July 16, 1886.] 



SCIEJSrCE. 



49 



tion at Saratoga in 1885, — that the work of the 

 college would ultimately fall to the academies and 

 universities, and the college itself fall away as un- 

 necessary. In opposing this view, all the speakers 

 were agreed that the college continues and com- 

 pletes the boy's education, begun in the school and 

 academy, while the university trains educated 

 men in special branches. Professor "Williams 

 attributed much of the misunderstanding on this 

 subject to the fact that many colleges were for- 

 getting their true position and function in their 

 endeavor to become universities. Professor "Wil- 

 liams said that the ideal college course would, in 

 his opinion, call for sixteen hours of recitation per 

 week, devoted as follows : language, one-half ; 

 mathematics (meaning algebra, geometry, and 

 trigonometry, and these only), one-eighth ; his- 

 tory, a little more than one-eighth ; and elemen- 

 tary science, including civics and psychology, a 

 little more than one-quarter. To such a curricu- 

 lum elocution and gymnastics could easily be 

 added, and it would serve to train the pupil as 

 the college ought to train him, and did train 

 before it was carried away by a wrong ambition. 



For "Wednesday morning's session. Dr. L. Sau- 

 veur was announced to explain and defend the 

 ' natural method ' of teaching languages. He was 

 not able to be present, and Mr. C. W, Bardeen 

 briefly presented the chief points of excellence in 

 connection with the natiiral method. Principal 

 George C. Sawyer of Utica followed with a scholar- 

 ly and exhaustive attack on the ' natural method ' 

 as a fraud and a sham. Dr. Sawyer claimed, 

 that, under this method, all the work devolves 

 UjDon the teacher, and the pupil picks up, with no 

 disciplinary training, a parrot-like acquaintance 

 with a limited vocabulary. Moreover, the main 

 value from studying a language lies in learning to 

 read it, to imbibe the thought and spirit and cul- 

 ture of another people, and not merely to hold a 

 conversation in it. 



The discussion was continued by Professor 

 Wells of Union college, Principal Farr of Glens 

 Falls, and Principal Cheney of Kingston, all of 

 whom opposed the so-called 'natural method,' 

 and defended the old or rational method both be- 

 cause of its practical results and its disciplinary 

 training. 



Dr. James Hall, director of the New York state 

 museum of natural history, followed with a brief 

 account of that museum and its educational work. 

 Dr. Hall said that it represented every department 

 of natural history. The mineral wealth of the 

 state should also be represented. Nearly ten years 

 ago there were distributed to schools and colleges 

 about twenty thousand specimens in geology and 

 mineralogy, and the museum is now prepared to dis- 



tribute about five thousand more authentic speci- 

 mens, which is a valuable adjunct to the teachers' 

 work in these schools. In this way the educational 

 use of the museum is manifested by its publica- 

 tions and its distributions of specimens. The 

 museum will continue to aid the cause of educa- 

 tion and be a part of the educational system of the 

 state. Teachers and investigators are invited to 

 seek assistance and information of the museum ; 

 and, if institutions want collections augmented 

 from its duplicates, the museum of Albany will 

 be glad to respond as readily and as heartily as it 

 can. 



Principal C. T. R. Smith of Lansingbiu-gh pre- 

 sented a paper, which was an able exposition of 

 the desirabihty of allowing plane geometry to pre- 

 cede algebra in the regents' course of study. Pro- 

 fessor Root of Hamilton agreed with Principal 

 Smith, and showed clearly by concrete examples 

 how the logical and natural order would be re- 

 stored by the proposed change. Considerable dis- 

 cussion followed, the general sentiment being that 

 the change should at least be permitted as an 

 alternative even if not sanctioned entirely. 



An unusually large and brilliant audience assem- 

 bled in the evening, when President McCosh of 

 Princeton was announced to deliver an address on 

 elective studies in college. Dr. McCosh opened 

 with the proposition that a college or university 

 should, so far as its funds would permit, offer in- 

 struction in every branch of hterature and science, 

 carefully excluding all that is merely showy. 

 Modern education, he continued, began in the 

 seventh century with the foundation of the Cathe- 

 di-al schools with their Trivium and Quadrivium. 

 At this time there was no possibility of electives, 

 because during its course the university of that 

 day could teach aU that was known. A new era 

 began with the Renaissance, and again in the 

 seventeenth century the subjects of study were 

 greatly increased by the new mathematics of Des- 

 cartes, Newton, and Leibnitz. In the eighteenth 

 century were founded the Royal society in Eng- 

 land, tiie French academy, and the Berlin acade- 

 my of sciences. Chemistry, biology, and botany 

 became sciences, and were placed in the curric- 

 ulum. This great increase in subjects of study 

 has gone on, until, in our day, it is absolutely im- 

 possible to master them all. The age of universal 

 scholars, of Erasmus, of Scaliger, of Leibnitz, has 

 gone never to return. 



Having established the fact that an elective sys- 

 tem is now necessary in our colleges, the further 

 question arises, how is it to be regulated ? Having 

 reference only to candidates for the B.A. degree, 

 which implies a general culture and scholarship, 

 the standard of which we must not allow to be 



