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worthy example of the scientific culture, with modern language, that it is the purpose of the book to advocate.

It has come to this with many teachers of the higher phases of science, that they forget that in their own training, which enables them now to generalize so readily. In illustration, a classical student in one of our universities, in the latter part of his course, became much interested in comparative anatomy, and at the same moment, conceived his former training as waste of time. He had the direction of a younger brother of like natural ability with himself, just entering the high school in the university city. Possessed of his idea, he took his brother from school and interested him in collecting and detecting natural history specimens with himself. The boy attained great expertness in the discovery of oddities in nature, but later results showed that he had lost all interest in application and was only satisfied with a listless search for something new. That which the student took for the power of generalization and thought like his own, was something entirely superficial and farthest from thoughtful interpretation of nature. Experiments of this kind are decidedly too expensive for the public good, especially when the results could have been foretold by any reader of the history and science of education. And so of many of Doctor Winchell's suggestions about teaching children to observe.

This is merely in keeping with the truth that a broad interpretation of any object of nature requires a commensurate general culture to see the universality of its connection with all the other objects of our experience; and that when that experience is limited and partial, the interpretation is of like character, despite the expertness of the teacher.

This is no criticism of that outline knowledge of all science very properly and very generally given in all our schools under the head of lessons about familiar things, and later grouped under the general head of physical geography. But be it clearly understood that to burden the youthful mind at this stage with all the philosophical classifications of science, with technical physics and chemistry and geology and botany and zoology as such, is to confuse rather than to enlighten and likely to give incorrect notions of the continuity of all science. This burdening of the curriculum of elementary schools with new and highsounding names for subjects formerly, taught as a part of the good teacher's stock in trade in connection with the old standard studies, is in fact a sign of weakness and to be deprecated.

CHARLES E. LOWREY, Colorado.

IS IT ST. PAUL OR MINNEAPOLIS?

OY an inadvertence in a brief mention of the next meeting of the

EDUCATION, the place was named as Minneapolis instead of St. Paul. It was a "mortal sin." One might as well have called Chicago, St. Louis. Although the two cities are but ten miles apart, yet they are as much rivals and competitors as Tacoma and Seattle. The editor is profoundly penitent for his sin and begs the clemency of the people of both cities. He wishes to make atonement in such ways as he can and humbly begs permission to put the matter right by inserting in full the following letter just received from a responsible person in St. Paul: TO THE EDITOR of the "EDUCATION," BOSTON, Mass.:

Dear Sir, - Allow me to call your attention to an article in the December number of EDUCATION, referring to the next convention of the National Educational Association which you state is to be held in Minneapolis. Now, as you perhaps are aware, the eastern editor, and particularly he of Boston, is the butt of his Western confrere, because of his sublime ignorance of the geography of his native land, and especially of that portion of Uncle Sam's territory lying west of the Hudson River. But we of the educational fraternity really did not expect that one of our own representatives in journalism could be caught napping to such a degree as to make incorrect statements in regard to the place of holding the great annual convention of the greatest educational body in the world, especially when it has been as extensively advertised in all corners of the Union, as in the present instance. We of St. Paul worked so hard to secure the convention, and are now putting forth such strenuous efforts to make it successful that our sensitive feelings are really touched by your blunder.

Yours very sincerely,

THE increasing interest in vocal music in the schools of all parts of the country is very gratifying. Recent reports show that Covington, Kentucky; Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, and Macon, Georgia; Wichita, and Kansas City, Kansas; Houston, and Cleburne, Texas; have introduced music as a system for the first time, using the National Course in their schools.

BY

JOHN CRERAR'S WILL.

Y the will of John Crerar, who died last October, the Chicago public were enriched by the bequest of several millions. The Second Presbyterian church, of which he was a member, received $200,000. A large number of public institutions received $25,000 or $50,000. The Chicago Manual Training School received $50,000, and $100,000 were given to trustees to be expended in erecting a colossal statue to Abraham Lincoln. After about sixty special bequests, the fiftieth paragraph of the will says:

"Recognizing the fact that I have been a resident of Chicago since 1862, and that the greater part of my fortune has been accumulated here, and acknowledging with hearty gratitude the kindness that has always been extended to me by my business and social acquaintances and associates, I give and bequeath all the remainder and residue of my estate, both real and personal, for the erection, creation, maintenance, and endowment of a free public library, to be called The John Crerar Library,' to be located in the city of Chicago, a preference being given to the South Division of the city, inasmuch as the Newberry library will be located in the North Division."

