PRACTICAL TENDENCY OF THE AGE. 65 



education is changing, in which scholastic and monastic educa- 

 tion is vanishing, in which even literary education is waning, 

 to make room for more practical, for more active, for more 

 scientific instruction — I say I think the time has come when we 

 should make it known to the community, how they are to move 

 in that direction. I hold that even our common school educa- 

 tion, admirable as it is, tends too much to book learning — just 

 as much too much as our colleges do. The cry against mere 

 book learning in the colleges is already loud enough, but it 

 should not reach the college only ; it should reach the common 

 schools also, because there is a great deal of study of things 

 that might be introduced there. If the children of all the com- 

 mon schools could be taught to recognize and know by sight all 

 the stones upon which they tread ; if they could be taught to 

 know by sight all the plants and animals which are found in 

 their neighborhood, they would come better prepared to your 

 agricultural school than they do, and they would be equally 

 better prepared to come to our scientific school in Cambridge, 

 or to go anywhere. The foundation would be laid of a better 

 preparation for that practical training which our age demands. 

 I think that agricultural colleges will have somewhat the effect 

 to lead in that direction ; and we should, I think, from all 

 sides, press upon the community the need of learning in the 

 direction in which the wants of the active community go, not 

 merely in the direction in which an antiquated practice has led 

 us thus far. I would not lessen in any way the value of schol- 

 arly culture. I would not disgrace my mother — and letters 

 have been my mother ; I would not disgrace culture in ancient 

 lore even, impractical as it is ; but I think in the methods by 

 which these things are taught, there are savings to be made in 

 time which could be applied to things far more useful. When 

 our boys give so many hours to the study of Greek and Latin 

 grammar, I think that that is practically useless, because they 

 could learn a great deal more Greek and Latin, in a way which 

 would last better, even with less of that kind of teaching ; and 

 a little more natural history, and a little more of foreign modern 

 languages, would certainly be a very useful substitute. I think 

 that there lies the need of co-operation between all these institu- 

 tions which have sprung up to meet wants in a direction which 

 schools and colleges, as they have been thus far, have not 



