done, in the way Mr. Watkins had, one could leave the metol strip in for half a day without getting the same intensity or gradation as with the ortol. That was a matter of experiment, and without fog appearing in either. From the strips on the screen he would have expected to find that gradation would be the same in both cases. Perhaps Mr. Watkins would explain why that was not always the case; as it was not. With regard to the question of the dilution of the developer, looking at the matter from a chemical standpoint, he thought it would be seen that chemical action was always considerably altered in effect by dilution, and, whatever happened in ordinary chemical operations, one would expect to happen also in the chemical operation of development. He did not propose to enter into arguments, nor to give a history of any experiments there might be, but he might say generally that Mr. Watkins was right in his conclusions, but although generally he must allow a little more scope for those who held contrary views. He could quite support the remark made by Mr. Gear as to sodium citrate, and, moreover, the addition of citric acid was a wellknown way by which one could retard the action of an over-exposed plate. He believed Mr. Warnerke was very strong on the different materials with which an over-exposed plate could be saved, even after the developer had been on. Mr. Watkins had almost convinced him that there was not much use in putting a large quantity of bromide on during development; but if the developer were washed off before the action had got very far, and if the development were restrained by means of a very dilute solution of hydrochloric acid, there was obtained a decent negative from a very much overexposed plate. A remark had been made about developers and single solutions. A friend of his used to employ those one-man solutions, and to buy them in cartridges. He came to him (Sir W. Abney) in trouble one day, though he had used half a cartridge; but it appeared that he had used the top half and left the bottom half behind. Mr. WATKINS in reply, reminded his hearers that he had not attempted to traverse the whole ground, and that his paper was entitled, Some Aspects of Photographic Development." He had not asserted that no control existed. He would not wish to argue with Sir William Abney the points raised by that gentleman, because of his large experience. He admitted that the question of colour was a very important one, and that it had to be provided for and allowed for, but that must be done in exposure, not in development. He had not been able, in experiments, to find that any control existed by adding bromide after the tones had appeared. He had not experimented with sodium citrate, the substance mentioned by Mr. Gear. Lambert's question touched a weak point. The high light of an under-exposure appeared in slightly different time to the high light of an over-exposure, Mr. and this introduced a small error into the factorial method of development. It was, however, a very much smaller error than the advantages obtained by compensating for temperature and the amount of alkali. The difference in the high light was very little in under-exposure compared with over-exposure. Generally those who followed the timing development used an actinometer for getting the exposures. In practice he did not find it a difficult matter. His experience was that in an under-exposed snapshot one must cut the development short. On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Watkins, and duly acknowledged by him, and the proceedings terminated. A collection of developers and developing apparatus was exhibited by the following manufac turers: Bayer and Co.-Developers in liquid powder and cartridge form. Burroughs, Wellcome and Co.-Developers in tabloid form. Fuerst, Bros.-Developers and other photographic chemicals in powder and cartridge form. Griffin and Sons.-" M. Q." devoloper in cartridge and other forms. Hinton and Co.-" Hintokinone" developer and rocking apparatus. Houghton and Son.-" Wyndham and Volvo" film developing apparatus. Kodak Limited.-Daylight developing machines for films, and developer cartridges. J. E. Lockyer.-Concentrated liquid developers. E. Merck.-Developers in powder and cartridge form. Paul Metz.-"Brilliant" concentrated one solution liquid developer. Penrose and Co.-Safe night filter and lantern for developing room. Sanger, Shepherd and Co.-Latest pattern of Hurter and Driffield speed determinator apparatus, photographic developers, &c. Watkins Meter Co.