794 



SCIENCE, 



[N. S. Vol. XXIV. No. 625. 



(10.02%), Missouri (9.75%), Syracuse 

 (8.21%), Virginia (7.04%), Nebraska 

 (6.52%), Ohio (5.98%), Cornell (5.27%), 

 Illinois (4.81%), Chicago (3.59%) and 

 Michigan (3.38%). Harvard (1.14%) 

 and Wisconsin (0.52%) show slight gains, 

 while the registration at Kansas,^ Minne- 

 sota, Princeton and Yale has, to all intents 

 and purposes, remained stationary. 



If we compare the registration of 1906 

 with that of 1902, we shall find that every 

 university, with five exceptions, has in- 

 creased its registration during the in- 

 tervening period, the exceptions being 

 California (—11.71%), Northwestern ( — 

 8.35%), Indiana (—8.07%), Johns Hop- 

 kins (—7.62%) and Harvard (—2.29%). 

 The largest gains during this period have 

 been made by Pennsylvania (54.34%), 

 New York University (49.16+%), Mis- 

 souri (47.09%), Ohio State (36%), Kan- 

 sas (30.60-f%) and Virginia (27.13%). 

 Next come Cornell (24.20%), Michigan 

 (24.18%) and Yale (24%), and these are 

 followed by Minnesota (12.52%), Stan- 

 ford (11.03%), Chicago (10.13%), Ne- 

 braska (9.65+%), Columbia (8.09%) and 

 Wisconsin (7.46%). The enrollment at 

 Princeton has remained stationary, the in- 

 crease being one of only 0.52%. In the 

 case of several institutions the large gains 

 may be ascribed to the establishment of 

 summer sessions. 



According to the figures for 1905, the 

 twenty-one universities included in the 

 table ranked as follows: Harvard, Colum- 

 bia, Chicago, Michigan, Minnesota, Cornell, 

 Illinois, California, Yale, Pennsylvania, 

 Wisconsin, Northwestern, Syracuse, Ne- 

 braska, Ohio State, Missouri, Leland Stan- 

 ford, Indiana, Princeton, Virginia and 

 Johns Hopkins. Comparing this with the 

 order for 1906, we notice that for reasons 

 to be discussed more in detail later, several 

 changes have occurred. Harvard still has 



1902, are those for the close of the respective 

 academic years. 



the largest registration, but is followed by 

 Chicago, with Michigan third and Colum- 

 bia fourth. Cornell has this year a larger 

 registration than Minnesota, Pennsylvania 

 and Yale have passed California, and the 

 former has made other gains, the order 

 this year — after Cornell — being Minnesota, 

 Pennsylvania, Illinois, Yale, New York 

 University, California, Wisconsin, Syra- 

 cuse, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, 

 Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Princeton, Vir- 

 ginia and Johns Hopkins. Omitting the 

 summer session registration, the order 

 would be as follows: Harvard, Michigan, 

 Columbia, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Cornell, 

 Minnesota, Illinois, Yale, New York Uni- 

 versity, Syracuse, California, Wisconsin, 

 Nebraska, Northwestern, Chicago, Ohio 

 State, Missouri, Kansas, Stanford, Prince- 

 ton, Indiana, Virginia and Johns Hopkins. 



I desire at this place to express the hope 

 that this article will not be interpreted by 

 the reader as desiring in any way to place 

 undue emphasis upon mere numbers as the 

 most important factor in the development 

 of a higher institution of learning; at the 

 same time it will no doubt be of interest 

 to notice where and how gains and losses 

 have been experienced. No sensible per- 

 son will regard the number of students in 

 attendance at a university as the sole cri- 

 terion of the advantages that one institu- 

 tion has over another. 



Examining the different faculties, we 

 notice that most of the institutions this 

 year show an increase in enrollment in the 

 academic department. This is true as far 

 as men are concerned of every institution 

 in the table, with the exception of Johns 

 Hopkins and Wisconsin, and it is a rather 

 remarkable fact, since several universities 

 for a number of years have registered con- 

 tinual losses in their academic departments 

 — these losses being in many cases due to 

 corresponding gains in the scientific schools. 

 A reaction has apparently set in in this 

 direction, at least at a number of institu- 



