580 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIX. No. 1007 



mainders should be taught before formal divi- 

 sion. Thus, when the pupil knows that four 

 sevens are twenty-eight, he should learn that 

 thirty is four sevens and two units remaining. 

 P. 63 : The Euclidean method of greatest com- 

 mon divisor is referred to without explanation. 

 P. Y4, last paragraph of the example : The rea- 

 son " Since we get the same answer . . ." is 

 not sufficient and is inexcusable because the 

 real reason is so apparent. In the process of 

 reducing the fractions to their common de- 

 nominators the numbers 8 and 9 are actually 

 found thus, 4 X 2, 3 X 3. P. 99 : This is too 

 advanced to be of practical value in the grades. 

 P. 101, last paragraph: Althouglj the author 

 has good precedent for this, it is surely a per- 

 version to teach that " hundredths " and " per 

 cent." are interchangeable. For if so, then 

 7.07 per cent, could read seven and seven per 

 cent, per cent., an unfortunate confusion. Per 

 cent, is primarily a rate per hundred, and its 

 presentation as such would not exclude the de- 

 sirable things in the author's subsequent treat- 

 ment. P. 110 (a) : " Times greater than " 

 is a loose use of language for " times as great," 

 probably due to the author's effort to carry out 

 an analogy to percentage. Pp. 109-111 : This 

 correspondence between percentage and the 

 processes with integers and fractions is not 

 sufficiently significant to warrant its use in the 

 class-room, and is of little value to the teacher. 

 Pp. 126-135: The explanations on these pages 

 are rather complicated, and, taken as a whole, 

 are not teachable in the class-room. It would 

 be better to point out for the teacher exactly 

 the form to be used. Pp. 148-152 : One is dis- 

 appointed not to find a reference to the modern 

 partial-payment problem most frequently met ; 

 namely, the one in which limited payments are 

 accepted at stated intervals, usually at inter- 

 est dates. Pp. 180-181 : An expansion and il- 

 lustration of this topic would be of greater 

 value than the familiar material on pp. 172- 

 175. Chapters VIII.-IX., pp. 196-233, are 

 Herbartian and discuss the teaching process 

 from the standpoint of the subject, instead of 

 from the standpoint of the pupil. Pp. 200- 

 201 : The teacher's aim is relatively unimpor- 

 tant. It is the pupil's purpose that controls 



his activity. Consequently he must have a 

 stronger motive than that suggested at the 

 end of p. 201. In this connection, compare pp. 

 201 and 203 with the more helpful suggestions 

 on pp, 212 and 218. Pp. 236-242 : these lists 

 impress one as more complete than significant. 

 The points made need classifying. The young 

 teacher should be told which of these are most 

 important. It is better to study a few essen- 

 tials of a model lesson, than to attempt so am- 

 bitious a list. Pp. 243-277: Chapter XI. is 

 wholly inadequate, especially in its treatment 

 of the curriculum. The vital question to-day 

 is not, " How shall we parcel out the body of 

 arithmetical science ?" but, " What live issues, 

 appreciated by children, shall we choose as the 

 core of instruction ? " The curriculum must 

 precede method, hence the prospective teacher 

 should be instructed to observe this order in 

 teaching. Pp. 278-280: Since many of our 

 normal students take one or two modern 

 languages, a few references to foreign works 

 on the teaching of arithmetic might be help- 

 ful, particularly the German works of Unger 

 and Knilling. 



The foregoing criticisms should not be taken 

 as the estimate of the book. The volume is 

 packed with good suggestions to teachers, and 

 will take, its place among the most useful half- 

 dozen available books on the subject. 



Lambert L. Jackson 



montclair, n. j., 

 January 3, 1914 



Guide to the Study of Animal Ecology. By 

 Chas. C. Adams. New York, Macmillan. 

 183 pages. 



This book is essentially a bibliographical and 

 methodological manual for field students in 

 ecology. As is stated, in the preface the prim- 

 ary emphasis is upon ecological survey work. 

 Thus instrumental measurement of the envi- 

 ronment and experimental study are elaborated 

 in the literature cited. The following chapter 

 headings appear : Aim, Content and Point of 

 View; The Value and Method of Ecological 

 Surveys; Field Study; The Collection, Preser- 

 vation- and Determination of Specimens ; Sci- 

 entific Technique; Sources of Information on 



