AMERICAN COLLEGES vs. AMERICAN SCIENCE. 475 



and Greek, and amounts to very little in favor of science. A striking 

 case in point is furnished by McCorkle College, the learned president 

 of which we have already referred to. Let us analyze the course laid 

 down in the catalogue. There are three terras per annum for four 

 years, or twelve terms in all, and in the regular classical course the 

 studies run as follows : Latin is taught during ten terms ; Greek, 

 through eight terms; mathematics, five; history, four; Hebrew, 

 three; natural philosophy, two; chemistry, two; geology and as- 

 tronomy, one each ; other studies, mainly philosophical but none sci- 

 entific, seven. The modern languages seem to be omitted altogether ! 

 Then, following the schedule from which this abstract was made, 

 comes the announcement that " the scientific department will embrace 

 all the above course except the classics." Could a more contempti- 

 ble sham be invented ? Would it be possible to do more in the way 

 of belittling science ? The total omission of scientific studies would 

 be more honest and more truly in the spirit of science. And yet this 

 institution is empowered to grant degrees, and has the same legal au- 

 thority as Harvard, Yale, or Cornell. This is, to be sure, an extreme 

 case, but it is not much worse than a host of others. As a general 

 rule, the " scientific course " in a Western college is the classical 

 course, j>jfas a little mathematics, and with French and German sub- 

 stituted for Latin and Greek. Less preparation on the part of the 

 student is required to enter it, and every applicant is given to under- 

 stand that it does not rank quite equally with its older rival. In both 

 courses the natural sciences are similarly arranged, so that the gradu- 

 ated bachelor of science knows really no more chemistry, physics, 

 botany, zoology, geology, or astronomy, than the supposably less 

 scientific bachelor of arts. In fact, the great majority of so-called 

 " scientific courses " are mere makeshifts, intended to accommodate 

 those students who are too dull, or too imperfectly prepared for tak- 

 ing the more thoroughly-equipped line of study in the classics. 

 Here, again, American colleges oppose the development of the scien- 

 tific spirit, and hinder seriously the growth of American science. 



It would be possible to multiply indefinitely these illustrations of 

 weakness on the part of our college system. Institution after insti- 

 tution might be cited in which not science only, but all culture, is at 

 the lowest possible ebb. Just the bare facts concerning some West- 

 ern and Southern colleges would, if published here, seem like incredi- 

 ble exaggerations or distortions of the truth. I have beside me col- 

 lege catalogues which are positively grotesque in their absurdities ; 

 no satire could do justice to them. One institution in particular, 

 situated in Tennessee, has fairly reached the point at which the sub- 

 lime and the ridiculous meet. In respect to science, even some of our 

 oldest and best universities are open to criticism. Some apply theo- 

 logical tests in the election of professors, and in a mild way act tow- 

 ard modern science as some of the Spanish universities once acted 



