420 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Marvin, C. F. Kite Esperimeirts at the 

 Weather Bureau. Weather Bulletin No. 110. 



Merriam, Florence A. A Birding on a Broncho. 

 New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Pp. 226. 

 $1.25. 



Moore, K. C. The Mental Development of 

 a Child. (Itlonograph Supplement to the Psycho- 

 logical Review.) New York: The MacmUlan Co. 

 Pp. 150. 



Morse, Edward S. On the So-called Bow- 

 pullers of Antiquity. Pp. 25. Author: Salem, 

 Mass. 



Present Problems. Vol. I. Nos. 7, 8, 9, and 

 10. A Free Coinage Catechism; Silas Balsam's 

 Letter on Law; Repudiation and Honor; Petro- 

 leum V. Nasby on Silver ; and Free Coinage and 

 the Farmer. New York: Present Problems Pub- 

 lishing Co. 



Railroad, The, in Education. By A. Hogg. 

 Louisville: J. P. Morton & Co. Pp. 128. 



Ramsay, William. The Gases of the Atmos- 

 phere. New York: The Macmillan Co. Pp. 240. 

 $2.00. 



Reprints. Becker, George F. : Schistosity and 

 Slaty Cleavage (from United States Geological 

 Survey Report) ; The Witwatersrand and the Re- 

 volt of the Uitlanders (from National Geographic 

 Magazine, November, 1896). Boas, Franz: The 

 Decorative Art of the Indians of the North Pacific 

 Coast (Science, July 24, 1896). Hodge, F. W.: 



Pueblo Indian Clans (American Anthropologist, 

 October, 1896). Keen, W. W.: Three Cases of 

 Plastic Nasal Surgery (Therapeutic Gazette, July, 

 1896); The Surgical Treatment of Intracranial 

 Tumors (University Medical Magazine, March, 

 1896). Keyes, C. R.: Orotaxis: a Method of Geo- 

 logic Correlation (American Geologist, Novem- 

 ber, 1896). Rotzell: Use and Disuse (Hahneman- 

 nian Monthly, November, 1896). Shufeldt, R. W.: 

 The Cormorant Rookeries of the Lofoten Islands 

 (The Auk, October, 1896). Stuver, E.: The Rela- 

 tion of the Physician to Social, Educational, and 

 Moral Questions (Colorado State Medical Society, 

 June, 1896). Teit, James.: A Rock Painting of 

 the Thompson River Indians, British Columbia 

 (Bulletin American Museum of Natural History, 

 vol. viii), Thomas, H. M., and Keen, W. W.: A 

 Successful Case of Removal of a Large Brain 

 Tumor from the Left Frontal Region (American 

 Journal of the Medical Sciences, November, 1896). 



Sarg, J. F. A New Dairy Industry. Kemps- 

 ville, Va. : Black Forest Farm. Pp. 162. 



Shinn, Charles Howard. The Story of the 

 Mine. Illustrated. New York: D. Appleton&Co. 



273. $1.50. 



Taylor, Henry Osborn. Ancient Ideals. Two 

 vols. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 

 Pp. 461 and 430. 



Thompson, Edward P. ROntgen Rays and 

 Phenomena of the Anode and Cathode. New 

 York: D. VanNostrand Co. Pp.100. $1.50. 



"gXiiQnxtnXs of ^txtwtt. 



Edncation and Industrial Prosperity. 



For several years past there has been a 

 growing appreciation of the close relation 

 between the general educational system of a 

 country and its industrial prosperity. The 

 striking advance in the latter respect which 

 has occurred in Germany, and the perfection 

 of her universities and mechanical schools,, 

 have formed a valuable object lesson, which, 

 although surprisingly slow in doing its work, 

 seems at last to have awakened English 

 scientists and economists to the pressing 

 need for action. For a number of years 

 large sums have been spent annually in pro- 

 viding technical schools in England, but they 

 have apparently had little effect in helping 

 her to retain the commercial supremacy 

 of which she had for so many years been 

 the possessor. Mr. William's book, " Made 

 in Germany," seems to have started the dis- 

 cussion anew, and Prof. William Ramsay has 

 recently published an article, apparently sug- 

 gested by Dr. Ostwald's letter in the Times 

 (describing the methods of instruction in 

 physics and chemistry in German univer- 

 sities), in which he attempts to locate the 

 cause of the failure of the English school 



system. In Prof. Ramsay's opinion, it is the 

 English university which is at fault, and 

 more especially its examination system. He 

 says : " In Germany, as shown by Prof. Ost- 

 wald, little importance is attached to exam- 

 inations. The student, after spending a year 

 and a half or two years in mastering the 

 general aspects of his subject, proceeds to 

 carry out some research. . . . During all 

 this time he is not pestered with having to 

 prepare for periodical examinations, requir- 

 ing the rapid assimilation of a sufficient 

 number of facts to enable him to pass. Even 

 at the end of his career the examination is 

 considered of secondary importance. . . . 

 The result of this freedom from mental 

 worry is that the student is able to imbibe 

 that spirit of love of knowledge for its own 

 sake, and that enthusiasm for its advance- 

 ment, which lie at the base of all true prog- 

 ress in science. From among such students 

 the German manufacturers are drawn. . . . 

 In England we have no such incentive to a 

 university career. . . . The aim of most of 

 our students is a degree, and the degree is 

 awarded on the results of frequent examina- 

 tions." This latter state of mind can obvious- 



