772 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



without its name, but the flora of the ravines is less well provided for. 

 Separate class-names are, however, given to the broad-leaved ever- 

 green vegetation of the ravines and the vegetation of the plains, as a 

 whole. Swamps are called " bad brooks." Carnivorous animals, the 

 lion, the leopard, and the hyena, and night-birds, are regarded as evil 

 spirits or magicians. In the stories, the lion is always spoken of as 

 "Mr. Lion." Three color-names are known, to distinguish between 

 white or light colors, blue or dark ones, and red, green being consid- 

 ered a variety of red. Notwithstanding this poverty of names, their 

 conceptions of colors appear to be as diversified and distinct as those 

 of other men. They have no words for sweet and sour, but whatever 

 tastes to suit them is "piquant." They are very ingenious in the 

 invention of nicknames and descriptive terms, which have generally 

 some direct reference to peculiarities in the appearance, history, or 

 character of the persons to whom they are applied. Some of the in- 

 stances of their coinages in this category, which I met in my travels, 

 were comical. — Translated for the Popular Science Monthly from 

 Das Ausland. 



-♦•♦- 



FUETHEH EEMAEKS ON TIIE GEEEK QUESTION. 



By JOSIAH PAKSONS COOKE. 



IN a former article published in this "Monthly"* I endeavored to 

 make prominent the essential difference between a system of edu- 

 cation based on scientific culture and the generally prevailing system 

 which is based on linguistic training. I maintained that there is not 

 only a difference of subject-matter, but a difference of method, a differ- 

 ence of spirit, and a difference of aim ; and I argued that, as the condi- 

 tions of success under the two modes of culture are so unlike, there 

 was no danger, even with the amj^lest freedom, that the study of the 

 physical sciences would supplant or seriously interfere with linguistic 

 studies. But, although the drift of my argument was plain, the pas- 

 sage referred to has been quoted in order to show that not only Greek, 

 but also all linguistic study, would be neglected by the students of 

 natural science as soon as it ceased to be useful in their profession ; 

 and my attempt to point out a basis of agreement and co-operation 

 has been made the occasion of reiterating the extreme doctrine that 

 there can be no liberal education not based on the study of language. 

 It has been thus assumed that scientific culture can not supply such a 

 basis, and in this whole discussion the value of the study of Nature in 

 education, except in so far as this study may yield a fund of useful 

 knowledge, has been entirely ignored by the advocates of the old sys- 

 tem. Not only has there been no recognition of the value of the study 



* NoTember, 18S3. 



