and Laboratory Methods, 2357 



So also in zoology, although many classes are making the zoology merely the 

 reading of Jordan & Kellogg's Animal Life. In physiology only a few report 

 definite laboratory work. The physiology courses of the Jackson, Iron Moun- 

 tain, and Detroit Eastern High School are to be mentioned among some of the 

 best. Of the botany classes, about forty-three per cent, devote more than half 

 their time, to laboratory work, but about fifty-seven per cent, give only one-half 

 their time, or less, to laboratory practice. Three-fifths the time is usually con- 

 sidered necessary for careful work. As for field work, a special conference 

 should be held on that subject alone. It is certainly an encouraging sign that 

 an effort is made on the part of many teachers to take the pupils to the field and 

 woods for actual observational work. Twenty-five per cent, of the botany classes 

 report some such regular work. How to conduct the parties successfully, how 

 to get the results, is the problem yet to be settled for most of us. That it can 

 be done has been attested by a few. 



Fifth. Length of class and laboratory periods. Of the botany classes report- 

 ing on this question eighteen per cent, have periods of thirty-five minutes or less ; 

 seventy-one per cent, have periods ranging from forty to fifty minutes ; and seven 

 per cent, have as long as fifty-five minutes or more. Good results will never be 

 obtained from laboratory work until at least sixty consecutive minutes can be 

 employed by the pupils. The getting out and putting away of material alone 

 consumes much time, and when perhaps only thirty minutes are left for obser- 

 vation, notes, drawings and personal quizzing, the results are scattered and erro- 

 neous. The best work comes with a feeling of plenty of time to do most careful 

 and thorough observation and a chance to " talk it over " with the instructor. 

 Laboratory teaching is at best a slow method of imparting knowledge, but it is 

 supposed to be the natural and sure one. Let us give it a fair chance by allow- 

 ing both pupils and teachers more time. 



Sixth. Texts. Bergen is by far the favorite botany text. Coulton is used 

 in many schools and a few, say six per cent., still use Gray alone. In zoology, 

 Jordan & Kellogg's Animal Life receives the largest number of votes and Need- 

 ham stands a close second. They are often used together. Burnett seems to 

 be the next most popular manual. A few schools still use Steel ! 



Seventh. Equipment. It is hard to judge of the facilities for laboratory 

 work from the reports. Pehaps the best index is the number of compound 

 microscopes, since it usually indicates the amount and degree of laboratory work 

 attempted. At least ten per cent, of the first one hundred schools replying have 

 no compound microscope at all, about one-half have but one, and only fifteen per 

 cent, have more than five. The best equipped high schools seem to be able to 

 do a good grade of laboratory work with, say, fifteen microscopes by dividing the 

 class into small sections, which should not at any time consist of more than 

 fifteen or twenty pupils. 



Eighth. General preparation of the instructors. The general, not neces- 

 sarily the special, preparation which the instructor received is shown by the 

 college which he attended. Of the first one hundred reporting, twelve per cent. 

 came from institutions outside the state ; twenty-four per cent, received their 

 education at the university, thirty-six per cent, are normal school students ; and 



