292 TRANSACTIONS OF THE HOETICULTURAL 



sound, lio^ht, heat, electricity; his alchemy, which supplements, cor- 

 rects and improves that of nature; his increased power of vision, 

 which sees '' tongues in trees, sermons in stones; " bacteria, both bad 

 and good, in everything. If to this we add the prospective blessings 

 which science threatens to shower upon us from a multitude of 

 sources, our admiration becomes boundless, and we are not so greatly 

 surprised that some in their enthusiasm have set up science as a god. 



To the direct practical results which are the fruit of scientific 

 study we may add this training of the mind, which not only quickens 

 and broadens perception, but enables it to think logically, systemat- 

 ically, analytically, reverently; which im])arts a character of fresh- 

 ness, honesty, truthfulness; and, by habitual analysis, enables it to 

 dissect and examine with what may be called a scientific reserve of 

 judgment. All this, with the continual presence of an interest and 

 fascination most certainly to be commended in the allurement it 

 affords, both to many who might otherwise have only idle hands, as 

 w^ell as to the more earnest searchers for hid treasures, upon whose 

 diligence and skill await the strides of the century. 



What more could be said in favor of any system or method of 

 education, combining most valuable influence and mental moulding 

 with a practicality in its fruits, which immediately satisfy the every- 

 day needs of the world, would we not be warranted in giving it a 

 high, if not the highest, place in any properly arranged course of 

 study? 



A very considerable number of scientists, with what might, per- 

 haps, be termed scientific eagerness, answer to the above question, 

 " yes," without qualification. But does not fairness and impartiality 

 see another phase of the subject? Are we sure that the study of 

 science exclusively makes even the best scientist? One of the chief 

 arguments employed in advocating the study of science should be an 

 argument against its too exclusive use in education. 



I refer to this same absorbing interest which always centers 

 about the work, an interest always present, leading, like a charm, 

 through all degrees of weariness, but habituating the mind to a sort 

 of stimulant in all its work, without which it is helpless. 



Now, must we not admit that our chief object of a course of 

 training in our schools is not so much to crowd the mind with facts 

 as it is to give the power to do, to work, to dig, self-mastery; the abil- 

 ity to concentrate the mental energies wherever necessary — to cul- 

 tivate and develop to its fullest extent the will — for this, in the end, 

 must be the guage and test of the man. There is much philosophy 

 in the statement of one who declared that he would prescribe for a 

 boy just those studies he most thoroughly dislikes and have him mas- 

 ter them. 



Allow me to cite an extreme case which is so much the better 

 for illustrating the point in hand: 1 have in mind a young man, a 

 student and a successful one, who has acquired a marvelous develop- 



