Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/658

638 philharmonic society, with a government subsidy. Of the attendance of pupils, about 40 per cent are females.

The school of arts and trades, with its five-year course of mathematics, physics, chemistry, industrial inventions, political economy, Spanish, French, drawing, and mechanical arts, is attended by a large number of students. The school of commerce and administration, and those for the blind and deaf-mutes, are objects of special care and attention.

For women there are several superior schools, and their number and attendance is increasing with the general progress. In the school of arts for women at Mexico, instruction is given in photography, telegraphy, printing, and other branches, with a view to open a path for them in useful careers. The boarding-schools, which absorb a comparatively large number of girls, also impart several advanced studies. Special primary schools exist for women as for men, besides evening classes.

In view of the rapid spread of education and the demand for teachers, the creation of normal schools has hardly grown apace. The smallness and uncertainties of the pay, and the rather equivocal position of primary teachers, have neutralized the aspirations of candidates. Primaries will, no doubt, be surrendered more and more to the charge of women.

The national university, once the pride of Mexico, has disappeared before the encroachments of professional colleges. The similar establishment at