consisting of the parish priest, the president of the municipal
council, and one of the teachers chosen by themselves. There is also a
board of supervisors, composed of three men or women, elected by the
parents of the parish. Childless people are not allowed to vote. This
board of supervisors does not appear to have any definite function
except to advise and find fault. The school board elects the teachers,
determines the courses of study and methods of discipline, and submits
recommendations and estimates for appropriations annually to the
municipal council. In both city and country what is called "voluntary
instruction" is provided outside of the legal school hours, which may
be taken advantage of by people who are willing to pay for additional
attention from the school teachers, but it is neither free nor
compulsory.

The compulsory studies in the primary schools are the Bible, the
catechism of the Lutheran creed, the Norwegian language, the usual
elementary branches, with history (including a treatise on the
constitution and the government of Norway), botany, physiology
(including the fundamental principles of hygiene and the effects of
the use of intoxicating liquors), singing, drawing, wood-carving, the
use of the lathe and other tools, manual training, gymnastics, and
rifle shooting.

The national law requires that schoolhouses shall be so located as to
be within a distance of two miles of the residences of ninety per cent
of the children of school age. The poor are provided with text-books
upon application, and in some places the municipal council provides
every child a warm dinner at noon. It can be paid for if the parents
prefer, but the better classes look upon this provision with
prejudice, as they do upon all charities. Nevertheless, it is an