September 14, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



327 



ordinated to an artistic or decorative treat- 

 ment. In time we shall go further than 

 that and attempt in some degree to reflect 

 current botanical ideas in the grouping of 

 our plants. Let me illustrate my meaning 

 by a good example. The succulent house 

 is generally conceded to form one of the 

 most interesting and stimulating exhibits 

 to be seen at Kew— not merely from the 

 weird and grotesque forms assumed by the 

 individual plants, but chiefly because here 

 you have assembled together plants of the 

 most varied affinity having the common 

 bond of similar adaptations to a like type 

 of environment. The principles that 

 underlie the arrangement of the best sort 

 of museum may be applied with advantage 

 in the case of a garden, and with tenfold 

 effect; for is not a live dandelion better 

 than a dead Welwitschiaf This feature, 

 introduced as it would be with moderation 

 and discretion, would immensely enhance 

 the value of the gardens both to the stu- 

 dent and general visitor. 



But to return from this digression : on 

 the whole the time seems ripe for the new 

 departure. Fresh lines are opening up in 

 systematic botany that call for special pro- 

 vision. Now it was evident from the cir- 

 cumstances of the botanical renaissance 

 twenty-five years ago that when it acquired 

 strength some readjustment between the 

 old and the new would have to be made. 

 The thing was inevitable. The administra- 

 tive acts of recent years all point in the 

 same direction. The founding of the Jod- 

 rell Laboratory, the enhanced efficiency of 

 the gardens, the great extension of the her- 

 barium building, all help to pave the way. 

 But more is wanted. Eeference has been 

 made to the advantages that would attend 

 the migration from the Natural History 

 Museum. But it is most important of all 

 to devise a mechanism for securing a flow 

 of recruits to carry on the work. This 



would follow in the wake of a rapproche- 

 ment 'with, the schools on the lines already 

 sketched out. Difficulties, no doubt, will 

 be encountered in the initial stages of a re- 

 organization, but these are inseparable 

 from our bureaucratic system. A very 

 hopeful sign is the readiness which the gov- 

 ernment has shown in instituting inquiries 

 in the past. That nothing has come of 

 them may be attributed primarily to the 

 attitude of botanists themselves. If they 

 can unite on any common policy, there 

 should be no serious delay in giving it 

 effect. 



THE CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL— ITS RE- 

 LATION TO TECHNICAL EDUCATION 

 AND SOME OF ITS RESULTS."^ 



At the 1899 meeting of the Society for 

 Promotion of Engineering Education, held 

 at Columbus, Ohio, a paper was presented 

 by Professor Edgar Marburg, entitled ' The 

 Correspondence School in Technical Edu- 

 cation.'^ This paper aroused considerable 

 interest, and was discussed quite generally, 

 with the result that a committee on in- 

 dustrial education was appointed, of which 

 Professor J. B. Johnson was chairman. 

 This committee reported at the New York 

 meeting in the following year.^ 



At the time Professor Marburg prepared 

 his paper the total number of students en- 

 rolled in the International Correspondence 

 Schools was about 80,000, and at the time 

 the committee made its report the number 

 of students enrolled was about 181,000. It 

 was impossible at that time to furnish re- 

 liable figures in regard to the work being 



^ Eead at the Ithaca meeting of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, June 

 30, 1906, before Section D, Mechanical Science 

 and Engineering. 



^ Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion 

 of Engineering Education, Vol. VII., p. 80. 



'Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion 

 of Engineering Education, Vol. VIII., p. 28. 