-" Eikronometer" and exposure meters. Miscellaneous. THE ST. LOUIS EXHIBITION. A correspondent sends to the Times the following account of the progress of the St. Louis Exhibition : The preparations for the Universal Exhibition, which is to be opened at St. Louis, on May 1st, 1904, are going steadily forward. It is generally known that it will commemorate the centenary of the acquisition of the million square miles included in the Louisiana purchase, and now divided into 12 States and territcries, with a population of nearly 15 millions. The Government of the United States has appropriated 6,308,000 dols., the City of St. Louis 5,000,000 dols., and the Exposition Company, which manages the undertaking, has raised 5,000,000 dols. more. About 25 States have signified their acceptance, and have arranged for special exhibits of their history and resources. These are headed by the State of Missouri, in which the Exhibition is to be held, with a grant of 1,000,000 dols. The remaining States, very likely without exception, will appropriate money at the sessions of their Legislatures during the coming winter. Building operations are well under way, and it is the intention of the management that the five principal buildings shall be ready nearly a year before the opening of the gates. Every effort will be made to have each department and building actually ready with its exhibits by May 1st, 1904. The floor space of all the buildings for the Exposition proper, and of those erected by the various States, will cover an area of about 200 acres. As most of the structures will be single storied, these, of themselves, will occupy about one-sixth of the 1,200 acres in the site. In addition, there will be the buildings erected by foreign Governments and by the various societies, and those for the amusement concessions. Negotiations to obtain the co-operation of foreign countries are going on with all due haste. Those, large and small, which have already accepted, number about 25, and include Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Japan, China, Korea, Brazil, the Argentine Republic and some of the other principal countries of South America, Mexico, and one or two of the leading countries of Central America. To this list must also be added Canada which has set aside 125,000 dols. as a preliminary grant, which, it is thought, will be doubled before the Exhibition opens. France, as the first country to accept the invitation, mainly by reason of its close relations to the cession of Louisiana in 1803, has made a preliminary appropriation of 650,000 francs. It is believed that this will be doubled or trebled during the next year. The German Commissioner is now in St. Louis for the purpose of choosing a site for the building to be erected by that Government. Both Germany and France have pledged them. selves to make larger and finer exhibits than at any previous exhibition, other than those held in Paris. Italy will make a distinctive art exhibit, Japan has made an initial grant of 800,000 yen (about £80,000), while Korea and China will be more completely represented than upon any previous occasion. The same is true of Mexico and Canada. It is expected that many of the remaining countries will announce their decision within the next three months. The British Government will be asked to enlarge the scope of its acceptance, which is limited thus far to the assurance that complete exhibits will be made in art and education, and facilities afforded to industries. The expenditures at international exhibitions, like that to be held at St. Louis, are best illustrated by those at Chicago. For the principal Governments, they were on that occasion as follows:-Brazil, £120,000; Costa Rica, £30,000; Ecuador, £25,000; France, £143,000; Germany, £170,000; Great Britain, £60,000; Japan, £126,000; Holland, £20,000; Paraguay, £20,000; Spain, £43,000; and Sweden, £22,000. While the detailed reports are not available, as a whole the countries named incurred approximately the same expense at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.* The following Table illustrates the extent to which Great Britain has participated in former international exhibitions, and gives the amount expended on each since 1867, and also, in square feet, the space occupied. The latter part of the Table, in all cases, includes the colonies, while, with regard to that dealing with expenses, it should be mentioned that it has recently been customary for the colonies to defray their own: "Modern Movements in Decorative Art." By CHARLES HOLME. "British North Borneo." By HENRY WALKER, Commissioner of Lands, British North Borneo. "Three Colour Printing." BY HARVEY DALZIEL. "The Port of London." By Dr. B. W. GINSBURG. "Tonkin, Yunnan and Burma." By FRED. W. CAREY, late H.B.M.'s Acting-Consul at Szemao, China. The Indian Census." By JERVOISE A. BAINES, C.S.I. "The Province of Sind." BIRDWOOD, C.S.I., LL.D. "6 Women in Canada." ABERDEEN. By HERBERT M. By the COUNTESS of "The Province of Assam." By SIR CHARLES JAMES LYALL, K.C.S.I., C.I.E. CANTOR LEctures. Monday Evenings, at Eight o'clock:PROF. VIVIAN B. LEWES, "The Future of Coal Gas and Allied Illuminants." Four Lectures. LECTURE III. DECEMBER 8.