428 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1055 



plants and the ease with which such crops are 

 raised, should be brought out as important de- 

 tails in the usefulness of horses and cattle, as 

 well as their anatomical adaptation to the 

 work of pulling or carrying loads, and their 

 physiological adaptations for meat and milk 

 production. 



The treatment of man as outlined would in- 

 volve as much of the advanced sciences of 

 anthropology and ethnology as one had time 

 for; would naturally involve ancient history, 

 in connection with grain commerce of Rome 

 and her colonies; would take up the develop- 

 ment of agricultural communities through the 

 feudal system to the modern village of tenant 

 farmers, and the rise of the freeholders, espe- 

 cially in the new settlements. The relation of 

 established feast days (e. g., Feast of First 

 Fruits) of the ancient tribes, to events of the 

 agricultural year would introduce the religious 

 side of man, and the importance of conserving 

 the produce of his labor, would serve to con- 

 nect the ideas of property, ovmership, wealth, 

 capital and law. 



The simpler relations would naturally be 

 assigned to the earlier years of the course. 

 Thus the subjects relating to plant life, in 

 their fundamental details could be given in the 

 sophomore year, supplementing the freshman 

 work in botany ; some work would likely be well 

 retained to a later period. Soil work should 

 follow the first year's work in chemistry and in 

 physics, as the general properties of soils are 

 in accordance with the principles learned in 

 those subjects. The study of animals in rela- 

 tion to agriculture would be a good junior 

 subject, as the additional year of work would 

 make it the easier for the student to follow 

 the course, and to grasp the essential points of 

 structure, behavior, conditions of existence 

 among wild and domestic animals, and similar 

 details after he has had the less complex rela- 

 tionships among plants brought out in the 

 sophomore work. 



The study of the relation of man to agri- 

 culture, as suggested, should come in the 

 senior year, in order that the work in history, 

 economics, engineering and science may be 

 available for use to aid in the development of 

 the course by each man in the class bring- 



ing to it as broad a basis of work as possible. 

 The topics introduced at this stage might 

 easily serve as the basis of further study by 

 the few specially interested along the lines of 

 colonial, economic or industrial development. 

 Frequent assignments of readings would be 

 necessary, as the material is scattered and 

 must be brought together under the new view- 

 point. 



Some suggestions have been found in sev- 

 eral text-books on agriculture, agricultural 

 education, farm management and similar top- 

 ics, more or less along the lines here suggested, 

 but in most eases, the discussion was from the 

 standpoint of technical agriculture, as would 

 be expected. Particular chapters could, how- 

 ever, be selected from a number of such books, 

 to be used as collateral reading by either of 

 the four college classes, suitably supplemented 

 by lectures presenting the desired viewpoint, 

 and developing the central theme. This may 

 be briefly stated as follows : Agriculture as the 

 oldest industrial occupation of man is the 

 basis of all his later achievements, and sup- 

 ports him in his highest attainments. The 

 course might be designated as one in " The 

 development and scope of agriculture " and 

 could be a lecture course supplemented by 

 specified laboratory and class work in the 

 several departments involved. The course 

 might also be developed as a series of short 

 courses, something on the plan of the " sum- 

 mer school " work, correlated by a carefully 

 prepared syllabus or outline, each teacher 

 selecting those phases of the work most closely 

 related to agriculture in its broadest sense, and 

 emphasizing the relation of his subject to the 

 general topic. 



Frederick H. Blodgett 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 

 Psychology : General and Applied. By Hugo 



MibfSTERBERG. New York and London, 



Appleton, 1914. Pp. xiv + 487. 



Professor Miinsterberg's latest work breaks 

 away from the traditional presentation of 

 psychology in many respects. The most novel 

 features are the author's treatment of mental 

 data from the teleological standpoint and the 



