in communes of more than 40,000 inhabitants the minimum salary of male teachers is $200 and of female teachers $160 a year.

The higher elementary schools (grades four and five and sometimes six) pay higher salaries, both in the rural communes and in the towns. In the rural communes of the lowest class (less than 2,000 inhabitants) the minimum salary for men is $160 and for women $128; in rural communes of the second class (2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants) men $170 and women $136; and in rural communes of more than 3,000 inhabitants, men $180 and women $144.

The minimum for town schools of the lowest class (communes of 3,000 to 15,000 inhabitants) is $200 for men and $160 for women; in communes of the second class (15,000 to 40,000 inhabitants), $222 for men and $176 for women; and in communes of more than 40,000 inhabitants, $264 for men and $216 for women.

These are the minimum salaries fixed by the National Government, and communes may supplement these sums or provide the teachers with houses. But most communes do neither. The law further provides that the salaries of teachers shall be augmented 10 per cent for every six years of service until the salary has been increased four times. As teachers, however, must hold the same post three consecutive years before they are deemed permanently appointed, and thus eligible to the increase, local boards of education very generally evade the law by giving quittance notice at the end of two years. They may turn the teachers adrift and employ new ones, or they may reappoint them under a new agreement, and thus not have to make the sexennial 10 per cent increase. The pitiable condition of the Italian teacher that Edmondo de Amicis has portrayed in his novel "Il romanzio d'una maestra,” probably savors more of fact than of fiction. In spite of this state of affairs there is no dearth of teachers-particularly among women-for the elementary schools of Italy. An instance came to my notice of a commune that wanted 30 women teachers at an average salary of $140, and there were 450 candidates for the 30 posts.

The pension system for the elementary school-teachers of Italy is not a bad one, as compared with other European pension systems. Teachers are required to contribute 4 per cent of their salaries to the pension fund, the communes must contribute 5 per cent of the salaries they pay their teachers, and the balance is borne by the State. The National Government made a foundation grant of $600,000, payable in 10 annual installments. After twenty-five years of service a teacher may retire on 17 per cent of the salary at the time of retirement, and after forty-two years of service teachers may be retired on 100 per cent of the average salary received during the last five years of service. Widows draw two-thirds of the sum that their husbands would have received, and there is a small allowance for orphans. The teachers so far retired draw on an average about $100 a year each.

VIII. SECONDARY EDUCATION.

There are two broad subdivisions of secondary education in Italy: (1) Classical secondary schools, and (2) technical secondary schools. The latter are in no sense institutes of technology, but what we should in America call scientific high schools. There are two subdivisions of the classical secondary schools: (1) The gymnasium, and (2) the lycée. The gymnasium has a five-year course. Pupils enter it at about the age of 8 or 9 years, and they are expected to have the equivalent of the three-year compulsory elementary school course, although as a matter of fact they rarely enter the gymnasium from the elementary schools, but get their preliminary training under tutors or in private schools. The course of study in the gymnasium includes the Italian language and literature, Latin, Greek, French, mathematics, and a very little drawing and natural history. The gymnasium trains for minor posts in the civil service and fits for the lycée.

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The lycée is simply a continuation of the classical studies begun in the gymnasium. It has a three-year course and fits for the universities. The course of study includes Italian, Latin, Greek, French, history, philosophy, and a little science; German is elective. The lycées are supported jointly by the State and the communes. The State pays the salaries of teachers and furnishes the necessary appliances. The communes erect and maintain the buildings. The gymnasia, on the other hand, are largely maintained by the communes with supplementary subsidies from the State.

There are in Italy 277 gymnasia, with an attendance of 31,201 boys and 1,597 girls, and 157 lycées, with an attendance of 14,528 boys and 359 girls. Teachers in the gymnasium are paid from $309 to $386 a year, and those in the lycée from $387 to $425 a

year.

Classical education is held in high esteem in Italy, as in other Latin countries, which results in overcrowding the professions with men who should, during the elementary school period, have been diverted into technical, industrial, and commercial callings. The secondary classical schools are crowding the ranks of the intellectual proletariat at a time when Italy is demanding more foremen and skilled workers for her factories.

