Decembeb 9, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



825 



account of the apparatus. Practically no 

 apparatus has been lost in years. Each stu- 

 dent on opening the apparatus locker must 

 check over the pieces and report anything 

 missing or broken. If such a report is made, 

 the responsible student is located at once by 

 consulting the records of the previous section. 

 The use of inked data sheets also helps to re- 

 duce temptation. The paper of the data 

 blank is such that any erasure of the ink is 

 detected at a glance. The student is further 

 deterred from dishonesty because of the 

 knowledge that the instructor has a copy of 

 the original data. 



The " doctoring of results " by students is 

 due to their desire to secure a better grade. 

 With this thought in mind, a procedure has 

 been established minimizing the credit given 

 for the data taken, and magnifying the other 

 parts of the experiment. The actual grading 

 is made up according to the following values: 

 neatness and condition of place of working 

 10 points, diagram of apparatus 5 points, 

 method of working 10 points, theory of ex- 

 periment and answers to questions 40 points, 

 data taken 35 points, with a total of 100. A 

 form printed on the cover shows the amounts 

 allowed for each part of the work, so that the 

 student can see where he is deficient. The 

 method of grading the data is such that very 

 accurate results are not required. Average 

 results are not severely graded, so that a stu- 

 dent learns he will not suffer severely if his 

 observations are those of average conditions. 

 The practise of requiring very accurate re- 

 sults with the penalty of a repetition of the 

 experiment when the data shows a departure 

 from these required results, encourages the 

 practise of " doctoring data." The present 

 plan of placing the credit on the interpreta- 

 tion of the results seems better in theory and 

 is found more satisfactory in practise. Of 

 course work that is careless or very poor must 

 be repeated, and for the first few weeks of the 

 course a considerable number are required to 

 repeat or to rewrite work. Excellent work is 

 encouraged by marking it with exceptional 



in the laboratory work is to be criticized be- 

 cause it tends to make the laboratory a ma- 

 chine that will turn out so many students all 

 in the same way. It is hard to see how this 

 can be entirely avoided with large classes. 

 An effort is made to keep quiz sections small 

 in number of students, so that frequent oppor- 

 tunities are offered for expression of original 

 ideas. The development of individuality is 

 also considered in writing the directions for 

 performing experiments. 



Final examinations are given at the end of 

 each semester in both the lecture and the 

 laboratory work. The final examination, how- 

 ever, is given a weight of only a third or less 

 in the total grade, the class work and written 

 quizzes counting most in putting a mark on 

 the student's work. 



Some of the methods which we have used 

 have been chosen because of local conditions, 

 but many of our conditions are similar to 

 those found in all larger institutions, par- 

 ticularly in institutions with large engineer- 

 ing colleges. We change details of the course 

 each year, but the above represents a general 

 plan which has been found efficient in in- 

 struction, and easy to manage. 



A. P. Carman 

 F. E. Watson 



Univebsitt of Iixinois, 

 November, 1910 



It is realized that the above plan followed 



TEE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION OF THE 

 UNITED STATES "^ 



Tear after year it has been my privilege 

 to record " another most prosperous year in 

 agriculture." Sometimes the increased pros- 

 perity has been due to weather unusually 

 favorable to agriculture, sometimes to higher 

 prices, caused either by a greater yield or de- 

 mand, or by a scant production, but usually 

 the advance in farmers' prosperity has been 

 in spite of various drawbacks. It would seem 

 that this country is so large in extent and has 

 such varied climate, soil and crops that no 

 nation-wide calamity can befall its farmers. 

 Combined with this strong position in agri- 

 culture, the nation may now begin to derive 



' From the annual report of the Secretary of 

 Agriculture. 



