Dec. 25, 1884] 



NA TURE 



1 



spend their summers in quiet study. Courses of lectures 



;. ii, various subjects, one of which is natural 



history, and the students can, if they choose, supplement 



tudy. It is exceedingly ele- 



ners attend. 



( if a similar character, but of more importance, was 



the Summei School of Natural History at Salem, Mass., 



. of Prof. E. S. Morse. The principle | 

 upon which this school started was wrong. The origin- 

 > have the idea that courses of lectures 

 ntial to the success of the school. Such lee- 

 ed by men of reputation, were costly, and 

 to meet the expenses of the school a large attendance was 

 But in America the sciences are not studied 

 i ient number of people to supply such a school, 

 dealing in a limited branch of science, with enough students 

 to defray the cost of lectures ; and few students can afford 

 to pay large tuition fees. So it was that the Salem School 

 iiad to depend entirely upon outside aid for its continu- 

 ance, and this being withdrawn, the school was obliged 

 to break up a few years ago. It is, indeed, unfortunate 

 thai it was obliged to do this, because it was filling an 

 important place in American scientific education by 

 originating an interest in teachers of the public schools 

 for this branch of study, and thus raising the standard of 

 scientific teaching in the lower schools. If a regular fund 

 could be placed at the disposal of some body of scientific 

 men for the purpose of giving instruction to teachers in 

 this way, it would be an important thing ; but unless such 

 re nl. ii support be established, other less expensive means 

 lion in natural history for beginners must be 

 l,i iked to. 



nisquam there is another laboratory, under the 

 direction of Prof. Alpheus Hyatt, which has an entirely 

 plan for teaching beginners. At this laboratory 

 ginners and advanced students are allowed to 

 stud) upon paying ,1 merely nominal sum. No special 

 instruction is given, but there is an instructor, Prof. J. B. 

 Van Vleck, .who helps the beginner over hard places in 

 I udent is given some animal to make a 



study of, and he is advised to examine it critically, dissect 

 it, and make drawings of the parts, all without the aid of 

 and then, having found out all he can without 

 aid, he is given some book to verify his observations. In 

 ; the student goes through all the important 

 groups of marine invertebrate animals, often learning for 

 ::me that he can really see things for himself 

 without the aid of books. The powers of observation 

 are brought into play, and the first foundation of a suc- 

 cessful student of Nature are thus laid. How much prac- 

 tical beni odof instruction will have in making 

 original investigators cannot be told at present, because 

 the school has been in operation for such a short time. 

 The amount of knowledge possessed by the students at 

 the end ol the summer, compared with that with which 

 they started, is certainly encouraging. That this is the 

 proper method of teaching natural history has been satis- 

 i.i, torily demonstrated to those in charge by the results. 

 Both sexes are admitted, and preference is given to those 

 who are going to make use of the facts which they learn, 

 either in teaching or in special investigation. The build- 

 ■ plain one-story-and-a-half house, situated at the 

 water's edge. It is well lighted and firm, and aquaria on 

 each table are furnished with water from a tank tilled by 

 a windmill. For collecting purposes there are common 

 1 Prof. Hyatt has a schooner yacht, in which he 

 frequently takes parties from the laboratory upon dredging 

 expeditions. Fifteen was the average number of students 

 last summer, and they came from all parts of the country, 

 being mostly ten hers in small colleges and schools, and 

 a few medical studei al investigators. In its 

 inception it was intended for beginners, but advanced 

 students are welcomed and given the best tables. The 

 one unfortunate thing about this laboratory is that it is 



not established on a firm money basis, depending each 

 year upon a grant of money from the Woman's Edu- 

 cational Society of Boston, which each year, so far, has 

 generously given the funds for its maintenance. Neither 

 the director nor the instructor receive salaries for their 

 work, but furnish their summers free to the cause. For 

 the purpose of making collections there is no better place 

 on the eastern coast of the United States, with the excep- 

 tion, perhaps, of Eastport, Maine. The variety of animals 

 is immense, and their abundance is also great, every con- 

 dition necessary to an extensive fauna being present. 



The last laboratory which we shall notice is the one 

 which has long since passed out of active existence, in fact 

 which died with its founder, the elder .\gassiz. It w is an 

 immense building of wood on the island of Penikese, in 

 Massachusetts, the outermost of the chain known as the 

 Elizabeth Islands. The location was poorly chosen, for 

 the fauna in the vicinity is poor, and there was no 

 regular communication with the mainland, which was 

 twenty miles distant. At one time during its brief exist- 

 ence it had a very large attendance, beginners particu- 

 larly being attracted by the name of the eminent director. 

 Lectures were given and laboratory practice was allowed 

 each student. At this school such men as Fewkes, 

 Faxon, Brooks, Whitman, and Alexander Agassiz, who 

 have since become eminent in American science, received 

 some of their first instruction in natural history. The 

 death of Agassiz ended the institution, which if it could 

 h ive been kept up under his direction would no doubt 

 have equalled if not excelled any similar institution in 

 the world. It is doubtful if even under Agassiz's direction 

 this stupendous school could have been carried on, for we 

 understand that the money basis was very insecure, and 

 certainly the expenses were very heavy, and the tuition 

 charges light. Ralph S. Tarr 



ON A NEW METHOD FOR THE TEACHING 

 OF SCIENCE IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY 

 SCHOOLS > 



THE desirability of imparting to children some know- 

 ledge of the principles of science is now so gene- 

 rally agreed upon that this paper will be devoted not to 

 the argument that science-teaching is necessary, but to a 

 description of a method by which it may be successfully 

 and thoroughly carried out. 



In the "Code" under which the system of Govern- 

 ment education is carried on in this country, science is 

 mentioned under two heads : — 



1 As a "class-subject'' (optional; which maj be 

 any or all of the seven '■Standards" under 

 which the children are classed, and 



a " specific subject " (also optional) which may 

 only be taken by the children in Standards V., VI., and 



only 

 VII. 



The specific subjects named are- 



7. Botany. 



8. Prim ipl 3 of Agriculture. 



9. Chemistry. 



10. Sound, Light, and Heat. 



1 1. Magnetism and Electricity. 



12. Domestic Economy (Girls). 



1. Algebra. 



2. Euclid and Mensuration. 



3. Mechanics. 



4. Latin. 



5. French. 



6. Animal Physiology. 

 Either one or two (but not more than two) of these 



specific subjects may be taken by a child. The course in 

 each subject is divided into three parts, so that a child 

 must remain at school for three years in order to com- 

 plete the study of any one subject. 



The grants paid are at the rate of is. for a "fair" or 

 2s. for a "good" pass in class subjects, and 4X per pass 

 in the specific subjects. 



■ By W. Jerome Harri F.G.S , Scienc, Den nsl i for the Bir- 



u.i., -l, , ■,. -. ho ' n ard. the greater portion of l 



communication to the Interim I held at the 



Health Exhibil on in Julj Last, and is her, repi at, II permissi ,n ol the 

 Executive Council. 



