August 1, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



185 



ble from the judicious expenditure of mon- 

 ey and labor. 



The President's address was followed by 

 a very interesting discussion on 'The Value 

 of Non-resident Lectures on Engineering 

 Subjects.' The three written discussions 

 were by Professors William D. Pence, 

 George F. Swain and Robert H. Thurston. 

 In brief, such lectures, as a rule, were re- 

 garded as having but little value as a means 

 of education, their chief value being as a 

 means of inspiration and suggestion to the 

 students, and of legitimately advertising 

 the institution ; keeping it in touch with the 

 profession and extending its influence. 

 They are also valuable to the local mem- 

 bers of the faculty, in giving them addi- 

 tional opportunities to come in contact with 

 engineers in active practice. As so much 

 depends on the personality of the lecturer 

 great care should be exercised in the selec- 

 tion. 



At the afternoon session 'Methods of 

 Grading Students in Engineering Colleges' 

 were treated by Professor Charles P. Mat- 

 thews, the practice of many colleges being 

 given, as obtained by means of a circular 

 letter containing ten questions. 



Professor Francis C. Caldwell read a 

 paper on 'Laboratory Notes and Reports,' 

 in which stress was laid upon the necessity 

 of impressing on the student the impor- 

 tance of original notes, and that this de- 

 pended upon the shape in which they were 

 taken down, and the care used in keeping 

 them neat and clean so as to avoid copying. 

 Attention was called to the danger of too 

 great detail in the nature of printed report 

 blanks, used to supplement the note-books 

 and to make the students familiar with 

 methods of making reports. 



In the paper on ' Electroclaemistry as an 

 Engineering Course,' Professor Charles F. 

 Burgess referred to the prominence of 

 electrochemistry before the public through 

 its progress along strictly scientific lines. 



as well as by reason of industrial develop- 

 ment, which has been largely independent 

 of the other. This subject may be taught 

 as a science, perhaps included under the 

 broader heading physical chemistry, or it 

 may be taken up as a branch of engineering 

 technology. The justification of establish- 

 ing engineering courses in applied electro- 

 chemistry was considered, and an outline 

 given of the studies that may properly be 

 included in such work. 



This paper was followed by an adjourned 

 discussion of Professor Wm. G. Raymond's 

 paper presented at the meeting in 1901, and 

 which advocated some radical changes tend- 

 ing to reduce the course in engineering at 

 least one year. The charge was made that 

 by the present arrangement time was 

 wasted: (1) By too much vacation, (2) by 

 doing class work instead of work with the 

 individual, and (3) by mixing engineering 

 subjects with preparatory and general cul- 

 ture subjects. This discussion was lively 

 and interesting, sixteen members taking 

 part, those of Professors A. N. Talbot and 

 C. L. Mees being written. Professor Tal- 

 bot maintained that the vacations were 

 educationally valuable to the students, as 

 most of them engage in work of an engi- 

 neering character, especially after the soph- 

 omore year, while others engage in business 

 pursuits ; that the instructors and young- 

 er professors engage in practice which fits 

 them for better service, while others are 

 making preparation for the following 

 year's college work or in research. He 

 also held that work with the individual was 

 not applicable to information subjects, nor 

 to foundation subjects where the quiz and 

 class discussion secured better results ; that 

 where it was useful it was already employ- 

 ed, as in specialized courses, such as the de- 

 sign of structures, machines, etc., and that 

 certain exercises require party work. Con- 

 tinuous work in one subject is in general 

 unpedagogical. It was further claimed 



