652
JJ
lead piping is poisonous and makes the wrists drop off.' Lack of obseveration was also noticeable in the answers of Class II where several boys contended that lead piping was in general use in Hongkong.
42. Class III did very well. Care was taken in answering the questions and the English was better than in Class II. Some of the suggestions as to the improvement of the Hongkong cubicle would probably entail serious trouble not to say disaster if carried into effect but on the whole the suggestions were very reasonable and some very good indeed.
43. In Class IV the upper divisions A and B did well especially A. IV C was fair but IV D and E had not much idea of the subject. In enumerating the three substances of which the food of man consists one boy included "lion" among the albuminates !
were
44. Class V did well. The lower divisions were weak but the upper ones distinctly good. Question 4 had evidently been dealt with in school as all boys answered the first part correctly. But they nearly all, presumably through carelessness, neglected to answer the second portion of the question why precautions should be taken in digging a well.
BOOK-KEEPING.
45. Book-keeping is taught in Classes I and II and seems to be well taught. The practical work was very well done, the journalising and ledger work of Class I being very good indeed. The boys however seem to work very slowly.
MATHEMATICS,
46. The Mathematics in the school seem on the whole to be well taught and the boys scem to take an interest in their work. The lower forms are all well grounded and the boys work accurately. In the higher forms however the boys seem to have been taken on too fast and the syllabus contains more than they have time to learn thoroughly. In all the higher work the boys do not understand what they are doing. They know, and can make use of, certain formulæ and rules, but they cannot prove these formulæ or make use of them when the question is not quite straightforward. Knowledge of such a kind, when not required for some practical purpose, seems of little real value.
47. Arithmetic. In the lower classes the papers set were straightforward and simple and were all well done. The boys understood their work and all worked neatly and accurately.
48. In Class VI, twenty-four out of the forty-eight boys examined got all the questions right; of the remainder fifteen had only one wrong.
49. In Class V, all of the divisions had an average of over 50) per cent. A and B both had an average of over 80% a very good performance.
50. In Class IV the papers were perhaps not quite so accurate, but the boys showed they had mastered their work. All of the four divisions had an average of over 40%, C being the best with an average of 66%. Five boys got over 80%.
51. In the upper classes the work was not so good. The papers set were of course harder, but more of the boys seem to fall below an average standard.
52. In Class III there was one very good paper in division A which obtained 85 % and one good paper in B with 70% but niost of the remainder of the boys seem to have taken very little trouble. Nine out of twenty-five boys examined got less than 30%.
53. Class II was remarkable for its inaccuracy. The boys seem to know what they ought to do, but in very many cases some careless mistake caused a loss of marks. Question 4 was attempted by several boys but no one got it quite right though in each case the mistake made was different. Two boys did good papers and got over 75%. The average for A was 50% and B 40%.