quence of our gathering plants, during the summer, and of the conversations to which this gave rise, he was brought to the conviction that the whole round of knowledge, to the acquisition of which our senses are instrumental, depended on an attentive observation of nature, and on a careful collection and preservation of whatever she presents to our thirst for knowledge".

In the institute the masters brought different objects under the pupils' immediate observation, and, by careful questioning, encouraged them to tell what they observed. The objects generally taken were such as the pupils brought home from their walks; but these were supplemented by collections of minerals, plants, stuffed animals, etc.

"Natural history and physical science were taught entirely without plan, though, in some instances, in a manner decidedly superior. The children were led to observe and to examine for themselves such objects and phenomena as were within reach; and, to enlarge the sphere of their knowledge, their teachers made excursions with them in different directions through the country. Sometimes they would all travel together, at other times they were divided into several troops, which, on their return home, communicated to each other the results of their observations. In an establishment in which there were no standing vacations, a few weeks every year could well be devoted to such expeditions, without encroaching on the time of their regular studies; and, in a country so eminent for the abundance and variety of its natural productions, it was impossible that the pupils should not, under the guidance of intelligent teachers, acquire rich stores of real information. The only objection that lay against the method pur

sued in the institution on these subjects, was that the pupils did not acquire a comprehensive view of the sciences, but that their knowledge, being gathered as it were upon casualties in the first instance, had a tendency afterwards to remain fragmentary" (Dr. Biber). In his Report to the Society of the Friends of Education, written in 1800, while he was at Burgdorf, Pestalozzi says: "If the child knows simple bodies-air, earth, water and fire-I show him the effects of these elements on bodies which he knows, and as he learns to know the properties of several simple bodies, I demonstrate to him the different effects obtained by uniting one body to another; and lead him, always by the simplest course of sense-impressions, to the boundaries of the higher sciences".

No one could be more opposed to the verbal method in science-teaching, i.e., the lecture and text-book methods. He says: He says: "All science-teaching that is dictated, explained and analysed by men who have not learnt truly to think and speak in agreement with the laws of nature: all science-teaching of which the definitions are forced, as if by magic, into the minds of children like a Deus ex Machinâ, or, rather, are blown into their ears after the manner of a stageprompter-so far as it does go in-must necessarily degrade into a miserable caricature of education.

"For where the fundamental powers of the human mind are left unawakened; and when words are crowded upon the sleeping powers, we make dreamers, who dream unreasonably and irregularly, in proportion as the words, crammed into these unhappy openmouthed creatures, are big and pretentious. Such scholars dream of anything in the world except that

they are asleep and dreaming. . . . I do not deny that even such methods may turn out satisfactory tailors, shoemakers, tradesmen and soldiers; but I do deny that they can produce a tailor or a tradesman who is a man in the highest sense of the word."

Writing of his visit to Yverdon, in 1805, Froebel says: "In natural history I heard only the botany. The principal teacher, who also prepared the plan of instruction for this subject throughout the school, was Hopf, who was an active young man like the rest. The curriculum arranged and carried out by him had in it much that was excellent. In each individual case, e.g., the shape and position of leaves, flowers, etc., he would first obtain all the possible varieties of form, by question and answer between the class and himself, and then he would pick out from the results the form which was before them in nature. These lessons were in this way made attractive."

Music. We have already seen the high value which Pestalozzi attached to music as a moral influence. Writing of it as a means of æsthetic development, he says: "Nature has two principal and general means of leading human activity towards the cultivation of the arts, and these should be used, if not before, at least at the same time as any particular means. They are singing and the sense of the beautiful. The mother lulls her child with song; but here, as in all else, we refuse to follow the law of nature. Why has not the progress of the arts during so many centuries managed to find us what is necessary to carry on these lullabies in after life? Why has it not given us a set of national songs capable of elevating the very humblest souls, and passing from the simple cradle

melody to the sublime hymn of praise to God? I am incapable of supplying the want, alas! I can only call attention to it." There is something specially striking in such views in one who "could not even sing, though, when unusually excited or elated, would hum to himself snatches of poetry; not, however, with very much tune".

At Burgdorf M. Buss was the teacher of music. Ramsauer tells us that: "The thirty or forty children of both sexes in Pestalozzi's old school came from the town to the castle to take part in the singing. Buss made his pupils sing as they walked, two by two, holding each other's hand, up and down the big corridors of the castle. This was our greatest pleasure. Indeed singing was one of our chief sources of enjoyment in the institute. We sang everywhere-out of doors, during our walks, and, in the evening, in the court of the castle; and this collective singing contributed, in no small degree, to the harmony and good feeling which prevailed among us."

De Guimps, in describing the "mountain excursions from Yverdon, says: "We would sing gaily as we passed through the villages, where the peasants often gave us fruit. As soon as we got to the high mountain pastures under the pines we often assembled at some good point of view to sing the wild, simple Alpine melodies our masters loved to teach us. To-day, after more than sixty years, I can recall those songs as vividly as in those early days when I first sang them, and they still seem very beautiful to me.' In another place he tells us that the Christmas Eve festivities were "interspersed with joyous songs, in which the children always took the greatest pleasure. Indeed, singing played a great

part in Pestalozzi's institute, and was the joy of almost every one in the house. There was singing everywhere and always."

Dr. Biber speaks of "the cheerful songs with which the youthful choir of Pestalozzi's pupils saluted the rising sun, or the lovely breezes of returning spring ... the hymns of praise and thanksgiving, especially reserved for solemn occasions".

Two Swiss, Nägeli and Pfeiffer, rendered great assistance in this work by publishing some excellent collections of sweet and simple songs for children; and training the pupils in the institute on a definite and systematic plan. This was quite a new feature in education, at that time. The teaching was based upon a new musical notation which had been invented by Rousseau, in 1741. In this the movable Do is adopted, and the notes of the scale are indicted by the numbers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. I. For the absolute pitch, as it is called, of the notes as shown on the staff the old syllable letter names were retained, viz., ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si; and C. D. E. F. G. A. B. In effect, it anticipated all the essential principles of the Tonic Sol-Fa method-indeed the Rev. John Curwen testified that he was deeply indebted to it for his system -and has been greatly extended and improved by M. Chevé. It is now much used in France, and is known as the Chevé method. It is also known and used in England.

The order of teaching was: (1) The first exercises were entirely given to the time value of the notes; the crotchet being the unit, of which the minim was the double, and so on for the longer notes: the quaver was the half, and so on for the shorter notes. The rests were taught in connection with the note whose place they