458 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIII. No. 332 



twelve inches of rain in the six winter months produce six bushels 

 of wheat per acre, and that for every increase of rainfall of an inch 

 a like increase occurs in the average production of bushels of wheat 

 per acre." 



The minimum rainfall is undoubtedly of the greatest importance 

 to agriculturists, and we reproduce here a portion of the map of 

 minimum rainfall. The point at which a region may be classed as 

 arid, and unfit for successful agriculture, is believed by Gen. Greely 

 to be fifteen inches. This amount of annual rainfall is not consid- 

 ered sufficient for all crops, nor on all kinds of soil, but may be as- 

 sumed as an average.. Exact observations upon these points are 

 lacking in the United States ; but in Australia, observations and 

 experiments have been made, covering now quite a number of 

 years, on wheat, which may be called a test-crop. 



The fact that wheat can be grown without irrigation, in a coun- 

 try where the annual rainfall is less than twenty inches, is evi- 

 denced by official statistics from Dakota, which show that wheat 

 is grown by tens of millions of bushels yearly in sections where the 

 rainfall ranges from twenty inches downward. In that region over 

 three million bushels of wheat are now grown annually in counties 

 where the rainfall ranges from fifteen and one-tenth down to thir- 

 teen and eight-tenths inches. 



Perhaps the most careful observations in connection with the 

 effect of rainfall upon pasturage have been made in Australia, the 

 question being very important owing to the immense arid regions in 

 that country. It has been set forth, and probably with a fair degree 

 of authority, that annual rainfall is a most reliable index as to the pas- 

 toral capacity of a country, since grass benefits by rain at any sea- 

 son. Australian records show that land favored with less than ten 

 inches of rain a year is quite valueless without irrigation. In such 

 regions only one sheep per square mile can be carried for each inch 

 of rainfall. For from nine to thirteen inches, however, the increase 

 is about twenty sheep per square mile, and for from thirteen to 

 twenty inches of rainfall the increased carrying capacity is about 

 seventy sheep per square mile. 



It has been estimated that the' sandy land in the San Joaquin 

 valley, California, would feed about one sheep to the acre in its 

 natural state; but when irrigated, and growing alfalfa, it carries 

 twenty. 



The question of the amount of minimum rainfall, and of its dis- 

 tribution according to seasons and years, is one of prime impor-, 

 tance for the development of the Western States and Territories ; 

 and careful and long-continued researches on the meteorological 

 conditions, more particularly on the precipitation, will be of the 

 greatest value to settlers. The chief signal-officer concludes his 

 report with a recommendation to extend observations upon the 

 rainfall in the Western States and Territories by a gratuitous dis- 

 tribution of gauges to reliable voluntary observers who reside in 

 counties from which rainfall reports are not now obtainable. 



PRIMARY EDUCATION IN GERMANY. 



It is commonly held that in Germany the public-school system, 

 beginning with the university and ending with the primary school, 

 has reached a higher degree of excellence than has been attained 

 anywhere else. The term " Germany " as generally used in this 

 connection is somewhat vague ; for the schools are managed dif- 

 ferently in different parts, and the various systems are not equally 

 good. In an article in the Journal of Pedagogy by O. B. Super of 

 Dickinson College, Carlisle, Penn., a view is given of the system 

 where it has reached its highest excellence. 



The first point requiring attention is, that in Germany every 

 thing relating to schools of any kind is done according to a regular 

 system ; and this, of course, is a great advantage, to begin with. 

 We sometimes talk of our public school system, but it would be 

 difficult to say what that system is. Ever since there have been 

 white men in America, means have usually been found to give 

 most of the rising generation some kind of an education ; and this 

 is about all we can boast of now, for, under the existing order of 

 things, a very large number of children get no education. The 

 census of iSSo shows that we have among us 6,239,958 children 

 who cannot write their names, and this fact alone is enough to prove 



that our so-called system comes very far short of doing what it 

 ought to do. 