Perhaps the least lovely aspect of classical secondary education in Italy is the entire absence of discipline and regard for law and authority. Youngsters in their early teens aim to shape municipal policies; they get up demonstrations and indignation meetings, and go on strikes when their instructors fail to comport themselves to their liking.

The secondary education of girls in Italy is still very largely in the hands of the teaching orders and religious organizations; and, so far as I could judge from what I saw at Milan, most of the work done in boarding schools for girls (convitti) is elementary rather than secondary. The course of study in these private schools for girls is of a rather superficial sort-a little polite learning, needlework, and the like. Private schools in Italy must be authorized by the ministry of public instruction. They must follow the courses of study outlined by the State and submit to the inspection of State officers, as in France. So far as I could learn, however, the State exercises little or no control over them.

An exception must be made in favor of the schools of the Waldensians. This religious body has maintained a separate existence since the twelfth century. Its schools are now the best one finds in Italy, and the percentage of illiteracy is lower in the Waldensian valleys than in any other part of the Kingdom. After inspecting their work at Milan, I visited their schools at Torre Pellice, and I found their educational institutions admirably organized and ably conducted. With the very limited funds at their disposal, one marvels that they should accomplish so much and do their work so well. Their teachers are the best trained that I have found in Italy, and their methods of instruction are in line with the most progressive countries in northwestern Europe.

The Waldensians occupy three mountain valleys in the Piedmont Alps, adjoining the French frontier-the Pellice, the Angrogna, and the Germano. They number in all about 25,000 souls. They have an elementary school in every parish-260 in all-a Latin school at Pinerolo and a college and normal school at Torre Pellice, the capital of the valleys. The college has twelve professors-graduates of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Geneva, and German universities-and 105 students. It has government recognition, and its graduates are given standing in the Italian universities. The Waldensian normal school at Torre Pellice has trained a number of excellent teachers.

The technical side of secondary education includes (1) the technical schools and (2) the technical institutes. The technical schools have a three-year course and they aim to prepare for the technical institutes, for public service, and for agricultural and industrial pursuits. Their course of study includes the Italian language and literature, French, geography, arithmetic and geometry, elements of science, drawing, and bookkeeping. The diploma of the technical school is necessary for admission to the technical institute and the institutes that train for the mercantile

marine service. The 295 technical schools of Italy have an attendance of 40,000 boys and 6,000 girls, ranging in age from 10 to 14 years.

The technical institutes continue the work of the technical schools; and besides general courses of instruction in mathematics, physics, drawing, and industrial processes, they afford opportunities for specialization in these subjects and certain related subjects, such as land surveying, agriculture, commerce, and the like. They also fit students for the scientific courses of the Italian universities. Some of the best of the technical institutes are at Como, Bergamo, Turin, Venice, Leghorn, Terni, and Naples. Few of them, unfortunately, have adequate workshops, and the instruction is theoretic rather than applied. They are supported by subsidies from the National Government, supplemented by provincial and municipal grants and donations from chambers of commerce and workingmen's associations. There are 73 technical institutes in Italy, with 12,000 boys and 500 girls in attendance.

IX. UNIVERSITIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION.

In any survey of Italian education her universities must occupy a commanding place. It was in Italy that the mediæval universities first sprung up, and many of her higher institutions are the oldest seats of learning in Europe. Italy is so well supplied with universities that she is university poor. Martiani, in 1893, and subsequent ministers of public instruction have endeavored to reduce the number, but the reform movement has not been popular in the National Parliament. Many of the small and weak universities are historical survivals merely, and local pride always rallies to prevent their extinction.

With 17 State and 4 municipal universities, Italy has an enrollment of less than 23,000 students-a number, however, altogether out of proportion to the needs of her impoverished economic condition. Law and medicine are overcrowded-the two faculties have more than 73 per cent of the university students and Italy is afflicted with the scourge of the intellectual proletariat. There is a superabundance of lawyers and doctors who can not find work in these professions, and they greatly augment the large office-seeking army which demands to be fed from the public crib. "Whenever there is a vacancy in the civil service," says an Italian educator, "there is a host of competitors, even when the place offers the most niggardly salary." "This unfortunate class of proletarians," continues the same writer, "weighs heavily upon the social balance of the nation, because it is a truly unproductive class."

