274 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 268. 



made Dr. Ediuger's work more effective and 

 his presentation much briefer, one cannot help 

 feeling great satisfaction at seeing an eminent 

 neurologist realize the value of comparative 

 study by psychological as well as morphological 

 methods. One must also admire the caution 

 and thoroughness with which Dr. Edinger ex- 

 amines animal behavior. Above all one rejoices 

 to see a piece of work in comparative psychology 

 which presents facts without quarreling over 

 the meanings of words. 



Edwaed Thohndike. 

 Teachers College, 



Columbia University. 



TBE GERMAN CONSULAR SERVICE. 

 Ms. RiCHAKD GuENTHEE, Consul General of 

 the United States of Frankfurt, writes to the 

 Department of State that the ' seniors' of the 

 Merchants Association of Berlin have ad- 

 dressed a memorial to the Prussian Secretary 

 of Commerce, and at the same time to the 

 Chancellor of the German Empire, which ap- 

 pears to be in response to an inquiry from the 

 Secretary of Commerce, and states what re- 

 forms in the German consular service are 

 deemed necessary. The following is a synop- 

 sis of the somewhat lengthy document : The 

 main duty of the consul should be to make 

 careful and detailed reports concerning eco- 

 nomic occurrences in his consular district. 

 These reports should give not only the figures 

 of the exports and imports, but should also 

 deal with the development of the commerce 

 and the home industries of the country. The 

 consul should be able to point out these condi- 

 tions upon his own initiative, as well as in re- 

 sponse to inquiries from home. He should be 

 well informed about commercial matters at 

 home, as well as in touch with the business 

 world of his district. Means should be 

 at his disposal for travel and he should be 

 compensated for services rendered. Knowl- 

 edge of the language of the country, as well as 

 of the leading languages of the world, should 

 be of prime consideration. The promotion sys- 

 tem of Great Britain should be followed, whereby 

 consuls are transferred between countries where 

 the same languages and similar economic con- 

 ditions prevail, so that transfers of a consul 



from China to Russia and thence to Spanish 

 America, for example, should be avoided. Re- 

 ports concerning the commerce of the foreign 

 country should give comparisons with previous 

 years and be published at home in such a man- 

 ner as to reach all interested. The letter says 

 that these requirements are more or less realized 

 in foreign countries. The consuls of the United 

 States of America especially have rendered very 

 useful services to the commerce and industries 

 of their home country and have furnished proof 

 that the establishment of commercial consulates 

 bears rich fruit, in spite of the fact that a con- 

 sul can hardly acquire such special knowledge 

 of trade conditions in the several branches as 

 an agent of some business house. The letter 

 endeavors mainly to show the great desir- 

 ability of substituting the large number 

 of German ' Wahlkonsuln ' — i. e., German 

 merchants resident in some foreign country who 

 act as consuls — by regularly paid consuls, who 

 will give their whole time to their consular 

 duties, and states that a reform is expected 

 mainly from an increased aud improved service 

 in the regular consulates, recommending the 

 appointment of commercial attaches to the im- 

 portant consulates, as has already been done at 

 Chicago, Buenos Ayres and Constantinople. 

 It is recommended that the qualifications for 

 appointment as consuls should be of a more 

 practical nature aud not so much the mere 

 knowledge of law. The letter al^ calls atten- 

 tion to the great usefulness of the Philadelphia 

 Commercial Museum. 



EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The United States educational exhibit at the 

 Paris Exposition will include a two-volume 

 work entitled ' Education in the United States,' 

 which has been planned and edited by Professor 

 Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University. 



The work consists of nineteen monographs, 

 which, taken together, give a complete view of 

 the present educational activity of the United 

 States. It is proposed to present copies of the 

 work to the leading governments, public li- 

 braries and educational institutions of the 

 world, and the public will be given opportunity 

 to purchase copies at a moderate price. 



