August 1, 1884.] 



SCIENCE 



95 



been just as apparent during the latter condition of the atmos- 

 phere as during the former Hasn't the Krakatoa dust all set- 

 tled down yet? " 



Another observer (p. 322) bears witness to this 

 1 continued and oftentimes peculiarly bad definition; ' 

 and Mr. W. S. Franks, in writing to the same journal 

 (p. 416), attributes it ' to the unusually dry season.' 

 Perhaps those who are working upon the subject 

 of the ' Krakatoa dust ' can give some explanation 

 of this exasperatingly persistent bad seeing. For 

 months past it has been noticed here by all who have 

 had occasion to observe in the daytime, and, indeed, 

 I noticed it myself in the autumn of 1883 ; but I was 

 not particularly struck with it at the time, as at 

 certain seasons of the year we are in the habit of ex- 

 pecting a smoky atmosphere and poor definition, on 

 account of forest-fires or other causes. As the bad 

 seeing has continued even down to the present date, 

 we cannot account for it in this way. 



The haziness is usually confined to the south of 

 our zenith (1 am speaking more especially of meridian 

 observations), and is most marked in the neighbor- 

 hood of the sun. The sky is white, though this 

 whiteness is sometimes barely perceptible, and the 

 stars are unsteady. Stars of the third or fourth 

 magnitude, which have frequently been seen on a 

 good observing day in other years, it is almost useless 

 to try for now. That the phenomenon is not local 

 seems evident from the remarks of the English ob- 

 servers quoted above; but has it been noticed by 

 others in widely different latitudes ? 



William C. Winlock. 



Washington, D.C., July 22. 



AN IDEAL UNIVERSITY FROM AN ENG- 

 LISH POINT OF VIEW. 



An article in a recent number of the Contem- 

 porary review, by James Bryce, on ' An ideal 

 university,' is well deserving the attention of 

 Americans, all the more because its author is 

 an Englishman, writing with immediate refer- 

 ence to the wants of the city of London. He 

 has, however, by repeated visits to this coun- 

 try, become familiar with what w r e are doing, 

 and he possesses that truly philosophic mind 

 which is quite as ready to gather suggestions 

 from the experiments of a new state of soci- 

 ety as from old-world experience. An active 

 member of Parliament, a professor of Roman 

 law in the university of Oxford, the writer of 

 an historical work of remarkable power, accus- 

 tomed in his wide range of travels to observe 

 with discrimination the influences of different 

 religions, laws, and educational systems upon 

 the life of the people, he combines in an 

 exceptional way the wisdom of a scholar with 

 that of the man of affairs. His plea is for an 

 organization in the city of London which shall 



be a true university, not a corporation hold- 

 ing examinations and conferring degrees, like 

 the actual university of London, not a fellow- 

 ship of colleges, not a group of museums and 

 libraries ; for all these are in existence. His 

 plea is for something different from, if not 

 higher and better than, any or all these agen- 

 cies : it is a plea for that higher and better 

 organization which thoughtful Americans in all 

 parts of this country are trying to develop. 



'What is an ideal university?' asks Mr. 

 Bryce. The answer which he gives has in it 

 nothing of novelty, nothing of eccentricity, 

 nothing beyond the reach of a wealthy com- 

 munity. It is the answer of common sense, 

 directed by experience, to the solution of a 

 very important problem. It is the answer 

 which has often been given before, but rarely 

 in such persuasive and intelligible phraseology. 

 Assuming that a universit} 7 is a body of men 

 engaged in teaching the highest knowledge, 

 and is therefore something very different from 

 Carlyle's ' true university, a collection of 

 books,' he claims that breadth is the first essen- 

 tial, — catholicity, universality. He would have 

 it include not only the subjects which are 

 traditional (languages, mathematics, and the- 

 ology), but the social sciences (politics and 

 comparative jurisprudence), the sciences of 

 observation and experiment, and even the 

 applied sciences. In this last suggestion 

 he is broader than most Germans, for they 

 have hitherto inclined to teach the applied 

 sciences away from the universities, in poly- 

 technic and real schools. Americans have 

 often, though not always, inclined to follow 

 this German precedent ; and those who hold 

 the opposite view will be fortified in it by this 

 word of Mr. Bryce. 



The next essential of the ideal university is 

 freedom. The writer plants himself firmly, and 

 without reservations, on the doctrine that any 

 one who comes may stud}' any subject he 

 pleases, whether or no he studies any other 

 subject, or enters for a regular course. He 

 would let the university prescribe its course or 

 courses, and give its honors and degrees in 

 accordance with such restrictions. *• Place 



