2l8 SOCIETY OF NATURALISTS. 



In behalf of the Committee on Science Teaching in the Schools, 

 Prof. Wm. North Rice gave a verbal statement of the proceed- 

 ings of the committee during the past year, and Prof. Henry F. 

 Osboni read the report which follows : — 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE 



TEACHING IN THE SCHOOLS. 



December,^ 1890. 



The Committee beg leave to submit the following report : — 



At a meeting of the Committee, held in New Haven, in March, 

 there were present Professors Clarke, Osborn, and Rice. 



A preliminary draft of an address to the Colleges on the re- 

 quirement of Natural Science for admission was agreed upon, 

 copies of which were subsequently sent to the other members of 

 the Committee for criticism. 



Prof. S. I. Smith, of Yale University, was elected a member of 

 the Committee, and he has accepted the election. 



A second meeting was held in Boston, in July, at which were 

 Professors Clarke, Farlow, Goodale, and Rice. It was there 

 moved by Professor Goodale, and carried, that Prof. William 

 North Rice be asked to edit a text-book of Natural Science, of 

 the general scope outlined in the presidential address of last 

 year. It was the belief of the Committee that if a considerable 

 part of the book should be written by the editor himself, and the 

 remainder by persons in consultation with him, a higher degree 

 of symmetry and unity could be secured in the work than b}^ the 

 original plan of having the various parts written independently 

 by a considerable number of writers, subject only to some edito- 

 rial revision. It was believed that an arrangement could be made 

 for the submission of various parts of the book (in manuscript or 

 in proof) to a number of specialists of acknowledged authority 

 for revision ; and that thereby a truly authoritative character 

 could be secured for the book without sacrificing its unity of 

 plan. 



It was voted to ask Professor Rice to draw up a table of con- 

 tents of the book, to be submitted to the Society at the Annual 

 Meeting. Such a draft has been prepared, and is submitted in 

 print. It is understood that a leading publisher is desirous of 

 undertaking the jiublication of such a book. While the majority 