-The relation of the candle-power and calorific value of gas to its use with the incandescent mantle-The incandescent mantle and the directions in which it will be improved―The probable future of coal gas. LECTURE IV. DECEMBER 15.-Lighting by oil and the advances of the past fifty years-The use of oil in incandescent mantle lighting-Vapour burners and their future-Air gas and its latest developments - The present position and future of acetylene. JUVENILE LEctures. Wednesday afternoons, at Five o'clock :Professor EDWARD B. POULTON, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., "Means of Defence in the Struggle for Life among Animals." Lecture I., December 31. Lecture II., January 7. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. MONDAY, DEC. 8...SOCIETY OF ARTS, John-street, Adelphi, W.C., 8 p.m. (Cantor Lectures.) Prof. Surveyors, 12, Great George-street, S.W.. 4 p.m. Mr. James W. Tyler, "Estate Duty Valuations and Agricultural Property.” Geographical, University of London, Burlingtongardens, W., 8 p.m. Dr. Sven Hedin, "Three Years' Exploring Work in Central Asia." Medical, 11, Chandos-street, W., 8 p.m. London Institution, Finsbury-circus, E.C., 3 p.m. Sir Wyke Baylis, The Bogey in the Studio: an address to lovers of art on vexed questions of the day." TUESDAY, DEC. 9...Medical and Chirurgical, 20, Hanover. square, W., 8 p.m. Civil Engineers, 25, Great George-street, S.W., 8 p.m. Discussion on Mr. T. H. Minshall's paper, "High Speed Electrical Generating Plant." Photographic, 66, Russell-square, W.C., 8 p.m. Dr. R. Norris Wolfenden, "Photography in Marine Zoology." Anthropological, 3, Hanover-square, W., 8 p.m. Colonial Institute, Whitehall-rooms, Whitehallplace, S.W, 8 p.m. Mr. Hugh Clifford, "British and Siamese Malaga.". Pharmaceutical, 17, Bloomsbury-square, W.C., 8 p.m. Asiatic, 22, Albemarle-street, W. 3 p.m. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10...SOCIETY OF ARTS, John-street. Adelphi, W.C., 8 p.m. Mr. Cloudesley Brereton' "French Rural Education and its Lessons for England." Sanitary Institute, 74a, Margaret-street, W., 8 p.m. Central Chamber of Agriculture (at the House of Biblical Archæology, 37, Great Russell-street Japan Society, 20, Hanover-square, S.W., 83 p.m. Royal Literary Fund, 7, Adelphi- terrace, W.C.. United Service Institution, Whitehall, S.W., 3 p.m. Antiquaries, Burlington-house, W., 8 p.m. Mathematical, 22, Albemarle-street, W., 51 p.m. FRIDAY, DEC. 12...North-East Coast Institute of Engineers Astronomical, Burlington-house, 5 p.m. Clinical, 20, Hanover-square, W., 8 p.m. Physical, Chemical Society's Rooms, Burlington. house, W., 5 p.m. SATURDAY, DEC. 13... Botanic, Inner Circle, Regent's-park, N.W., 38 p.m. MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 8 p.m. (Cantor Proceedings of the Society. Lecture.) PROFESSOR VIVIAN B. LEWES, "The Future of Coal Gas and Allied Illuminants." (Lecture IV.) WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 8 p.m. (Ordinary Meeting.) ARCHIBALD P. HEAD, M.Inst.C.E., "The South Russian Iron Industry." Further details of the Society's meetings will be found at the end of this number. JUVENILE LECTURES. The usual short course of lectures adapted for a juvenile audience will be delivered on Wednesday afternoons, December 31st and January 7th, at 5 o'clock, by Professor EDWARD B. POULTON, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S. (Hope Professor of Zoology in the University of Oxford), on the "Means of Defence in the Struggle for Life among Animals." Special tickets are required for these lectures, which can be obtained on application to the Secretary. A sufficient number of tickets to fill the room will be issued to members in the order in which applications are received, and the issue will then be discontinued. Subject to these conditions, each member is entitled to a ticket admitting two children and an adult. The cards are now in course of issue. CANTOR LECTURES. PROFESSOR VIVIAN B. LEWES delivered the third lecture of his course on "The Future of Coal Gas and Allied Illuminants," on Monday evening, 8th inst. Acland, Miss Sarah Angelina, Cleveden-house, Parktown, Oxford. Dallin, Cyrus Edwin, 89, Oakland-avenue, Arlington Heights, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Dangerfield, James, Artillery-mansions, Westminster, S.W. Dunham, Andrew Allen, care of Casein Company of America, II, Broadway, New York, U.S.A. Dunnicliff, H. B., 5, Kestrel-avenue, Herne-hill, S.E. Gibson, James Glen S., F.R.I.B.A., 27A, Old Bondstreet, W. Giddons, John Harcourt, Austral, near Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. Hopkins, John Guthrie, Alberene, Albermarle County, Judd, Walter, 5, Queen Victoria-street, E.C. Livesey, David Thomas, Luxville, London-road, McCormack, Joseph