are altogether swept away into streams, and find their way into the sea. It is in this way that worms contribute to a general lowering of the level of the whole dry land of the globe. Worms may be looked upon as the oldest and still the greatest of agriculturists. Long before man existed the land was regularly ploughed, and still continues to be ploughed, by earth-worms.' Mr Darwin compares their castings to the fine soil prepared by a gardener for his choicest plants. This earth forms the dark-coloured rich humus which almost everywhere covers the surface of the land with a fairly well defined layer or mantle. . . . It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as have these lowly organised creatures.' Corals have perhaps done more conspicuous work; but their operations are almost confined to the tropical zones. APPENDIX. SYLLABUS OF THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT, SOUTH KENSINGTON. SUBJECT XXIII-PHYSIOGRAPHY. FIRST STAGE OR ELEMENTARY COURSE. The candidate will be expected to have a knowledge of ordinary Descriptive and Physical Geography so far as required by the 5th and 6th Standards of the new Code' and of the specific special subjects of secular instruction-Principles of Mechanics and Physical Geography. Questions may be set in these subjects. The parts played by gravitation, cohesion, and chemical affinity in producing chemical and physical differences in matter. Elementary ideas of the various conditions of matter as regards energy, embracing heated states and electric and magnetic states. Elementary notions of chemical action, the formation of binary compounds. Breaking up of compound matter into simpler forms. The chemical elements. Water, its composition and different states. Chemical and physical character of the crust of the Earth. Rocks, stratified and unstratified. Inorganic materials: the more frequent simple minerals and rocks formed of them; granite, volcanic products ancient and modern; sedimentary rocks, conglomerate, sandstone, shale; limestone, gneiss, slate, marble, sand, mud, surface soil. Materials partly produced by organisms: Coal, peat, chalk, coral, limestone. Bodies of which these are compounds. The chemical elements of which the crust is chiefly composed. Observations indicating an increased temperature in the interior of the earth. Volcanic phenomena and distribution of volcanoes. Earthquakes and slow upheavals and subsidences of the Earth's crust. The Sea : Salts dissolved in sea water; depth and form of sea bottom; remarkable inequalities. The chief currents. Distribution of temperature and density. Phenomena of arctic and antarctic regions. Floes, pack ice, icebergs, &c. Action of the sea upon the Earth's crust. Influence of the sea in the distribution of climate. The Atmosphere: Height and composition; atmospheric pressure; use of Distribution of temperature, horizontal and vertical. Evaporation and condensation. Aqueous vapour, rainfall, ice, and snow. Regions of extreme dryness and of great rainfalls. The prevailing air currents; cyclones. General conditions of climate. Action of rain, springs, rivers, and glaciers upon the General ideas of the changes which the Earth's surface has undergone in the past. Elementary notions as to the effects of terrestrial electricity and magnetism. Thunder-storms; aurora; the mariner's compass. The distribution of light and heat on the Earth's surface. Day and night. The Seasons. 158 EXAMINATION PAPERS. 1877. FIRST STAGE, OR ELEMENTARY EXAMINATION. INSTRUCTIONS. You are permitted to attempt only eight questions. The first four questions must be attempted by you, and you are then at liberty to select four others from among the remaining questions on the paper. The value attached to each question is indicated by the numbers in brackets. 1. What are deltas? How are deltas formed? Name six of the largest deltas in the world. (15.) 2. Why does rain fall in such great abundance in the west of Ireland? What is meant by the statement that the mean annual rainfall of a place is 70 inches? What becomes of the water which falls upon the earth in the form of rain? (15.) 3. What is meant by the snow-line? Why is the snow-line sometimes higher on one side of a mountain chain than on the other? Why do glaciers descend below the snow-line? (15.) 4. What is a volcano? Name the active volcanoes of Europe, and state in what parts of the same continent extinct volcanoes (15.) occur. 5. State, in the order of their relative abundance, the eight chemical elements which enter most largely into the composition of rocks. (10.) 6. What is the difference in composition between peat and coal? By what changes would the former pass into the latter? (10.) 7. Of what materials are clay, shale, and slate chiefly composed, and in what respects do these rocks differ from one another? (10.) 8. What is the principal work performed by rivers in modifying the features of the earth's surface? Explain the mode of origin of the winding curves in which rivers so frequently flow. (10.) 9. Draw a sketch map of the Atlantic Ocean, and indicate upon it the courses of the chief of the great currents. (10.) 10. What are the differences between continental and insular climates, and how are these differences caused? (10.) 11. In what direction does a magnetic needle in this country point, and why does it not everywhere assume a due north and south direction? (10.) 12. Why are coral reefs limited to certain restricted areas of the earth's surface? (10.) 1880. FIRST STAGE, OR ELEMENTARY EXAMINATION. INSTRUCTIONS. You are permitted to attempt only eight questions. The first three questions must be attempted by you, and you are then at liberty to select five others from among the remaining questions on the paper. The value attached to each question is indicated by the numbers at the end of the question. 1. Name the binary compounds which are united to form a piece of limestone. State how these may be separated from one another, and describe the characters presented by each of them. What elements are present in these binary compounds, and what is the general character of each of these elements? (15.) 2. Describe the construction and use of a thermometer, and explain the method by which thermometers are graduated. (15.) 3. Explain, by the aid of a diagram, the mode of origin of springs. How does the water of springs differ from rainwater? (15.) (11.) 4. Why is the south-west wind in this country usually accompanied by rain, while the east wind brings dry weather? 5. Explain what is meant by the 'dew-point.' 6. What are fiords, and how do you suppose them to have been formed? (11.) (11.) 7. Describe the phenomena called roches moutonnées, and explain how they are formed. (11.) 8. Draw a sketch-map of Hindustan, showing the position of its great mountain ranges and rivers. (N.B.-Names must be given.) (11.) |