502 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 117. 



If the schools will offer genuine science 

 instruction the colleges will no doubt ac- 

 cept it, and thus lend encouragemeat to the 

 schools in their effort to give such instruc- 

 tion. "Why should not a minimum science 

 entrance requirement be set by the college, 

 leaving the subject elective, but demanding 

 that every student on entrance shall have 

 had at least one year of genuine disciplinary 

 science instruction ; then, as one of the al- 

 ternative requirements, allow the accept- 

 ance of advanced science study in the place, 

 let us say of Greek or advanced mathe- 

 matics, etc. Four years of properly con- 

 ducted science study gives as valuable a 

 training and culture, even though this be of 

 a somewhat different kind, as an equal time 

 spent in the study of German, Latin or 

 mathematics. The colleges which permit 

 election of studies are practically committed 

 to the theory that each subject well taught 

 in the college is as valuable as any other. 



The science instruction, both in the ele- 

 mentary and the advanced study, must be 

 of the best if it would meet this require- 

 ment, and the teacher must know and have 

 an interest in the subject which he teaches. 

 No one can have an adequate knowledge of 

 all the natural sciences, and it is unfair to 

 ask a teacher to give instruction in them 

 all. As time goes on this will be remedied, 

 provided we can inaugurate a movement 

 to improve science instruction ; for such an 

 improvement all along the line means, of 

 necessity, more teachers. Therefore, it 

 seems well for the present that the science 

 teacher should be selected with special ref- 

 erence to his ability to give good instruction 

 in one subject ; and this he should be 

 allowed to develop, as far as he can, with 

 the constant effort to obtain higher grade 

 work in at least one line of natural science. 

 "Well trained in oue subject he will be a 

 better teacher of the others than if he was 

 equally well prepared in all sciences. 



Very Uttle has been said of physical 



geography, because it has seemed to me 

 that there is a more important point per- 

 taining to all sciences. I feel that it matters 

 little whether the science instruction be in 

 physical geography, physics, chemistry or 

 biology, so long as it is genuine science in- 

 struction. That physical geography has a 

 claim equal to the others can be demon- 

 strated. To teach it in such a way that I 

 would be willing to accept it as a subject 

 for entrance to Cornell University there 

 must be very much more than book work. 

 The attempt to gain information must be 

 subordinated to the effort to train the 

 powers of observation, the habit of inquiry 

 and ability to reason out valid conclusions 

 from an assemblage of facts. 



This training must in large part be gained 

 by practice in the laboratory and in the 

 field. The air, earth and water, the natural 

 laboratories of physical geography, are ac- 

 cessible to all. They have lessons to teach, 

 and furnish means for discipline of the 

 nature suggested. The natural laboratory 

 is not always accessible, nor are all features 

 of physical geography capable of illustra- 

 tion in every instance. Hence, out-of- 

 door work must be very decidedly supple- 

 mented by work within doors. "We cannot, 

 for instance, take many classes to a glacier. 

 Models, maps, photographs and lantei'n 

 slides must take the place of some features 

 of the actual land. These are not so good 

 as the real out-of-door examples, but, skill- 

 fully handled, they illustrate the facts well, 

 and serve well as a means of gaining im- 

 portant training. In geology the same 

 means may be used and these may be sup- 

 plemented by the study of specimens of 

 various kinds. Much material for this in- 

 struction is accessible and cheap, and 

 schools that would make the study of 

 physiographic subjects of disciplinary value 

 must equip a laboratory with these ma- 

 terials. It is now no more possible to 

 teach physical geography properly by means 