Nathaniel, M.D., LL.D.,, Bowling-green, Kentucky, U.S.A. McLusky, William B., City of Perth Gas Department, Perth, N.B. Scantlebury, Captain Vincent John, Assoc. Inst.N.A., 21, St. Petersburgh-place, Bayswater, W. Scott, Percy Gilbert, 34-37, Dobson's-road, Howrah, India. Silberrad, Dr. Oswald, Hill-top, Shooter's - hill, Kent. The lectures will be printed in the Journal Spencer, Frank Barnes, Ovenden, Kingswood-road, during the Christmas recess. Wimbledon, S.W. Wall, J. W. Russell, Raglan Villa, Holly-park, New Southgate, N. culum. Or, to use another figure, if each new subject represents a new force, all the West, George F. Myddleton, J.P., 35A, Great subjects are so converged that though the Cumberland-place, W. West, Mrs. George Cornwallis, 35A, Great Cumberland-place, W. Woollan, Miss Helen A., 28, Brook-street, Grosvenorsquare, W. The following candidates were balloted for and duly elected members of the Society :--Aitken, Thomas, Assoc.M.Inst.C.E., Surveyor's Office, County-buildings, Cupar, Fife, Scotland. Baker, George Samuel, "Frontenac," Donnington-, road, Willesden, N.W. Barber, René R., Messrs. William Barber and Bros., Georgetown, Ontario, Canada. Cole, Charles Henry, Assoc.M. Inst.C.E., H.M. Dockyard, Malta. Connett, Albert Newmann, M.Am. Soc.C.E., Tyndale-lodge, Bromley, Kent. Eborall, Alfred Cecil, M.I.E.E., 115, Tulse-hill, S.W. Foot, Herbert, B.A., F.I.A., 13, Marlboroughplace, St. John's-wood, N. W. Hardcastle, Edward, Rose cottage, New-road side, Horsforth, near Leeds. Hardy, William Eversley, St. Oswald, Alexandraroad, Norwood. Northcott, James, 12, Herne-hill, S.E. Pearson, Captain James Bruce, care of Managing Agents, British India Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., Calcutta. Simpson, Percy, "Ocean Wave," St. Ives, Cornwall. BY CLOUDESLEY BRERETON. In order to understand the problems of the French rural school, it would seem essentially necessary to look at them from the French point of view, especially if we are to appreciate the value of the solutions Now, to adopted. the French mind, a part of any system only finds it full and complete explanation in its relation to the whole. It is in harmony with this theory that the whole educational organisation of the country has been built up. Even when a new subject has been introduced into the time-table of the primary school so apparently unconnected with the rest as enseignement agricole (agricultural instructtion), it has never been allowed to remain long in its isolation, but has been speedily woven into the fabric of the school curri the direction of the resultant or aim may be altered, the aim itself remains unimpaired. Hence, to limit one's survey of rural education to what passes within the four walls of the village school, would seem to be as instructive as to present one's audience with an elephant's tooth, and leave them to imagine the jaw that supplied it with driving power, not to mention the animal itself and its habits which have evolved it into its present condition. French primary education, in fact, is so highly centralised, so much of the energy manifest in the schools appears to come from the central power station, that it seems needful for anyone who wishes to comprehend any large section of it, to obtain a bird's-eye view of the whole machinery. Yet at the outset a word of warning is requisite. This centralisation, however uniform it may appear in Blue-books and Government publications, depends for its administration on the character of the per· sonnel who run the machine-the officials, the inspectors, and the teachers, and how these naturally differ in energy, views, and aims need not be dilated on here. The mere fact of whether stress is laid on one part of the programme or another is bound to produce a certain decentralisation that itself is aided by the nature of the programme, which is not so inelastic as is popularly supposed. Another element of differentiation is introduced by the racial differences between the inhabitants in the various departments. Education in the Nord, with its affinities with Belgium, and education in Alpes Maritimes, with its strong Italian proclivities, are evidently working on very different materials. must, therefore, not only enter a caveat against one's audience taking too uniform a view of French education, but one must also be careful oneself to guard against making too sweeping generalisations. One The territorial character of the population, to which allusion has just been made, is, however, not merely an element in promoting decentralisation, it is also an item to be taken into account when appraising the success or failure of the rural school. Who speaks of character, speaks of home, the religious influence, the social milieu three powerful factors that can do much to help or hinder the school's endeavours. The two first-named |