THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



487 



world, also bears the mark of highest 

 skill in both chemical and minera- 

 logical sciences; for this element was 

 detected in a very rare and always very 

 thin coating of a silver ore occurring 

 in but very few localities. Notwith- 

 standing the exceeding scantness of 

 the material, Winkler established the 

 chemical character of the new element 

 solidly by a complete study of its com- 

 pounds and the production of the real 

 element in the free state. Some of his 

 original samples of this noted work 

 could be seen in the German Chemical 

 Exhibition at St. Louis this summer. 



Clemens Winkler was born at Frei- 

 berg, Saxony, December 26, 1838; he 

 became professor of chemistry there in 

 1873. and continued in this work with 

 great success till his health failed in 

 1902. when he removed to Dresden, 

 where he died after great suffering on 

 October 8, 1904. 



GREEK AT THE ENGLISH UNI- 

 VERSITIES. 

 The ancient English universities are 

 just now much concerned over the tide 

 of modern culture that is surging 

 about their borders. Oxford has voted 

 to sit Canute-like, while at Cambridge 

 the decision is yet to be made. The 

 question has passed beyond the limits 

 of the universities and is being ac- 

 tively discussed in the newspapers and 

 magazines. The proposal that was re- 

 jected by a small majority at Oxford 

 was to exempt from the entrance exam- 

 ination in Greek candidates for honors 

 in mathematics and natural science, 

 while at Cambridge the syndicate has 

 recommended making Greek optional 

 in the ' little go.' The teachers at 

 Cambridge would probably vote for the 

 change, but the question must be decid- 

 ed by convocation, the masters of arts 

 who consist largely of country clergy- 

 men. There is no doubt as to the ulti- 

 mate outcome, as the medical men and 

 others having a scientific education will 

 soon be more numerous than those who 

 take orders. It should indeed be re- 

 membered that the English universities 



are, on the whole, less conservative in 

 this direction than our own, for while 

 they demand a classical school educa- 

 tion for entrance, they do not require 

 any study of Latin or Greek at the 

 university for the degree of bachelor of 

 arts. 



In America we are concerned with 

 the decision of Oxford, owing to the 

 Rhodes scholars, who are now passing 

 their first year of residence there. At 

 the examination of the College En- 

 trance Examination Board last year the 

 largest number taking a paper in Greek 

 was 176, whereas there were 351 in 

 physics, 661 in French, 693 in German, 

 1,033 in English and 1,060 in mathe- 

 matics. The selection of Rhodes 

 scholars must be made from that one 

 sixth of the students entering college 

 who have studied Greek, unless the 

 language is crammed for the examina- 

 tion. Of the representatives of the 

 forty-three states now at Oxford, six 

 teen have entered for languages, thir- 

 teen for law and only three for science. 



While the discrimination in favor of 

 the classical languages and against the 

 sciences at Oxford and to a lesser ex- 

 tent at Cambridge can not be approved 

 by a scientific journal, and will prob- 

 ably be abolished in the near future, 

 something may be urged in its favor. 

 There is too great a tendency for our 

 universities to lose individuality by 

 making them places where everybody 

 can learn anything. The newer Eng- 

 lish universities, such as London, Liver- 

 pool and Birmingham, are largely 

 schools of science, and it might be 

 wise to maintain one university based 

 on classical learning. A home of lost 

 causes and impossible loyalties exerts 

 a certain commanding fascination over 

 those who are subdued to its influence. 

 From a wider point of view, there is 

 something provincial in the attitude of 

 a man such as Professor Jebb, who 

 looks with contempt on the New Zea- 

 landers, because they are supposed to 

 speak of ' Cupid and Sich,' while he 

 himself is doubtless completely ignor- 

 ant of the socialistic movement among 



