120 
praised, are said to be no better than those in 
Great Britain, but in regard to secondary edu- 
eation the article proceeds: ‘‘So far as I can 
see, the American system is more truly educa- 
tional, less pedagogic; the child is made to 
learn, I will not say things that are useful, but 
things that more develop his intelligence and 
reasoning faculties. I think any average Eng- 
lishman of middle age, whether of a public 
or private school, who looks back on his 
school days must be struck by the vast 
amount of time and tears he spent in acquir- 
ing knowledge which he has entirely forgot- 
ten. ‘‘ But the acquiring of this knowledge,’’ 
it is said, ‘‘ has developed his reasoning powers 
and strengthened his memory.’’ The latter, no 
doubt, is true, and no one would undervalue 
memory. But the memory so acquired is 
of a description that is the least useful in the 
business affairs of life. Let us take a single 
example. Perhaps the most marvelous ex- 
hibition of memory is that displayed by players 
of blindfold chess ; but who would select a man, 
because he was an expert in this science, to con- 
duct a business? In regard to the claim of de- 
velopment of reasoning powers, it may be that 
the absolute reverse is the truth, and to learn 
by rote things that have no meaning to 
the learner is possibly the surest way to 
stunt the intellect. The most valuable in- 
tellectual gift a man can possess—I speak with 
all deference, not as an educationist, but as an 
engineer—is the powerof concentrating his mind 
on the problem immediately before him ; and the 
learning of meaningless or objectless things— 
they need only be meaningless or objectless to 
the learner—is the surest way to cultivate a 
discursive mental habit. Let any one who 
doubts this watch an average school boy getting 
by rote a Greek verb or any other lesson equally 
empirical. The most trifling incident will dis- 
tract his attention, and that not from wilful- 
ness, for the penalty of not knowing his lesson 
has many real terrors. Educational methods, 
I know, have improved and are still improving 
in this country, but when all is said I attribute 
the greater mental alertness of Americans, es- 
pecially American middle-class youths, to the 
lead that American schools have taken in this 
respect. 
SCIENCE. 
[N. S. Von. XIII. No. 316. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 
ACCORDING to press despatches, Professor E. 
A. Ross, lately professor of sociology at Leland 
Stanford Junior University, has been appointed 
professor in the University of Nebraska and 
Professors G. E. Howard (history), William H. 
Hudson (English literature) and G. N. Little 
(mathematics) have resigned their chairs at 
Stanford University. 
THE latest benefaction of Dr. B. K. Pearons’s 
is reported to be $200,000 for Beloit College, 
conditional on the raising of $150,000 more by 
June 15th. 
WARREN A. WILBUR, of South Bethlehem, 
has given $5,000 to Lehigh University for the 
equipment of a mechanical laboratory. 
AN anonymous gift of £50,000 has been: made 
to the Woman’s Agricultural College at Read- 
ing, England. 
IN order to limit the crowding of the medical 
profession in Germany, the Government has in 
troduced a bill regulating entrance to the med- 
ical profession, prolonging the period of study 
to five years and enlarging the subjects upon 
which the examinations are based. 
THE Agricultural School at Berlin has been 
injured by fire due to anexplosion of gas. The 
loss is estimated at $15,000, in addition to the 
destruction of valuable collections. 
Dr. WINTHROP ELLSWORTH STONE has been 
elected president of Purdue University. He 
has been professor of chemistry in the institu- 
tion since 1889, and vice-president since 1892. 
Ir is said that Dr. George Edgar Vincent, 
professor of sociology at the University of Chi- 
cago, has been offered the presidency of North- 
western University. 
Miss LAuRA D. Git, A.B., A.M. (Smith 
College), has been appointed dean of Barnard 
College, Columbia University. 
Dr. JoHN E. WEEKS has been appointed to 
the professorship of ophthalmology in the New 
York University and Bellevue Hospital Medical 
College made vacant by the death of Dr. Henry 
D. Noyes. 
Austin M. Parrerson, A.B., (Princeton), 
Ph.D. (John Hopkins), has been appointed in- 
structor in chemistry in Centre College, Ky. 
