368 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLII. No. 1081 



evident that it is a somewhat indefinite boun- 

 dary line. 



To express the distribution of any species it 

 ought to be sufficient to enumerate the divis- 

 ional numbers of the areas in which it occurs 

 and its ultimate limits to the north and south 

 and in an easterly and westerly direction. 

 Range of altitude in each division, or at any 

 rate in each belt, is of as much importance as 

 range in latitude. 



J. Adams 



Central Experimental Farm, 

 Ottawa 



TSE COMMITTEE OF ONE EUNDBED OF 



THE AMEBIC An ASSOCIATION FOE 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



REPORT OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE SELECTION 

 AND TRAINING OF STUDENTS FOR RESEARCH 



At the meeting of the Committee of One 

 Hundred of the American Association of Scien- 

 tific Research in April, 1914, the chairman was 

 authorized to appoint a subcommittee on the 

 Training and Selection of Students for Re- 

 search. He subsequently appointed the follow- 

 ing members : Professor R. A. Harper, Colum- 

 bia University ; Professor R. G. Harrison, Tale 

 University; Professor G. A. Hulett, Princeton 

 University; Professor W. Lindgren, Massa- 

 chusetts Institute of Technology; and Pro- 

 fessor E. W. Brown, Yale University, chairman. 

 This subcommittee has conducted its discus- 

 sion mainly by correspondence, but held a meet- 

 ing on May 14 last at which four of the mem- 

 bers were present. The report which follows is 

 signed by these four members of the sub-com- 

 mittee; Professor Harper, being absent from 

 the meeting and being unwilling to sign the 

 report, resigned. 



The education of students naturally is 

 divided into school, undergraduate and post- 

 graduate instruction. The first of these is 

 too large a question to touch on in this con- 

 nection. The third on the whole is well organ- 

 ized, and at the present time practically con- 

 sists only of students intending to take up re- 

 search or those needing the higher degrees for 

 educational careers. Hence most of the work 



of the sub-committee was in the direction of 

 considering what might be done to further the 

 interests of the abler students in their under- 

 graduate careers. In using the phrase " abler 

 students " the subcommittee had in mind the 

 upper twenty to thirty per cent, of the classes. 

 In order to find out what was done in the 

 various colleges and universities of the United 

 States a circular was sent out to about forty, 

 which were considered representative of the 

 various systems of instruction throughout the 

 country. This circular inquired what facilities 

 were provided for the more able amongst the 

 undergraduates for furnishing them with a 

 better and more rapid training than the ordi- 

 nary student. If such facilities were offered, 

 inquiry was made as to what form these 

 facilities took. It was also asked whether any 

 money rewards were given for high attain- 

 ments, and whether the institution had any 

 knowledge of the results obtained from these 

 facilities. About thirty of the forty selected 

 institutions sent replies sufficiently detailed for 

 the subcommittee to obtain a fair idea of what 

 was being done throughout the country in 

 this connection. It appears that five univer- 

 sities have specially organized courses in 

 which the better students are able to have 

 greater facilities for progress than the major- 

 ity. Two others have courses laid out without, 

 however, appearing to put much stress upon 

 them. The remainder have little or nothing 

 organized. These organized courses are gen- 

 erally referred to as " honors courses." Prac- 

 tically all of the institutions adopting them use 

 the same methods, consisting of segregation 

 into separate classes, extra work in connection 

 with the ordinary courses, a limit for admis- 

 sion to such courses, a general final examina^ 

 tion, less class-room work, and a complete 

 program for junior and senior years. These 

 different methods depended on the particular 

 department, much freedom being given to the 

 various departments. A fair idea of the vari- 

 ous plans adopted may be gathered from the 

 catalogues of the universities of Columbia, 

 Minnesota, Princeton and Tale. Princeton has 

 the preceptorial system in addition, but the 

 expense of this makes it of doubtful value for 



