Chapter D: T. McDougal, New York Botanical Gardens

_Secretaries of the Sections._

Mathematics and Astronomy: Prof. H. C. Lord, Ohio State University.

Physics: J. O. Reed, University of Michigan.

Chemistry: Prof. W. McPherson, Ohio State University.

Mechanical Science and Engineering: William H. Jacques, Boston, Mass.

Geology and Geography: Dr. R. A. F. Penrose, Pierce, Ariz.

Zoölogy: Prof. H. B. Ward, University of Nebraska.

Botany: A. S. Hitchcock, Manhattan, Kan.

Anthropology: G. G. McCurdy, Yale University.

Economic Science and Statistics: Miss C. A. Benneson, Cambridge, Mass.

_Treasurer._

Prof. R. S. Woodward, Columbia University.

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The National Educational Association, which held its annual session at Charleston during the week beginning on July 9th, is the leading representative of the many educational associations of the country. Its membership includes the ablest teachers of education in colleges and the most successful school superintendents and teachers. Its meetings give occasion for discussions of matters of educational theory and practice in many ways comparable to the discussions in scientific societies. The program of the present meeting shows that like the scientific associations, the National Educational Association has become differentiated into a number of practically isolated sections with differing interests. There are separate departments of Kindergarten Education, Manual Training, Child Study, Normal Schools, Libraries, etc. The Department of Superintendence now has a special meeting at a different time and place. There are also general sessions, and these have not become mere formal business meetings. The leading topic for discussion this year seems to have been the proposed National University at Washington. The most obviously important service which the Association has rendered to educational endeavor has been its elaboration (through efficient committees) and publication of reports on Secondary Education, Elementary Education, Rural Schools and College Entrance Requirements. These reports represent if not demonstrable facts, at least the well-considered opinion of competent judges and they have had a highly beneficial influence. Dr. J. M. Green, of Newark, will preside over next year’s meeting. The decision in regard to the place has been left to the executive committee, the claims of Detroit, Cincinnati and Tacoma having been especially urged.

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The opening of a summer school at Columbia University and the attendance at Harvard University of a large proportion of all the school teachers of Cuba are important steps towards increasing the usefulness of our institutions for higher education. The grounds, buildings and equipment of Columbia University have cost in the neighborhood of $10,000,000, and to let these lie idle and rusting for nearly one-third of the year is evidently wasteful. But it is not only a question of the most economical administration of these trust funds that is at issue. The teachers of the country, perhaps 500,000 in number, have had just enough education to profit particularly by attendance at a university. They are engaged at their work during three-fourths of the year, but their summers can be spent in no more pleasant and useful way than by attending a university summer school. It would be good business policy for school boards to send their teachers to the summer schools, except that the benefit might not be reaped locally, as each teacher would soon deserve a better position than he now has. It is, however, not only for teachers that university sessions during the summer are needed. The long vacation is largely a tradition from the time when boys were most usefully occupied on the farm during the summer. It is doubtful whether students now come back to college in the autumn in an improved physical or moral condition. They might spend their time to advantage, but are not likely to do so at the ordinary summer resort. It is admitted by everyone that young men are too old when they leave college and the professional schools. Reforms are needed in various directions, but an obvious one is not to take four years for three years’ work. Though university professors, who for the general good need freedom from routine teaching for other work, should be allowed leave of absence for a part of the year, it does not follow that they should all be away at the same time. It seems probable that the example set by the University of Chicago, which holds four sessions extending through the year, will be followed by all our universities.

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The third International Conference on a Catalogue of Scientific Literature was held in London on June 12th and 13th. It will be remembered by those who are interested in the organization of science that a conference on this subject was called by the Royal Society in 1896 at which it was proposed to undertake by international coöperation a catalogue of contributions to science. Certain details were arranged and others were left to a committee of the Royal Society. Under the auspices of this committee schedules of classification were drawn up and estimates of the cost secured. A second conference was held in 1898, and after various changes in the plans for the catalogue it was at the recent Conference definitely decided to proceed with its publication. It is estimated that the cost will be covered by the sale of three hundred sets, and different governments or national agencies have made themselves responsible for a certain number of sets, Germany and Great Britain for example, subscribing for forty-five sets, each costing £17. The Catalogue will be published in seventeen volumes devoted to as many sciences, and will be both an author’s and a subject index. The collection of material is to commence from January 1, 1901. While all scientific men welcome improvements in cataloguing scientific literature, the arrangements proposed by the Royal Society and by the different conferences have met with some criticism. The serious mistake has been made of entirely ignoring the catalogues and bibliographies already existing for most of the sciences, and it is not certain that the elaborate and expensive machinery proposed will be as useful as some plan would have been for unifying the existing agencies. Still in the end there must be some international and uniform method for cataloguing scientific literature, and it is to be hoped that our Government will do its share toward supporting the present undertaking.

Transcribers’ Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.

Page 342: “millenium” was printed that way.

Page 366: “to smear the statues of Jupiter” was misprinted as “statutes”.

Page 387: “we have meet with a difficulty” was printed that way.

Page 387: “cm.” originally was printed as “c. m.”