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A. C. True. I fear the presentation of this matter has been somewhat wearisome; 
but it seemed to us desirable to put the matter before the association so that you 
might get at least some general notions regarding the scheme a proposed by the 
committee. We shall ask your further patience hereafter in reading the published 
report, and shall invite criticisms and suggestions on this part of our work, as we 
have always done on work in general in which we have been engaged. 
H. C. White, of Georgia. I am sure that we are all very much indebted to the com- 
mittee for this report. I have several times taken occasion to state on the floor of 
the convention that I regard the work of this committee as one of the most important 
species of work that is being done by the association — an attempt to reduce to peda- 
gogical form sciences and the application of sciences to agriculture. I think we owe 
the committee a debt of gratitude for the painstaking way in which they have worked 
out this matter. 
When in Europe last summer I heard it said that this kind of work in particular 
is being better done in America than elsewhere in the world, and I believe it is true. 
I believe that this attempt to reduce to systematic form a kind of teaching which 
is new in the world is being pursued by this committee in a way that is not pursued 
elsewhere. I hope the section on college work, to which these matters particularly 
appertain, will take up this subject next year and consider it. 
There are a great many questions which arise in connection with this subject. One 
particularly, which occurs to me now, I judge the committee has considered very 
carefully. One of the greatest difficulties, I presume, that all of us have — certainly that 
we have in our community — is the preparation in the secondary schools for entrance 
into the college. Literary institutions, of course, have their forms and requirements 
for such preparation, not only in attainments in particular studies, but the intellec- 
tual training for admission into their regular, well-settled college courses. There 
ought to be, it seems to me, some sort of training in the secondary schools which one 
might call scientific — pertaining to the natural sciences, yet not simply a mass of 
undigested and erratic information — knowledge that would have some sort of value 
as an intellectual implement, training the minds of the students in the same way 
somewhat that the old courses in Latin and Greek were supposed to train them for a 
literary education. 
I observe that the committee has selected physics as one topic of study. On the 
spur of the moment it seems to me I should not approve that. I do not think 
the schools ought to be encouraged to teach chemistry, physics, botany, and all the 
differentiated departments of science. They can not do it well, and they had better 
not undertake to do it than do it badly. 
For several years past I have often thought it might be possible for some one who 
can give this matter consideration, and who is qualified to do it, to construct a 
course in what might be called general science — something that would introduce the 
student to the methods of scientific thought, by which he might be prepared to 
take up the differentiated sciences of the college course. I do not believe you can 
teach chemistry or physics or any of our differentiated sciences in the schools. But 
there ought to be some sort of training in the schools which will bring pupils up to 
a point where they can appreciate differentiated sciences. I hope the committee 
will, and no doubt they will, take this matter into consideration. 
E. A. Bryan, of Washington. I wish to express my concurrence in the remark of 
President White that the work of this committee has been most useful, that it is one 
of the most important parts of the great movement in which we are engaged. But 
so far as concerns the general scheme proposed in this report, I should like to make 
one or two suggestions of minor importance. 
Horticulture and forestry are proposed to be introduced in the senior year to the 
extent of 180 hours. Now, there has been in practical work a great differentiation 
