103 



jiies nearly tbree wbole coluuins — almost nn eutiro page of that nianimotb puh- 

 lication — and even then the list is far from heinji exhausted. 



Every pussihie phase of educatidii or direction in which it may he applied 

 has its own degree; every occupation, calling, or business claims the di.stiuctiou 

 of a degree. Whether a single science is studied, or a group of sciences so cor- 

 related as to fit for some specific end. the completion of the study is followed 

 by the granting of a degree indicating that the student has accomplished such 

 course of study. It makes one dizzy to follow the great diversity of possible 

 degrees to which such a plan leads. 



The medical course in this country leads to an abominable system of degrees; 

 but custom has so fi.xed the title of doctor as synonymous with the jtrofession 

 of the physician that it is hopeless to make an effort to change it. However, 

 the physicians do not make any distinctiou of specialists, only having distinctive 

 titles for dentists, veterinarians, and com])ounders of medicines. 



The etymology of the term " bachelor" is not baccalaureus, fancifully derived 

 from " bay berry," " the laurel-crowned one," but baccalaureus, originally 

 vacea laurius — vacea, afterwards written bacca, aud laurius, changed to laureus 

 to conform to a fancy forced upon it — " cow driver," " an apprentice," or a 

 soldier who has not yet risen to the dignity of carrying the standard. The 

 word is thus peculiarly fitting for the first collegiate degree. A movement has 

 lately set in that promises to reduce the number of degrees, and it is hoped 

 that the land-grant colleges will unite in helping it along. All those colleges 

 now require of the candidates who annually present themselves for admission 

 to the college about the same grade of preparation. Men who are admitted 

 to any work of lower order than the freshman grade are not looking forward 

 to taking a degree, and those pursuing any course less extended than the 

 four years' courses are sufficiently rewarded by the knowledge and training 

 they have received. 



The degree of bachelor of arts has been from the first the distinctive degree of 

 the man who has studied Latin and Greek ; but it has lately been given to the 

 man who has studied Latin only. This degree, in my judgment, out of respect for 

 this old custom, should be given to those two classes of graduates only. The 

 degree of B. S. should be gi veu to the graduate of any other course, and the studies 

 in which he has specialized or the direction in which his profession lies can be 

 added in his diploma. The B. S. degree should be put on the same level as tlie 

 B. A. degree in prei)aration asked of the candidate and in the length and 

 severity of the course leading to it. 



Some of the engineers are making a special plea for a degree to be known as 

 bachelor of engineering. They claim that this degree should be given after the 

 completion of a course of studies so related to each other as to prepare the 

 student for undertaking the complex duties of the engineer. They recognize 

 that there are too many subidvisions of the modern engineering profession to 

 give each its appropriate degree. 



At first civil eugineering, as distinguished from military engineering, had 

 alone to be provided for. Soon mechanical and mining engineering, to be fol- 

 lowed by electrical engineering, entered into the field, and now we have 

 chemical engineering, .sanitary engineering, textile engineering, landscape en- 

 gineering, promoting engineering, aud so on ad nauseam. Agriculture as aa 

 industry has the same claims as the profession of engineering, and it calls for 

 a knowledge of science and training in its application as wide and as thorough 

 as are demanded by any of the industries of life. Some colleges give the 

 bachelor of agriculture, others the bachelor of the science of agriculture. The 

 horticulturists, the pomologists, the agrostologists, and various other specialists 

 may insist upon giving the degree of bachelor of the particular branch of agri- 

 culture in which the student has received his undergraduate training. 



The only way to stop the multiplication of degrees is to come to some 

 rational plan, and I am glad to see that most land-grant colleges have aready 

 I)ut in practice the granting of only two degrees, the bachelor of arts and the 

 bachelor of science. 



To conclude, I think the land-grant colleges should limit their degrees upon 

 the completion of an undergraduate course of study to the degrees of bachelor 

 of arts and bachelor of science. The former degree should be given to the 

 graduate of a course of study in which Greek and Latin, or Latin alone, of col- 

 legiate grade, formed a part of the regular work of the course. The degree of 

 tiachelor of science should be given to students upon the completion of any of 

 the other courses, and it should be added in the diploma in what lines they 

 directed their studies. 