It is estimated that there will be over two millions for the proposed library. After naming the men whom he wished to serve as Board of Directors, among whom are Marshall Field, Robert T. Lincoln, George A. Armour, and Doctor McPherson, his pastor, he says: "I desire the books and periodicals selected with a view to create and sustain a healthy, moral, and Christian sentiment in the community, and that all nastiness and immorality be excluded. I do not mean by this that there shall not be anything but hymn books and sermons, but I mean that dirty French novels, and all skeptical trash and works of questionable moral tone shall never be found in this library. I want its atmosphere that of Christian refinement, and its aim and object the building up of character, and I rest content that the friends I have named will carry out my wishes in these particulars."

In December, a John Crerar Memorial Meeting was held in Central Music Hall. This meeting was addressed by various men who had known and honored Mr. Crerar, but the speech that will be longest remembered was made by Franklin Mac Veagh, and was reported as follows:

"One who is here this afternoon to say a word cannot but be reminded that this is not an ordinary audience. You have not come to hear any one speak in particular. And we, as

speakers, have come,

each burdened with some affection or sentiment toward John Crerar. Doubtless this hall would not hold a large proportion even of those who are' conscious of the benefactions of this remarkable man. And we all know that no enlargement of audience halls in the future could possibly hold an appreciable fraction of the people whom his will is absolutely sure to benefit both largely and profoundly.

"I am here because I knew John Crerar. There was much in his life to attract and charm us, to gain our admiration and affection. He was above all a pure man. Possessed of the highest social qualities, yet he found it unnecessary to be anything else than as pure as a child. I could occupy all the time allotted me in enumerating and commenting upon John Crerar's virtues, but I shall not attempt it.

"He lived and died a private citizen. He is now no longer a private citizen. What makes this change? It is not the revelation of his possession of this great wealth. We knew about that before, and he still remained a private citizen. There are others now living who have great fortunes. It is not the possession of that wealth which has made the difference. It is the use he made of that wealth. He has arisen from a private citizen to the ranks of creative men poets, artists, philosophers, and statesmen.

"There is a spiritual power in wealth, and John Crerar found the secret of it. He has taught us a lesson, not new, but never more beautifully taught. He has done more than that. He has set us an example of the right uses of wealth, the great uses of wealth, the permanent uses of wealth, and the final uses of wealth.

"There are two ways of looking at property-one selfishly, as simply personal property; the other recognizing the claims of the community, the claims of the world to share at least in the surplus of wealth. He came to teach us this lesson at an opportune moment - a time when we are growing rich, when the accumulation of wealth is exceedingly pronounced, before it has been tested what will be the ultimate influence of democracy on wealth. It comes while we are still young, have still not made up our minds, when it is still possible for us to learn this lesson.

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He did one other thing which I cannot omit. He showed a loyalty to Chicago, and the example of that was needed. Prophetic spirit! He saw this city entering upon a career that would make it metropolitan in wealth and power and appreciated its needs and responsibilities as the heart of the continent. He rose to the conception of the spiritual side of wealth; he rose to the conception of the spiritual side of progress. Let us believe that he did so knowingly, that his fame shall be certain and his name immortal."

FOREIGN NOTES.

THE

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF HOLLAND.

HE educational system of Holland as an entirety, is extremely complicated, inasmuch as the various grades of educational establishments are provided for and supported separately, and each partly by the general government, partly by the provinces, by the communes, and by individual citizens.

Under the regulations now subsisting, and which are based upon the school laws, the national government annually expends for educational purposes or for the support of "public" and "special" schools in which primary instruction is given, a large sum of money. In 1887, it was equivalent to $1,043,190.

In addition to this, and also under the laws now in force, the government can and does give liberal subsidies to nearly every class of schools of a higher grade.

The payments by the city of Amsterdam on behalf and in support of its "primary schools" intermediate schools, gymnasium, and university, amounted in 1886 to $885,085.

In

The public primary schools of this city are divided into four classes. The first class, of which there are 51 at this time, are free schools. the second class schools, of which there are also a goodly number, the school money charged is: for one child, 15 cents, Dutch currency, or 6 cents American money per week. For two children of the same family, 12 cents, and for three children only 10 cents per week. In the third class, the charge for one child is florins 20, or about $8 per annum, and for two or more children, out of same family, florins 16, or about $6.40 each. In the fourth class, the charge for each child is florins 70 ($28) per year, and for two children or more, out of same family, florins 60, or $24 each.

In the city commercial school, pupils have to pay florins 180, ($72) per annum; the course of instruction is two years.

At the gymnasium, scholars pay florins 100 ($40) school money per annum. Students at the University here are charged only florins 200, ($80) per annum.

According to the official report for 1887-88, the attendance upon primary schools was 526,514 pupils, and the number of teachers employed in the same was 10,413. The expenditure on account of these schools

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