252 SCIENCE. 
Quercits.. W. G. Hanket, Abhand. der 
math phys. Classes der K. Sachs. Gesell. 
der Wissen. Bd. XXIV... Pp. 471-496. 
In this, the twenty-first paper by Professor 
Hankel describing his electrical investigations 
of crystals, the object, as before, is to determine 
the character and relative intensities of the 
electric charges developed at different parts of 
the crystals under the influence of temperature 
change or of pressure. From this distribution 
of the positive and negative charges conclusions 
can be drawn as to the true structural sym- 
metry of the crystals. The methods were pre- 
sumably those followed in previous investiga- 
tions, as they are not described. 
Aca Jenne 
SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 
THE Physical Review for August contains the 
following articles : 
‘ The Specific Heat of Solutions which are not Elec- 
trolytes,’ by William Francis Magie. 
‘ An Interferometer Study of Radiations in a Mag- 
netic Field,’ II., by John C. Shedd. 
‘The Effect of Magnetization upon the Elasticity 
of Rods,’ by J. S. Stevens and H. G. Dorsey. 
‘On Freezing and Boiling Water Simultaneously,’ 
by R. W. Quick. 
Bird Lore for August opens with an article 
by R. Kearton, one of the most successful of 
the many photographers of wild animals, on 
‘Photographing Shy Wild Birds and Beasts at 
Home,’ in which are explained some of the de- 
vices used by the Kearton Brothers. ‘Two 
Nova Scotia Photographs,’ by C. Will. Beebe, 
show ina very beautifully surrounded nest of 
Junco and a sleeping nighthawk. ‘In the 
Spartina with the Swallows,’ by O. Widmann, 
treats of a vast Western swallow roost in this 
writer’s usual charming style and is accom- 
panied by some interesting views. Bradford 
Torrey tells of ‘Watching the Bittern Pump’ 
and the various ‘departments’ are well filled, 
among the articles being a ‘Round Robin’ 
signed by well-known ornithologists, entitled 
‘Hints to Young Students’ and justly depreca- 
ting the wholesale slaughter of birds and col- 
lecting of eggs under the impression that this 
alone is ornithology. 
[N. 8S. Von. X. No. 243. 
DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 
ON GRADUATE STUDY. 
In the article, in ScrENcE for August 4th, 
‘Doctorates Conferred by American Universi- 
ties,’ in which you speak of the comparatively 
small number of university doctorates in the 
humanities, is found the following statement : 
“Our educational system is largely based on 
the study of language, and in view of the great 
number of teachers required it appears that 
they are satisfied with a less adequate educa- 
tion than is the case in the sciences.’’ Every 
suggestion that looks toward improvement in 
the preparation of teachers, especially of the 
teachers in secondary schools, who seem most 
vulnerable in qualification in languages, should 
be warmly welcomed, but I am sure, however, 
that not all university teachers will agree with 
the conclusion quoted above. 
It is certainly true, as your comparative table 
shows, that in American universities more can- 
didates seek the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 
in the sciences than in the humanities, but it 
does not, therefore,*necessarily follow that the 
persons who are engaged in teaching the hu- 
manities in our better colleges and universities 
‘are satisfied with a less adequate education’ 
than is the case with their colleagues in the sci- 
ences, nor should a teacher’s qualifications be 
measured by the number of degrees he pos- 
sesses. As is well understood, language teach- 
ers often feel that they can do graduate work 
to better advantage in Europe, where they are 
constantly surrounded, as it were, by the very 
things they are studying; in fact, some Ameri- 
can institutions decline to consider the applica- 
tions of candidates for positions in French and 
German who have not studied abroad, These 
facts, and the additional fact that we now have 
better scientific laboratories in this country than 
was formerly the case, would perhaps partly ex- 
plain the inequality in the number of doctorates 
conferred by American universities in the hu- 
manities and in the sciences. In this connec- 
tion it is interesting to note that of the Ameri- 
can students engaged in the study of these sub- 
jects at the University of Berlin during the 
summer semester of 1897 (I have no later statis- 
tics at hand) nearly twice as many were study- 