Only 7 of the universities have an enrollment of over 1,200 students each; these are Naples, Turin, Rome, Bologna, Pavia, Padua, and Genoa; and 5 of the 7, it will be noted, are in northern Italy. Four of the State universities-Cagliari, Macerata, Sassari, and Siena-and the 4 municipal universities-Camerino, Ferrara, Perugia, and Urbino have less than 400 students each.

Bologna, the oldest of the existing Italian universities, has 1,800 students and eight faculties: (1) Philosophy and letters, (2) physical and natural science and mathematics, (3) jurisprudence, (4) medicine and surgery, (5) pharmacy, (6) veterinary medicine, (7) agriculture, and (8) engineering. Naples, founded in 1224, with 5,000 students, has only the first five faculties named above. Rome, founded in 1303, has 3,239 students and six faculties. Turin, founded in 1412, has 2,700 students and five faculties. Pavia, founded in 1361, has 1,627 students. Genoa and Padua have six faculties each; the former has 1,335 students and the latter 1,472.

The free universities as a rule have fewer faculties. That at Ferrara has (1) physical and natural science and mathematics, (2) jurisprudence, (3) medicine and surgery, and (4) pharmacy; and it has only 258 students. Three of the lycées—Aquila, Bari, and Catangero-offer certain university courses, chiefly in philosophy and letters, but the three have only 245 students pursuing such courses.

Most of the university courses require attendance for four years, although in medicine and surgery six years are required. The sessions are short-from the middle of Novem

ber to the middle of July-and there are vacations at Christmas, the carnival, Easter, and Whitsuntide. Students seldom change from one university to another, as in Germany, hence the provincial atmosphere of the Italian seats of learning. Upon the completion of the university course there are both oral and written examinations, and essays and theses are required. The latter, however, are not printed. Self-government prevails, as in Germany. Students pay no fees except for admission and final examinations and the professors are paid by the State. The rector corresponds to the American university president, but he is chosen from the teaching force and holds office for three years only. Each faculty selects its own dean, who holds office for one year. Italian university professors play a leading rôle in the political life of the nation and they are liberally represented in the national parliament.

Besides the State and free universities there are many special schools and institutes that rank as higher educational institutions, such as the four schools of applied engineering, at Turin, Bologna, Rome, and Naples; the higher technical institute at Milan; the three higher schools of veterinary medicine at Turin, Milan, and Naples; the higher literary and scientific institutes at Florence and Milan; the three higher normal schools at Pisa, Florence, and Rome; the schools of commerce and consular science at Bari, Genoa, and Venice; the higher naval school at Genoa; the agricultural colleges at Milan and Portici, and the forestry institute at Vallombrosa. These higher special schools are maintained in whole or in part by the State. Some of those which fit young men for technical and industrial callings are jointly financed by the State, the provinces, and the communes.

The Royal Scientific and Literary Academy at Milan has 141 students in courses in philosophy and letters. There are similar academies at Florence and Venice. The new Commercial University of Luigi Bocconi, opened four years ago (1902) at Milan, already has 200 students in courses in business, finance, and the social and political sciences. The Institute of Oriental Languages at Naples, founded in 1727 and rehabilitated in 1888, has 221 students in Arabic, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, modern Greek, and Russian. Italy is recruiting her consular service from men trained in consular science and the modern languages at the excellent consular schools at Genoa, Bari, and Venice. The three higher normal schools are patterned after similar institutions in France. There is one for men at Pisa; but the male teacher in Italy, like his confrère in the United States, is rapidly going the way of the mastodon and other extinct species. The Pisa school was founded in 1862. At the present time it has four professors and five students. The two higher normal schools for women, on the other hand, are well attended. That at Florence has 17 instructors and 150 students, and the higher normal school for women at Rome has 19 instructors and 168 students.

