NATURAL HISTORY AT ST ANDREWS 299 



has been succeeded by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, the Rector 

 is one of the most eloquent nobles in the land, whilst the 

 Vice-Chancellor, Sir James Donaldson, is distinguished in 

 classics. Yet though the present heads of the University are 

 not specialists in scientific subjects, the progress made in the 

 teaching of science since 1857, and especially since 1882, has 

 been remarkable, as the following brief notes will indicate. 



To-day the teaching of mathematics has been greatly 

 extended by additional honours classes, tutorial classes, and 

 by the appointment of a lecturer on applied mathematics. 

 The great emphasis now laid on a proper grasp of principles 

 rather than a mere facility in applying rules has enabled 

 the student to carry his studies considerably further than 

 formerly, and a very superficial comparison of the present- 

 day degree papers with those of half a century ago will show 

 how real the advance has been. Much of this progress is 

 probably due to the better knowledge of the subject with 

 which the student enters the University. 



In addition to the ordinary lectures on natural philosophy, 

 the student now has an opportunity of attending classes 

 of practical physics, both senior and junior, under a demon- 

 strator, and of performing with his own hands the experiments 

 formerly seen from a distance, and of becoming acquainted 

 with the various instruments used in the manipulations. 

 A new class-room, a spacious and well-appointed museum for 

 apparatus, and a large detached building of one story, equipped 

 with the necessary apparatus for practical physics, have been 

 added to the department. 



The changes in connection with the Chair of Natural 

 History, as indicated on pp. 274-280, are more numerous. 

 It is no longer a Chair including a wide range of subjects 

 under its title, for it is now one of Zoology. Instead of the 

 single short course of the old system, there are at least four 

 courses, each with its practical class. In 1882 it had little or 

 no apparatus and no drawings. Now it has between two 



