July 29, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



125 



iuteresting and profitable where simple in- 

 struments for time-taking and for micro- 

 metric measurements are used by the 

 students ; where instruments are not avail- 

 able the simpler problems of spherical as- 

 tronomy may be studied. 



Work in celestial mechanics and origi- 

 nal investigations along lines of practical 

 astronomy and astrophysics must be done 

 chiefly in post-graduate courses. 



In the conference on botany Professor 

 Macbride, of the University of Iowa, argued 

 that the special function of the schools was 

 to give instruction to the people, primarily 

 along practical lines. Botany is an emi- 

 nently practical science and should reach 

 the largest possible number of our people. 

 To this end botany teaching should not be 

 relegated to the high school exclusively, but 

 simple phases of the subject should be pre- 

 sented to the children of the schools uni- 

 versally. The later methods of presenting 

 the subject, while no doubt logical, have 

 been in large measure unfortunate and with- 

 out practical value. They have proceeded 

 upon the notion that without microscope 

 and laboratory botany cannot be taught ; 

 and, where introduced, they have too often 

 left pupils without any true conception of 

 botanical science, without any knowledge 

 whatever of the commoner forms of vege- 

 tation with which every intelligent person, 

 not to say educated person, ought to be 

 familiar. The older methods were faulty 

 because they were so largely text-book 

 methods, but they had the great advantage 

 of using familiar material, of working from 

 the known to the unknown. "While un- 

 willing to discourage research- work any- 

 where, yet, it was argued, such work be- 

 longs rather to the universities. In short, 

 public schools of all grades should • under- 

 .stand well their mission, which is popular 

 rather than technical education. 



Professor J. H. Powers, of Doane College, 

 and Professor C. E. Bessey, of the Univer- 



sity of Nebraska, thought that the difiScul' 

 ties in regard to the equipment and man- 

 agement of laboratories in the high schools 

 were not as great as Professor Macbride ap- 

 peared to believe, and urged the laboratory 

 method as more helpful in high school 

 work. 



In the conference in zoology Professor H. 

 B. Ward, of the University of Nebraska, 

 said that since the time of Agassiz no one 

 can question the educational value of 

 zoology nor its consequent right to a place 

 in the high school curriculum. As a nat- 

 ural development of the nature study in 

 the lower grades, it may well come early in 

 the course, preceded at most by a year of 

 general science and physiography, and 

 closely connected with work in botany. 



At least half of the time should be de- 

 voted to laboratory work, where the obser- 

 vations made by the student independently 

 should be recorded in careful notes and ac- 

 curate drawings. 



To bring the pupils in touch with nature, 

 field excursions should form an integral 

 part of every course. They also yield a de- 

 sirable collection of objects representing the 

 life of the vicinity and form the nucleus of 

 a school museum which has no reason for 

 existence other than as a working collection. 



Constant use should thus be made of the 

 three laboratories : The school room, the 

 museum and the great laboratory of na- 

 ture. Finally, students should be en- 

 couraged to read the travels of great nat- 

 uralists and thus, through the eyes of 

 Wallace, Darwin, or Agassiz come in con- 

 tact with the great world of living things. 



Professor J. H. Powers, of Doane College, 

 ii^.discussing the paper, spoke earnestly in 

 favor of zoological training, emphasizing the 

 value of laboratory and field work. Pro- 

 fessor H. W. Norris, of Iowa College, in con- 

 tinuation insisted that the end sought in 

 zoological instruction is not so much an ac- 

 quaintance with interesting and profitable 



