of London had voted a large sum towards the
3 References to the Geology of Ilford. Geological Survey Map, Sheet 1, S.W. Drift
Edition. Dr. H. Woodward, Record of Excursions, Lond. Geol. Assn., p. 173 and Proc. Geol.
Assoc, vol. ii, p. 273. W. Whitaker, "The Geology of Landon," Mem. Geol. Survey, pp.
410-415. B. B. Woodward, "The Pleistocene Mollusca of the London District, Proc. Geol.
Assoc., vol. xi, pp. 365-371, 388. A. S. Kennard and B. B. Woodward, "The Post-pliocence
Non-Marine Mollusca of Essex," Essex Nat. x, p. 103. F. C. Spurrell. "Excursion to
Ilford," Proc. Geol. Assoc. vol. xiii, p. 53.