weekly, allowing for four 1 hour classes per day of 30 girls each; the additional strain of securing a thorough "clean up" by each class during the already brief lesson involves much nerve tension and physical fatigue. The 2 or 2 hour lessons at Philadelphia, although they permit of the attenddance of but a quota of girls from each school, reduces the number of weekly classes per teacher to 10, and the number of children to be individually known by each teacher to about 200. It is of interest to note that in Philadelphia, cookery classes were first organised 15 years ago, in the Girls' High School; the experiment proved so successful that in two years a place was found for the subject in the grade school programmes; even now, it is only an "optional," or "elective," but, nevertheless, very popular subject. 66 Centre" The system of " centres seems general. These are attached in most instances to new schools, though the adaptation of System. basement rooms for this purpose is very common, in which case the light and ventilation are apt to be defective; still, great credit is due to organisers and teachers for the skilful care, thought, and personal trouble they spend to make the best of the second best premises. The Supervisor of Manual Training at Cleveland, Ohio (Mr. W. E. Roberts), has introduced a manual training centre method which presents various advantages, and has the merit of not being extravagant. A kitchen for girls and a carpenter's shop for boys are provided as an annex to the selected school buildings; the cost of building and equipment sufficient for classes of 20, respectively, averages £1,000; cloakrooms and sanitary conveniences are attached. are attached. Light, airy, suitably arranged apartments are provided, infinitely preferable to the more pretentious basement rooms frequently allotted to these purposes. This plan obviates the necessity for outside classes to enter the school building, and the proximity of the kitchen and workshop promotes mutual interest in each other's work among pupils who pursue all other studies together.* The number of centres provided in each city depends upon the time Domestic Science has been adopted as a school subject; whether it is required of all girls in the selected grades; upon the size of the classes; and last, but not least, upon the funds available for building and equipment. At Boston, where the subject has been taught many years, 22 centres exist, each attended by girls from 5 to 7 grammar schools; these centres * Significant of the strong development and recognition of the social spirit in the United States, is a pleasant little custom which prevails in the city of Cleveland for maintaining sympathy between boy and girl classmates. Permission is given at suitable intervals for the interchange of visits at these manual training centres. Simple hospitality is dispensed in their kitchen by the girls, as on the occasion of my visit to the Wade Park School, where preparations were in force to entertain the boys with cocoa and cake, prepared by the young cooks. Later on the courtesy would be returned, by an invitation from the boys to inspect their workshop, when each would present a small specimen of his skill to one of the girl visitors. "Centre System continued. Equipment. are convenient in situation, but many of them are only adapted rooms, basement or otherwise, though improvements now in progress will gradually replace these with modern apartments. At Chicago, where the subject was introduced in 1898, I found 11 centres; the same stage of adaptation is being gone through as at Boston, with a like promise of better things, already fulfilled in the newest schools. The accommodation, even with large classes, sufficed for less than one-half of those eligible to receive the instruction. At this date it is probably considerably increased. Comparison with developments in New York City will exemplify the rapidity with which these take place. In 1898 only 4 cookery teachers were employed by the Board of Education of that city, though the subject had been tentatively introduced into the schools some years before. In May, 1901, the supervisor had 29 teachers under her charge, employed at 40 centres. There the basement plan does not obtain, but the kitchens are located on the top floor of the 4 and 5 storied buildings. This plan involves much stair climbing on all concerned, and on that account should be discountenanced unless lifts are provided, as is customary in High Schools when carried up to this height; in respect of light and ventilation such a position is admirable. Five centres suffice for the needs of a less populous city, such as Toledo, in spite of cookery being obligatory on all girls in the 7th and 8th grades since 1899; previous to that date it was "elective." Spacious cooking "laboratories" are attached to the newest schools at Washington; hitherto, owing to want of space and the number of centres necessitated by the small classes and numerous schools, private houses have, in some instances, been employed for the purpose, and are still in use; these are unobjectional under the exceptionable conditions which obtain there. The small details of equipment are as variable as those of all the other particulars recorded, but the broad general plan is the same in all the cities I visited, or of whose courses I obtained reliable information. Even this, however, is subject to modification according to the method employed, either of individual work or of practice limited to a small group, or by the funds at the disposal of the organisers. Illustrations convey the best idea of the prominent feature which most conspicuously distinguishes an American school kitchen, or "cooking laboratory from the appearance familiar in England. It consists of a table of varying length and form; three sides of a square to accommodate 20 students, as at the Pratt Institute and some of the Boston school centres; or a short oblong, just sufficient for two, or at most four, workers, as at the Ohio State University, the Toledo Manual Training School or the Bradley Institute, Peoria, Ill. Whatever the length, the table is usually of hard wood, from 30 inches to 33 inches in height, about 25 inches wide, and calculated to allow from 25 inches to 33 inches per pupil according to size. I saw several instances where the front portion was wood, either plain, polished, covered with metal, slate or white glazed tiles, or coated with some vitreous preparation resembling glass. Mr Louis Roubillion (Teachers a College, Columbia University) considers" that unglazed, vitrified, Equipment white tile laid over asphalted paper, bound at the table edge by continued. a metal strip is perhaps the best, although somewhat expensive." At one high school each pupil is supplied with white American cloth to protect the polished wood, and an asbestos mat upon which to place her hot pans. The back half of the table may, or may not, be covered with sheet zinc; above this portion runs an iron grid raised about 6 or 8 inches; this may be continuous the whole length of a long table or be fitted in sections of 12 to 18 inches. It serves the dual purpose of range which permits of individual cooking, and of a stand for hot pans; bunsen gas burners, or gas rings, are fitted underneath the grid, one for each pupil, and a considerable amount of the cooking processes are conducted by these means. When gas is not available, single burner oil stoves are substituted-one for each pupil. Each pupil's place, about two square feet at the table, is fitted as follows: slid immediately under the top are two boards, one for bread or pastry, one for meat, etc., below are two drawers, the deeper one usually provided with one or two sliding trays. In this drawer is kept the small ware in constant Figs. 1, 2, 3 are reproduced by kind permission from "The Economics of |