266 



island, rocky hills where the native vegetation may be found 

 under very nearly natural conditions. The sugar, coffee, and 

 tobacco industries were also discussed and illustrated by the 

 speaker. 



Adjourned. Percy Wilson, 



Secretary 



OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS 



The High School Unit in Botany 

 The report of the meeting of the committee of the North 

 Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools appointed 

 to define the unit in botany for the North Central Association of 

 Colleges and Secondary Schools has not been given in Torreya, 

 although the meeting was held last June. The committee con- 

 sists of over twenty members, and includes seven college or uni- 

 versity professors, one city school superintendent, one normal 

 school representative, and thirteen high school teachers. 



A full year's work is required to fill the college entrance re- 

 quirements ; the year being defined as the equivalent of i8o 

 periods of 45 minutes each, "in the clear," for the class room ; 

 double laboratory periods, which count as one recitation period, 

 being recommended at least twice a week. The second year of 

 high school is the earliest year for botany approved by the com- 

 mittee. It was decided that the high school course should include 

 plant physiology, plant ecology, including field work, and work 

 with the " lower forms " or cryptogams as well as the leading 

 families of seed-bearing plants. 



The informal discussion which followed the meeting suggests 

 the following as the minimum preparation for the well-equipped 

 high school teacher of botany : At least two years of botanical 

 study including the morphology of the lower and higher plant 

 forms, plant physiology, ecology, including a thorough knowledge 

 of the flora in the region where taught, plant diseases, and a 

 general course in bacteriology. Some work in zoology and 

 physiography is also considered essential. 



