Marcu 8, 1912] 
institutions which should be placed in this 
group indicate that bacteriological instruction 
is on a good foundation, and may be built up 
with comparative ease when opportunity 
offers. 
In these institutions investigation work of 
a legitimate character is frequently conducted, 
and the best of the institutions of this class 
are contributing valuable work to the sum 
total of our bacteriological knowledge year by 
year, through their researches. 
I have grouped 22 institutions in this class, 
in half of which, probably, work of high char- 
acter is being carried out, while in the others 
the results do not appear to be so satisfactory. 
Group III.—In Group III. I have brought 
together 28 institutions. In 25 of these, as 
appears from the catalogues or from subject 
matter presented in the reports, there is what 
may be called a well-rounded department of 
bacteriology or microbiology, with a central 
fundamental course in general bacteriology. 
Following this and dependent upon it may be 
found well organized courses in several of the 
applied branches, such as soil bacteriology, 
dairy bacteriology, sanitary bacteriology, fer- 
mentation work and medical or public health 
work. Twenty-five of the twenty-eight insti- 
tutions here grouped present the breadth of 
work which I have just described. In three of 
them the work is organized with a somewhat 
less broad scope, but it appears to be evident 
that the work in these institutions is excellent 
as far as it goes. 
Group IV.—In ten institutions, which are 
almost without exception medical departments 
or pre-medical courses, the work in bacteriol- 
ogy is arranged with one point in view, 
namely, to introduce to the student the more 
common of those types of microorganisms 
which are the causes of disease. It seems to 
me that the chief criticism to be made of 
these courses is that the student loses sight 
entirely of the important general relations of 
the bacteria to human welfare and is likely to 
regard the group simply from the standpoint 
of disease-production and never from the 
standpoint of industrial or economic value, or 
from the standpoint of general culture. In 
SCIENCE 
365 
all the institutions of this class, the work is 
carried out in the graduate department or in 
the school not connected with the university, 
and in the former case no serious attempt is 
made to interest undergraduate men in the 
subject at all. 
Group V.—I have made a separate group for 
those institutions, schools of engineering, in 
which a smattering of bacteriology is given 
to civil or sanitary engineers, in order that 
they may more properly appreciate sanitary 
problems. This group is very small, replies 
having been received from but few institu- 
tions. In these the narrowest kind of in- 
struction is given, and the matter is presented 
in such a way as to leave the impression with 
the student that deciding upon the sanitary 
condition of the water supply is a perfectly 
simple matter requiring no special training. 
For example, one of the institutions which re- 
ports having a class in water bacteriology, 
states that the number of lectures given in the 
subject is but four, the laboratory work of the 
three brief periods and consisting in the ex- 
amination of but one sample of water and one 
sample of sewage for the total count and pre- 
sumptive test for colon bacilli. In the opin- 
ion of the writer such courses do positive 
harm, because they give to the student a false 
sense of knowledge and ability to decide prob- 
lems which may be of the utmost importance 
for the welfare of thousands of people. 
The remaining replies may be all grouped 
in a class together. This includes eighteen 
institutions. In seventeen of these no real 
courses in bacteriology are given, although the 
informants have stated that brief considera- 
tion of the subject is taken up in connection 
with botany, physiology or hygiene. No lab- 
oratory work is done, however, and it is evi- 
dent that these institutions do not require 
any special consideration. In one of the in- 
stitutions here grouped, a brief course is given 
in the examination of bacteria, yeasts and 
molds, from the standpoint of household eco- 
nomics. The work, however, is very elemen- 
tary in character. 
While it is somewhat disappointing to re- 
ceive replies from less than one fourth of the 