The German Government is careful, first, that suitable buildings 

 are erected for school purposes, and then looks to it that they are 

 provided with proper furniture, books, apparatus, and teachers. 

 Before a new school-building can be erected, the law requires at- 

 tention to the following particulars : the location must be central ; 

 it must be removed from busy streets and noisy or ill smelling fac- 

 tories ; the ground must be dry and with sufficient elevation to 

 allow of proper drainage ; there must be a dry and clean yard 

 large enough for a play-ground ; and the government provides 

 swings, cross-bars, and other appliances for out-door gymnastics. 

 School architecture in America usually depends very much on the 

 character or intelligence of the man who nas undertaken the" job." 

 The government further provides the following apparatus for every 

 school : in the primary grades, alphabetical charts, abacus, the 

 metric ruler, two black-boards, a wall-map of the province in which 

 the school is located, a relief-map of Germany, a wall-map of Pal- 

 estine, and some charts of natural history. In the grammar and 

 high school grades there is much more, including chemical and 

 philosophical apparatus. 



But the great point of superiority of their schools lies in the 

 teachers. A good teacher will have a good school in spite of all 

 drawbacks, and a poor teacher will have a poor school in spite of 

 all advantages of building and apparatus. The reason why Ger- 

 man teachers, as a rule, are superior to ours, is that the former 

 have been specially trained for their work. With us it seems to be 

 a generally accepted theory that almost any one can teach, provided 

 he knows just a little more than the persons of whom he is to have 

 charge. In Germany, teaching, even in the primary schools, is 

 recognized as a profession, which unfortunately is not the case in 

 this country. Here the average teacher might with propriety be 

 called a sort of "pedagogic tramp;" for in country districts, at 

 least, the same teacher rarely has the same school two successive 

 terms, and the records of some counties in Pennsylvania show that 

 every year more than one-third of the schools have teachers that 

 are entirely without experience, and in many cases they have just 

 " graduated " from the country schools themselves. It will doubt- 

 less be found that t-he same condition of affairs prevails in every 

 State west of Pennsylvania. A very large majority of public-school 

 teachers, if they are men, are only using this occupation as a con- 

 venience until they are able to find something more suited to their 

 tastes. If they are women, the probabilities are that in a few years 

 they will marry ; and, if they have any thing to do with managing 

 children after that, it will not likely be in the public school. In 

 either case, teaching is looked upon as something one ought to get 

 out of as soon as possible. 



In Germany no one is permitted to teach, even in a primary 

 school, unless he has satisfactorily completed the course of study 

 prescribed by the " Teachers' Seminary." Even private schools 

 are subject to the same rigid supervision as the public schools, and 

 no one is allowed to set up a school until he has demonstrated his 

 fitness to teach. With us, private and parochial schools are not 

 seldom worse than the public schools ; for, while the former usually 

 have some kind of supervision, the latter have no authorized over- 

 seers at all. 



In order to be admitted to a " Teachers' Seminary," the appli- 

 cant must be between sixteen and twenty-four years of age; must 

 have a certificate from his former teacher, testifying to his moral 

 character, good habits, industry, and ability ; and must be able to 

 pass an examination in what are usually called " common-school " 

 branches, together with history of Germany, elements of natural 

 philosophy, religious doctrine, and Bible history and music. At 

 the seminary he studies all these, and some higher branches in ad- 

 dition. After completing this course, he must serve two years as 

 assistant to an experienced teacher. If he sustains this ordeal, he 

 is then required to pass a final examination, when he is supposed 

 to be fit to take charge of a low-grade school ; but he has now 

 been raised to the rank of a " school-master," is recognized and 

 honored as a member of a noble profession, with a position for 

 life, and a salary that is not large but always sufficient to enable 

 him to maintain his position with respectability, and with the cer- 

 tainty that if he does his work well he will be promoted to the 



