April 7, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



523 



given for advanced work to Bachelors of Arts, 

 and the S.D., and since last year the S.B'I., to 

 Bachelors of Science. The S.D. is given for ex- 

 actly the same, scientitic research and study as 

 the Ph.D., and means the same thing, except 

 that it is in addition a certificate of a poor pre- 

 paratory education. It is no wonder that it is 

 not popular, having been awarded only once in 

 the past three years, while the Ph.D. has been 

 awarded sixty-nine times. If a student comes 

 to Harvard from a Western university, having 

 studied Latin throughout his college course and 

 received a Ph.B., he is apparently not eligible 

 for the Ph.D. What would be done with a stu- 

 dent coming with the A.B. from Cornell, but 

 never having studied Latin, I do not know. 

 The maintenance at Harvard of the S.M. and 

 S.D. as second-rate degrees appears to be a 

 needless limitation of the usefulness of its 

 graduate school, and a wounding of science in 

 the house of its friends. 



J. McKeen Cattell. 

 Columbia University. 



SCIENTIFIC APPOINTMENTS UNDER THE 

 G0VERN3IENT. 



We have received notice of civil service ex- 

 aminations as follows : 



On May 9th for Assistant Chief, Division of 

 Agrostology, Department of Agriculture. (Salary 

 §1,800 per annum.) The subjects and weights 

 are as follows : 



1 . Agrostology 60 



2. Replies to letters on agrostology 10 



3. German and French translation 10 



4. Botany (major), or Chemistry (minor), (See Sec- 

 tion 67, ' Assistants, Department of Agriculture, 

 Departmental Service,' page 45 of the Manual of 

 Examinations, revised to January 1, 1899) 20 



At the same time an examination will be 

 held for the position of Assistant in the Division 

 of Agrostology at a salary of $1,200. The sub- 

 jects and weights being : 



1. Agrostology ^ 50 



2. Translation from one foreign language (Spanish, 

 French, German, or Italian) 15 



3. Latin translation 5 



4. Botany (minor), (See section 67, 'Assistants, 

 Department of Agriculture, Departmental Service,' 



page 35 of the JIanual of Examinations, revised to 



January 1, 1899) 15 



5. Education and experience 15 



On May 1st an eligible register will be estab- 

 lished for the position of Irrigation Expert, 

 office of Experiment Stations, Department of 

 Agriculture, at a salary of $2,500 per annum. 

 Subjects and weights are as follows : 



1. A statement of the education, training and 

 technical experience of the competitor 30 



2. A statement of the competitor's experience as an 

 administrative officer, with special reference to irri- 

 gation laws and regulations 30 



3. A thesis of not less than three thousand words 

 on a topic relating to irrigation 20 



4. A statement of not more than three thousand 

 words setting forth a plan of irrigation investigations 

 in the arid regions of the United States for the benefit 

 of the farmers of those regions 20 



It will not be necessary for applicants to ap- 

 pear at any place for examination, but the 

 statements and theses required may be prepared 

 by the competitors at their homes upon forms 

 which will be furnished by the United States 

 Civil Service Commission upon request. Com- 

 petitors will be required to furnish sworn state- 

 ments as to the integrity of the work submitted 

 by them. 



Under similar conditions and on the same 

 day an eligible register will be established for 

 the position of tobacco expert to the Department 

 of Agriculture. The subjects and weights are 

 as follows : 



1. Experience, including complete statement of per- 

 sonal experience in connection with the development 

 of the tobacco industry of Florida 30 



2. Administrative ability, including a full state- 

 ment of personal experience in the administration of 

 work connected with the growth, purchase, manipu- 

 lation and marketing of the Florida tobacco 30 



3. Two theses, of two thousand to four thousand 

 words in length, on subjects relating to the tobacco 

 industry 40 



On May 9th and 10th an examination will be 

 held for the position of computor in the Nauti- 

 cal Almanac oflHce, the subjects and weights 

 being : 



1. Algebra 15 



2. Geometry 10 



3. Plane and spherical astronmy 20 



4. Elements of differential and integral calculus 10 



