MAgc#H 15, 1901.] 
in the realms of the sciences, the litera- 
tures and the arts, fine, useful and es- 
thetic.”” For the past thirty years the 
demand for mechanical engineers has been 
increasing at a remarkable rate and is 
likely to continue. The sciences will more 
and more become the foundation for all in- 
dustrial occupations, hence, scientific edu- 
cation should be begun in the preparatory 
schools, and instruction should be given by 
teachers who have received adequate train- 
ing. “One great mind lost to the world 
through lack of the higher education which 
it is capable of utilizing is a more grievous 
loss than sunken fleets. * * * One great 
exploiter of scientific knowledge counts for 
an army, for he makes effective an army, 
saves a country from ruin, raises a nation 
to previously unimagined heights, confers 
the comforts of the highest civilization 
upon the people, or gives his fellow men 
leadership toward hitherto unexplored 
realms of wisdom, knowledge and oppor- 
tunity. The grandest financial expendi- 
tures by the state.are those which develop 
new moral, intellectual and physical forces 
for the benefit of the nation.” 
After the addresses a reception was given 
by the Trustees of the University for the 
Association and guests. 
The section meetings were resumed on 
Saturday morning. In the section in 
physics and chemistry John S. Shearer, of 
Cornell University, spoke on the ‘ Relation 
between High Schools and College Courses 
in Physics.’ Struck by the fact that in the 
elementary college courses in physics those 
students who had received no previous 
training in the subject were capable of doing 
quite as good work as those who had taken a 
- preparatory course, the speaker made a care- 
ful study of the average standing of the 
two groups of students and found that those 
in the. second stood only about three per 
cent. higher than those in the first group. 
Among the apparent causes of this condi- 
SCIENCE. 
419 
tion the following were mentioned: For- 
mule are memorized without any clear 
understanding of their meaning; problems 
are solved by rule of three as a substitute 
for careful analysis; the student is carefully 
shielded from the real difficulties of the 
subject; the idea is too prevalent that 
physics pertains only to the class-room and 
the laboratory and has no connection with 
actual affairs; the habit of self-reliance in 
testing things by experiment and by deduc- 
tion from known laws is not developed. In 
a word, poor teaching is at the bottom of it 
all. 
‘The Manual Training of Chemistry’ was 
the title of a very practical paper written by 
Professor William E. Bennett, of the Roch- 
“ester High School. The manual training 
of the trade school is purely utilitarian. It 
aims to develop manipulative skill to the 
point of being automatic or reflex, while 
in the larger and better sense such training 
should also stimulate mental activity and 
equip the student to cope with unexpected 
difficulties. This he can do only if he 
understands the reasons for each step in 
the progress of his work. Chemistry, with 
its delicate operations and manipulations 
was claimed to be one of the best disci- 
plines to develop the faculties involved. 
In a paper on ‘ The Relative Value of the 
Qualitative and the Quantitative in Labora- 
tory Work,’ Professor W. C. Peckham, of 
Adelphi College, Brooklyn, held that the 
greater part of laboratory work in physics 
should be quantitative in character and 
that the deductive method of presentation 
is preferable in high-school work. 
Dr. Henry R. Linville presented in the 
section in biology a paper entitled ‘The 
Framing of a Course in Biology for Un- 
trained Minds: a Discussion of Principles.’ 
The writer stated what he considered 
should be the main features of such a 
course and described the work planned for 
the boys from the ‘East Side’ in New 
