476 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 481. 



named. General Palmer is one of tlie prin- 

 cipal founders of Colorado Springs, and has 

 probably had more to do with the upbuilding 

 of Colorado than any other one man. He has 

 during many years aided the college in innu- 

 merable ways, and is one of its trustees. 



Colorado College does not pretend to be a 

 university, and in fact always has insisted on 

 the college ideal as distinguished from that of 

 the university proper. Nevertheless Dr. Jor- 

 dan, in his address, spoke the following sig- 

 nificant words : 



" I am told that Colorado College is one of 

 those which aspires to be only a college, a 

 thoroughly good college of course, but that 

 she has no thought of becoming a university. 

 I do not learn this from my friend, Dr. Slo- 

 cum, and I know that his ambition is bound- 

 less. But whether it be true or not, I am 

 going to oppose the idea. She will be a uni- 

 versity before you know it. This Palmer Hall 

 may be offered in evidence that the college 

 period is past. Colorado College has already 

 become a university. A university in em- 

 bryo, perhaps, if you like, but still with all 

 the marks by which the university is known — 

 as certain to become a university in fact as a 

 pine seedling on your royal hills is sure some 

 day to become a pine tree. 



" A university in America is a place where 

 men think lofty thoughts, and where raen test 

 ifor themselves that which seems to be true, 

 where men go up to the edge of things and 

 look outward into the great unknown, where 

 men find their life work." 



And, it may be added, it appears to be 

 universally expected and desired by those who 

 insist upon the word college that the opening 

 of Palmer Hall shall mark the beginning of 

 a period of scientific research, the extent of 

 which is only to be limited by the men and 

 materials available. 



T. D. A. C. 



THE STUDY OF SCIENCE. 

 The secretaries of the Eoyal Society have 

 submitted to the universities of the United 

 Kingdom the following ' Statement regarding 

 Scientific Education in Schools, drawn up 

 by a Committee of the Eoyal Society ' : 



" Notwithstanding efforts extending over 

 more than half a century, it still remains sub- 

 stantially true that the public schools have 

 devised for themselves no adequate way of 

 assimilating into their system of education 

 the principles and methods of science. The 

 experience of ' modem sides ' and other ar- 

 rangements shows that it can hardly be ex- 

 pected that, without external stimulus and 

 assistance, a type of public-school education 

 can be evolved which, whilst retaining literary 

 culture, will at the same time broaden it by 

 scientific interests. On the other hand, it is 

 admitted that many students trained in the 

 recent foundations for technical scientific in- 

 struction have remained ignorant of essential 

 subjects of general education. 



" The bodies which can do most to promote 

 and encourage improvement in these matters 

 are the universities, through the influence 

 which they are in a position to exert on sec- 

 ondary education. This improvement will 

 not, however, be brought about by making the 

 avenues to degrees in scientific or other sub- 

 jects easier than at present. Rather, the test 

 of preliminary general education is too slight 

 already, with the result that a wide gap is 

 often established between scientific students 

 careless of literary form and other students 

 ignorant of scientific method. 



" It may be suggested that the universities 

 might expand and improve their general tests, 

 so as to make them correspond with the edu- 

 cation, both literary and scientific, which a 

 student, matriculating at the age of nineteen 

 years, should be expected to have acquired; 

 and that they should themselves make pro- 

 vision, in cases where this test is not satisfied, 

 for ensuring the completion of the general 

 education of their students, before close spec- 

 ialization is allowed. 



" In particular, it appears desirable that 

 some means should be found for giving a 

 wider range of attainment to students prepar- 

 ing for the profession of teaching. The re- 

 sult of the existing system is usiially to place 

 the supreme control of a public school in the 

 hands of a head master who has little knowl- 

 edge of the scientific side of education; while 

 the instructors in many colleges have to deal 



