equably by means ordinarily in use. The trouble is aggravated where storm windows are not provided. The ventilation of school houses as a rule is unsatisfactory and it should be made impossible for a district to obtain the grant on inspection unless a distinctly successful effort has been made to provide a sufficient supply of warm fresh air.

Grounds.

There is much to be desired regarding the care of school grounds. Fifty districts have fenced their grounds but only twelve of these have done any cultivation. For some time it will depend mainly on the interest and energy of the teachers whether school grounds are cultivated or not. Trustees and pupils are usually ready to do the work if the teacher takes the initiative. Yorkton, Saltcoats and Willowbrook have the most attractive school grounds in the division.

Water Supply.

The water supply, even in village districts, is unusually unsatisfactory. Pupils generally bring their own supply in bottles, etc., and this is naturally consumed early in the day. During the summer afternoons, especially during the long walks home after school, pupils must often necessarily be very thirsty, perhaps even to the point of suffering. Of the twenty-six wells in the inspectorate, only half supply good water; even when the supply is pronounced good by the teacher, the question "Do you drink it yourself?" often meets with a negative. The Saltcoats school has provided filters of the capacity of five gallons manufactured by The Union Stoneware Co., of Red Wing, Minn. They are very convenient and are easy to keep clean. Their cost is trifling, when the convenience and cleanliness are considered. The open pail and a dipper, a usual contrivance, must be very unhealthful.

Equipment.

It is very gratifying to note that the equipment of schools is steadily improving. The method of paying the grant on inspection, the specific recommendations issued by the Department for the guidance of trustees, the general prosperity of the country, and the methods of school supply firms, are factors in this improvement. The activity of the latter often leads the trustees, especially in new rural schools, to purchase irregularly unnecessary and expensive equipment and it is to be hoped that the warning regarding this matter sent out by the department will have due effect. I note that an action has been brought by a school supply firm against individual trustees, for the recovery of the value of a note given by them for a chart, a subsequent board of trustees having refused payment on the ground that the purchase was made and the note given without a meeting of the trustees being properly called. Interest in school decoration still continues and it is a rare thing to find a school room without some attempt at attractive decoration. The Yorkton school has a collection of pictures of special excellence.

Programme of Studies.

The disposition to work out the programme of studies carefully and completely is steadily growing. The parts that diverge most from the syllabuses of other provinces give most trouble. The following are selected criticisms:

Arithmetic. The commonest criticism is that the programme is not fully developed. This usually applies to standards below IV and particularly primary work. Original problem work in primary classes is rarely met; where used, it shows itself a distinct aid in the development of clear conceptions of number. Pupils show defects in reasoning power in the presence of numerical relations.

Reading.-Tone needs improvement; reading is fluent enough but pupils do not get sufficient training in enunciation and articulation; harsh tones and vulgar slurs are often let pass without comment. In phonics, sounds discovered by teachers in analysis and given in synthesis are incorrect; tendency to syllabify too plainly noticeable. Pupils have evidently used the library for supplementary reading. There is a close relation between intelligent oral reading and extensive general silent reading. Teachers and trustees cannot give too much encourage ment to the use of the libraries now being established. Teachers should be more sensitive to the cultivation of full clear tones and distinct, smooth utterance. Interpretation in foreign schools leading to the thorough mastery of Part I and II primers should be given the most careful attention.

Writing. Systematic supervision of copy books and daily written work is needed. Teachers' own writing on the blackboard should be clear and as nearly upright as possible for the sake of the eyesight of the pupils.

Composition. Subjects show general but slight improvement. Teaching is not systematic in the primary standards, and an elementary text book with a few well selected exercises would be found useful. The same criticism applies to spelling.

It is to be noted further that the special training in modelling, paper cutting and folding, also in drawing and singing, given so thoroughly in the Normal schools, does not appear when the teachers get into rural schools. There is plenty of time for these subjects if the school work is well organised, and teachers set a useful minimum. Physical culture and voice culture are neglected.

Teachers.

Of the one hundred and fifty-one teachers whose work I inspected, no less than thirty-four were teaching under a provisional certificate. Of the rest, seventy-five held interim certificates. It is an easy inference that the teaching body is as a whole, both young and of short experience, and a Normal training that keeps always in view the general conditions under which most of our teachers must work, institutes, conventions, and frequent and thorough inspection are indicated as of the highest importance in keeping teachers at work towards specially useful ends. As matters of particular observation there should be more regularity in

the practice of recording late attendance; time tables should be adjusted at least every term to the work required and there should be more punctuality at recesses and in the times of opening and closing school. To this end there should be a reliable clock in every school, and in matters of punctuality teachers should manage their districts with persistent firmness.

Trustees.

Considering that the time and trouble of trustees is given gratuitously the business of school districts is fairly well managed. It seems anomalous, however, that such an important public office should be without remuneration. This is a busy country and capable men find their time valuable, and it would seem that the time has come when trustees should be paid for their services and be expected to fulfil their duties completely.

Much improvement is desirable in the method of calling meetings and of keeping books, accounts and records. So far as my observation goes, assessment and taxation are well managed, especially considering that under present conditions, settlement is fluctuating and records of ownership are difficult of access. The practice of trustees in new districts undertaking the construction of their school building by day labour is to be deprecated. Some palpaple instances of inefficient not to say dishonest management are in evidence in connection with the day labour method. The disregard of section 102 of The School Ordinance especially in small matters, is noticeable. The penalty for the infringement of this section is insufficient; under the present system of voluntary service of trustees, however, it could hardly be made more effective.