Italy has several institutes of technology of university grade. The superior Technical Institute at Milan has 626 students in courses in electricity, mechanics, mineralogy, geodesy, and architecture. The higher Polytechnic School at Naples, founded in 1863, has departments of civil and industrial engineering, electricity, architecture, and commerce. Besides these and similar higher State institutions, there are the Industrial School of Alessandro Volta at Milan and the Royal School of Weaving and Dyeing at Prato, founded by royal decrees; the Institute of Arts and Trades of Marches at Fermo, endowed with charitable funds diverted for this purpose; and the Trade School at Biella, founded by Quintino Sella, the publicist, and the Industrial School at Vicenza, founded by Senator Alessandro Rossi.

There are also 13 schools of fine arts under the control of the Government and the same number under private control, the most important of the Government schools being those of Bologna, Carrara, Florence, Milan, Palermo, Parma, and Rome. There are 2,433 students in the schools of fine arts conducted by the Government and 1,625 in the private schools. There are five Government conservatories of music and 51 private institutions. The Government conservatories are at Milan, Parma, Florence, Naples, and Palermo. The Government conservatories have 952 students and the private conservatories 4,431.

X. EDUCATION OF DEPENDENT, DEFECTIVE, AND DELINQUENT CHILDREN.

Extensive provisions, chiefly of a private nature and rather largely by the religious organizations, are made for the care and education of dependent children. The State aid for such children is practically nil, although municipal subsidies aid greatly in the work. As the revenues for the maintenance of such institutions are limited, they aim, so far as lies in their power, to augment the earning power of the children at an early age, in consequence of which the distinctly educational work is much slighted or altogether neglected.

A few, like the Conversini Home at Pistoja, emphasize the educational and economic aspects of manual training. The school at Pistoja is for poor boys who are not orphans. It has an endowment of a quarter of a million dollars, which has enabled it to provide an excellent agricultural and industrial plant. The boys are given onethird of the profits of their earnings, which is deposited in a savings bank and may not be drawn out until they have reached the age of 21 years. There is a school for girls along somewhat similar lines at Piacenza.

Most municipalities have homes for orphans and abandoned children. The Orphanage of the Bigallo, at Florence, for example, cares for 900 abandoned and neglected children, and the Home for the Innocents, in the same city, for 700 illegitimate children. The problem of the care of illegitimates in Italy is a serious one. The normal rate of illegitimates is high in Italy, reaching in the province of Rome 17 per cent of the population born; and the duplicate marriage by State and church has increased the apparent rate since the unification of Italy. The State recognizes civil marriages only; and, as some of the priests who are antagonistic to the State celebrate the marriage without requiring compliance with the civil code, wives are often abandoned without any civil remedy, and all children which are the result of such marriages are illegitimate in the eyes of the law.

The most notable departure in the care of dependent children in Italy is the increased adoption of the placing-out system, in vogue in Massachusetts and several other American States. There is a growing conviction among Italian philanthropists that the institutional care of dependents, no matter how efficient the educational work may be, does not fit them for independence and self-support, whereas the boarding-out system secures for the children the advantages of family life and training. Many such children are now boarded with foster parents at Volterra and it seems probable that this method of caring for the dependent will in the future be more generally adopted in Italy.

In spite of financial handicaps the Italian schools for the deaf seem to be doing excellent work. There are 46 schools for deaf children in the Kingdom, the chief ones being at Milan, Naples, Rome, Florence, and Genoa. There are two deaf schools at Milan the Royal Institution, which has 50 children from the better social classes, who pay $160 a year; and the School for the Indigent Deaf, which cares for 120 poor children. Both institutions are excellently housed, and the former has a liberal and efficient teaching force. The Royal Institution at Rome cares for 115 children, 80 of whom are educated at the expense of the municipality.

Of more than 4,000 deaf children of school age in Italy only 2,300 are receiving school instruction. So far as I was able to learn the State was generally blamed for this condition of affairs. It bears only a little more than 4 per cent of the expense of the education of deaf children; municipalities bear 35 per cent of the burden, the parents of such children bear 5 per cent of the cost, and the remainder is borne by private charity.

In spite of an abbreviated course of instruction and a shabbily paid teaching force the Italian deaf schools maintain a high standard of efficiency in articulation and lip reading, and much of their work in manual training is of an educative and practical nature. Italy has been a real leader in the oral method of instructing deaf children and at the Third International Congress of Teachers of the Deaf, held at Milan