203 



OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS 

 The experimental work now included in the plant physiology 

 of the high school varies greatly in the number and kind of ex- 

 periments. More important, pedagogically, is the variation in 

 method for " plant experiments " may mean any of the follow- 

 ing : the passive observation of work done wholly by the teacher, 

 or the completion — almost as passively — of certain, definite, and 

 detailed exercises to reach certain and definite results, or the work- 

 ing out of questions in which the accompanying suggestions, the 

 lack of definite, predicted results, or the practical applications 

 required demand independent reasoning and, perhaps, allow some 

 slight opportunity for originality in method or device. 



The questions " Should the physiological work in high school 

 botany be more or less quantitative ? If qualitative only, how 

 can correct ideas as to time, amount, etc., be assured?" which 

 appeared in the March Torreya have had several answers of inter- 

 est. Those given this month are chiefly brief statements of the 

 writers' opinions on the first part of the above question and in 

 two cases lists of experiments are included. Later, Torreya 

 will print as part of this same discussion longer papers by Mr. 

 Joseph Y. Bergen, author of various well-known text- books on 

 botany and by Professor Julius Sachs, of the department of 

 secondary education in Teachers College, New York City. 



Fred L. Charles, DeKalb, Illinois. — Chiefly qualitative, but 

 not wholly so. Experiments by the pulpils individually or in 

 groups of two ; also demonstrations by the pupils. 



We are now using Osterhout's " Experiments with Plants." 

 Fr. Holtz, Brooklyn, New York. — I do not think first year 

 students in the high school are able to do or appreciate quantita- 

 tive work very much. I do not believe that much quantitative 

 work is done anywhere with such students. I believe thoroughly 

 in physiological experiments, however. A little notion of quan- 

 titative work may be given by making comparative or relative 

 studies which are not exact in quantities. 



Willard N. Clute, Joliet, Illinois. — Physiological botany, to 

 best serve the most people, should be entirely qualitative. The 

 trouble with all of us is that we are too much in awe of the college 