Length of School Year and Vacation.

The short term school, with its very variable conditions and regular change of teachers, is the weakest spot in the whole educational system. It would seem that the system fails just at the point of success. If a larger proportional grant were paid to schools open all year a large number of short term schools would become yearly schools. The short term school is the outcome of disinterestedness rather than of poverty. Also a policy tending to keep the size of districts, especially in foreign settlements, within a smaller maximum limit, so that pupils would not have too great a distance to go to school, coupled with the forbidding of a vacation to schools open less than eight months might be suggested as partial aids towards the greater efficiency of short term schools. The attendance in these schools almost invariably breaks down after the summer vacation. I would recommend also that trustees be given more latitude in timing vacations in rural districts so that peculiar needs of particular districts may be met without friction. While the districts remain as large as they are at present, while the country is sparsely settled and the people are engaged in pioneer work, a stringent compulsory law does not seem altogether desirable.

Inspection.

With regard to the actual work of inspection I beg to state that in my opinion the number of schools in an inspectorate should be considerably fewer than at present. The work of an inspector should become more of a supervisory and less of a critical character under our system and educational conditions. Teachers while actually at work need the help of an expert. They should have advice as soon as possible after school opens regarding the adjustment of subjects and methods to peculiar circumstances of classification, nationality, etc. A great deal of time is wasted in experiment before the inspector's arrival. Increased efficiency of the rural schools, with their regular change of teachers and abnormal conditions, will for many years depend largely on the frequency and thoroughness of inspection. Your obedient servant,

AUGUSTUS H. BALL,
Inspector of Schools.

J. A. CALDER, ESQ., M.L.A.,

Commissioner of Education.

SIR, I have the honour to submit the following report upon the Saskatoon inspectorate for the year ending December 31, 1906.

Although this inspectorate has been in existence since the first of August only, the number of school districts has increased from 136 to 164 during the five months. This indicates the rapidity with which this part of the province is being settled. Of this number less than forty per cent. are yearly schools, the remainder being short-term schools.

The class of buildings erected and those in course of construction is very satisfactory and the trustees are to be commended for the energy and interest displayed in securing the erection of buildings that are both ornamental and well adapted to the purpose that they are to serve, A number of the larger villages and towns have already announced their intention to erect four-roomed schools during the next year. It is to be regretted, however, that so little attention has been paid to proper lighting and ventilation of the rooms. A very large proportion of the schools have made no provision for lowering any of the windows, while those that have done so, with very few exceptions, use spring bolts that are practically useless, being so difficult to operate that most teachers have long since abandoned all hopes of using them. In cases where not supplied with weights it would seem advisable to use a pulley fastened to the top of the casement and a chain. This inexpensive device has been applied to the windows in a few schools and has proven highly satisfactory. Again, practically all of the rural schools have light entering the room from both sides instead of from the left only. The reason of this seems to be due largely to the impression that windows. on one side only destroy the external appearance of the building so far as symmetry is concerned. At the same time this arrangement reduces the possible blackboard area far below what it should be. This

defect might be overcome in the buildings which are erected hereafter by placing the inner cloak room on the side instead of on the end of the building.

So far as area, accessibility and drainage are concerned, the school sites are as a rule very satisfactory. Less than twelve per cent. of the districts, however, are enclosed with suitable fences and as a consequence little attention has been paid to flower culture. As I have frequently noticed that where teachers were interested in these matters the trustees were also, and in many cases had given visible evidences of it, the solution seems to consist in enlisting the interest of those teachers who have hitherto been indifferent.

The equipment provided, in most cases, is of a very satisfactory character and trustees seem to have a growing desire to equip their schools thoroughly. Very few schools contain less than the minimum area of blackboard, while many have been supplied with a much larger area of first class blackboard. With one exception patent seats are used in all the schools. The department has shown considerable wisdom in issuing the circular warning trustees to shun all travelling agents for school supplies. Forty-four schools in this inspectorate have been persuaded to purchase charts that are either in entire disuse or are used to a very small extent, and at a price far in excess of their actual value, while twenty-nine districts only have sets of drawing models and many of these have no dictionary. Some progress is being made in establishing libraries, as twenty-four schools are provided with libraries. averaging fifty volumes. These, again, are to be found in schools whose teachers are especially interested in their establishment. It is to be regretted that up to the present so little attention has been devoted to the decoration of school rooms as it is a matter of prime importance. I trust that in future teachers may interest themselves in this matter to a greater extent, for a school room ought to be made at least reasonably attractive.

During the year trustees have experienced much difficulty in securing duly qualified teachers, so that it has been necessary to issue a few provisional certificates. The character of the work done by these teachers justifies the policy of the department in granting as few provisional certificates as possible. About one-half of the teachers in this inspectorate have received their training in Ontario, one-quarter in Saskatchewan and the others in the provinces east of us. As has been pointed out previously by other inspectors the work of the teachers trained in this province is fully equal to, if not better than, that of the teachers from the other provinces. This is particularly noticeable in the primary number work. On the whole teachers are doing good work, apparently realising the importance of the pioneer work they are doing and putting forth commendable effort to surmount the many difficulties and inconveniences incident to a new country. The burden is particularly heavy upon the female teachers, who are in the ascendancy by about fourteen per cent.

In the yearly schools alone is it possible to cover the work prescribed in the course of studies. In the short term schools more attention is paid to the more important subjects-arithmetic, reading, writing and composition-with less attention to geography, grammar and history and practically none to nature study. In arithmetic I have