November 29, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



735 



the facilities for botanical research at the uni- 

 versity are practically doubled. The luiiversity 

 now possesses the most complete representation 

 extant of Pacific coast flora. 



Beginning with this year (1907-08) tlie univer- 

 sity maintains a new administrative officer known 

 as the alumni secretary. Mr. Gurden Edwards, 

 of the class of 1907, has been appointed to this 

 place. It is the duty of the alumni secretary to 

 keep in active touch with the university graduates 

 and former students, and to cooperate with the 

 appointment secretary of the university in an- 

 swering demands upon the university for men and 

 women to take positions of responsibility in busi- 

 ness and the professions. 



The difficulty encountered in endeavor- 

 ing to establish a just comparison of the 

 enrollment at the University of Chicago 

 with that of the other institutions has fre- 

 quently been pointed out, nevertheless its 

 fall quarter may be compared with the 

 first half-year of the other institutions, as 

 is done in the table. Comparing the en- 

 rollment of this fall with that of the fall 

 quarter of 1906, we find that gains have 

 been registered in all of the faculties, with 

 the exception of medicine and divinity, 

 which have remained stationary. The 

 largest increase is found in the number of 

 male students in the academic department, 

 the gain being one of 62, while the law 

 school has gained 37 students. The in- 

 struction given in the business center of 

 the city in 1905-06 was withdrawn during 

 1906-07, a few courses being offered for 

 teachers in the university buildings. This 

 accounts for the change from 247 reported 

 a year ago to 125 reported under "other 

 courses" this year. The summer quarter 

 shows a loss of 125 compared with that of 

 1906. In the extension division seventy- 

 seven lecture-study courses are offered, the 

 estimated attendance reaching 21,175, 

 while 2,250 active students are enrolled in 

 the correspondence-study courses. 



The enrollment of Columbia University 

 shows a considerable gain in comparison 

 with the preceding year. The total gain 



is one of 547, the present enrollment of 

 5,197 being the high-water mark in Co- 

 lumbia's history. This is exclusive of 

 3,055 students who have thus far registered 

 in extension courses at and away from the 

 university and in evening technical courses. 

 The total registration of resident students 

 this fall shows a gain of 255 over 1906. 



So far as registration by faculties is 

 concerned, Columbia College shows a slight 

 gain, the entering class being smaller, but 

 an unusually large number of students 

 having entered on advanced standing from 

 other institutions. The tuition fees in the 

 college have been raised considerably, and 

 this has no doubt affected the registration, 

 not sufficiently, however, to bring about a 

 decrease in the total. Barnard College, the 

 undergraduate department for women, 

 shows a total gain of 22 and a gain of 10 

 in the entering class. The non-profes- 

 sional graduate faculties of political sci- 

 ence, philosophy and pure science, have ex- 

 perienced the considerable gain of 130 stu- 

 dents, all of the three faculties sharing in 

 the increase. The schools of mines, engi- 

 neering and chemistry exhibit an encoura- 

 ging increase over last year, the figures be- 

 ing 585 and 524, respectively, and for the 

 entering class 186 in 1907, as against 137 

 in 1906. A large number of students has 

 also been admitted to advanced standing in 

 this faculty. A uniform first-year ctir- 

 riculum has been established for the dif- 

 ferent schools in applied science, and op- 

 portunities are now offered to work off con- 

 ditions in the summer session, in extension 

 courses and in parallel courses offered by 

 Columbia College. The results of the ac- 

 tive administration of the new head of the 

 schools of mines, engineering and chem- 

 istry are reflected in this year's heavy 

 registration. Fine arts records the largest 

 enrollment in its history; the registration 

 in the department of music having re-^ 

 mained uniform, while there has been a 



