MAYgie, 19U2.] 



SCIENCE. 



Ill 



be illustrated with a kinetoseope. An- 

 other institution claims to prepare its stu- 

 dents for 'metallurgy and mining, chem- 

 ical manufactures, dyeing, bleaching, 

 tanning, sugar-refining, etc., and for work 

 as analytical chemists, assayers, or teachers 

 of chemistry.' The claim is based upon 

 tliree lectures per week for two years, and 

 two laboratory courses of twelve hours per 

 week each, which may he taken in one year. 

 A third college offers a course of three 

 hours per iveek for one semester in 'quali- 

 tative and quantitative examination of air, 

 water, food disinfectants, baking powders, 

 flour, bread, tea, coffee, cocoa, spices, milk, 

 butter, lard, beer a7id other subjects.' 



It may be objected to the above that col- 

 lege catalogues are notoriously optimistic. 

 The fact would seem to be demonstrated; 

 none the less, such exaggeration is of very 

 questionable value, and should be discour- 

 aged for the benefit of the ' raw graduate, ' 

 if for no better reason. It would appear, 

 moreover, that the majority of colleges 

 consider training in analytical methods 

 equivalent to complete technical training; 

 nearly all of them give several courses in 

 water analysis, analysis of fuels, iron and 

 steel, etc. The importance of such ana- 

 lytical training is undoubtedly over-esti- 

 mated; a student who must continually 

 neglect the factors of time and cost in his 

 work receives too one-sided a training. 

 The same objection is to be raised to many 

 of the so-called courses in 'technical work.' 

 If they do not consider time and cost as 

 the essential factors, they have no better 

 claim to a 'technical' nature than the ordi- 

 nary beginner's preparation of hydrogen 

 or chlorine. But more of this later. 



Let us now examine more closely the 

 nature of that preliminary preparation 

 which we have found to be so nearly vmi- 

 form throughout the United States. In 

 the way of lectures, there is always a 

 ■course on inorganic chemistry, occasionally 



a short one on organic, infrequently a very 

 brief treatment of ' general ' or theoretical 

 chemistry incorporated with the above or 

 as a separate course. Modern theories 

 and the details of organic chemistry are 

 usually left for advanced and optional 

 courses. The time spent on these lectures 

 varies greatly ; but perhaps a fair estimate 

 is three hours per week for two years (of 

 about thirty- five weeks each). In many, 

 in fact in most, colleges this average is not 

 maintained. The laboratory training in- 

 cludes one, very infrequently two, terms of 

 general introductory work, ranging from 

 three to six hours each week. On the 

 whole, this course may be described as 

 satisfactory. Then follows a course in 

 qualitative analysis, averaging twelve 

 hours per week for one or two terms. Re- 

 citations accompany it in many instances, 

 mainly for drill in writing equations, it 

 would seem. In a few of the better insti- 

 tutions, but only in very few, the subject 

 is made to serve as a practical demonstra- 

 tion of the theory of solutions. Finally, 

 from one to three terms are spent in quan- 

 titative analysis, also averaging perhaps 

 twelve hours a week. The subject-matter 

 of this last course also varies greatly with 

 the college; at the best, there is included 

 training on a few alloys, sulphide ores, sili- 

 cates, and a number of volumetric methods 

 on technical products. The feeling cannot 

 be repressed that in this course results call 

 for a disproportionate expenditure of time. 

 It is with the training afforded by the 

 above that the student proceeds to follow 

 his natural bent, and to acquire the special 

 technical skill needed for his professional 

 activity. 



OUTLINES OF THE PROPOSED IMPEOVEMENTS. 



The technical preparations of the teacher 

 need not concern us further. Every col- 

 lege and university is practically a tech- 

 nical school for training teachers first of 



