LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY. ·

APPLETON, WIS.

The examination for admission to the freshman class includes the subjects of physiology and physics, only an elementary knowledge of each being required, and that being furnished by the preparatory department. In the scientific course zoology is taken up, 5 hours weekly being devoted to it during one term of the freshman year. This course is elective to classical students. During the third term a course in botany is given, occupying 5 hours weekly. This is required of scientific freshmen, but may be elected by other students. Both of these courses are largely practical, animal types being studied in connection with the former course, while in the latter each student is required to collect and analyze 100 wild plants and present them properly mounted and labeled.

A course in general biology, consisting of two exercises weekly, is elective to seniors in all courses. In this all the time is devoted to the practical laboratory study of typical animal and vegetable forms.

LENOX COLLEGE.

HOPKINTON, IOWA.

In the preparatory department a course in physiology is given, continuing through one term. In the classical course zoölogy occupies the third term of the junior year, and no other biological work is done. In the scientific course botany is begun in the spring term of the freshman year and continued through the first term of the year following. In this course a general study is first made of vegetable morphology and physiology, and the classes of cryptogams are then taken up. In addition to the class work, each student is required to prepare a herbarium containing 50 flowering plants, of which he must submit a written description. In the third term of the sophomore year a course is given in zoology, in which attention is directed mainly to the study of comparative physiology.

There is no laboratory, and the only means of illustrating the biological courses are found in a natural history collection consisting princi pally of shells and corals.

LOMBARD UNIVERSITY.

GALESBURGH, ILL.

Candidates for admission to the scientific course must possess an elementary knowledge of physiology, zoology, and botany. Of classical students no knowledge of science is exacted. In the scientific course the introduction to scientific studies is furnished by an elementary course in chemistry in the freshman year, followed in the sophomore year by

courses in physiology, zoölogy, and botany, one term being devoted to each. This work is required of both classical and scientific students. The work in physiology consists of daily lectures, recitations, and demonstrations, with which is associated practice in dissecting. Hygiene receives considerable attention in this connection, the aim being to make the course practical as well as disciplinary. The work in zoölogy consists of lectures and demonstrations, with dissection of typical animalforms. In addition to daily recitations in botany in the third term, each student is required to make a small herbarium.

The work of teaching is facilitated by a museum consisting of a miscellaneous collection of zoölogical specimens, in which birds and corals are especially abundant. There is no laboratory biological work, and no provision has been made for any courses more advanced than those above mentioned.

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY.

BATON ROUGE, La.

Three undergraduate courses of study are here provided. In the agricultural and mechanical courses students study biology during 2 years, beginning with the sophomore. In the literary course biology is begun in the junior year, but the course pursued is identical with that pursued by sophomores in the other courses. Literary students begin the study of biology with some preparation in chemistry; other students have in biology their introduction to scientific work.

The work of the sophomore class (pursued also by literary juniors) consists of five recitations weekly in zoölogy during the first term, and a like number in botany during the second. In the junior class 2 hours weekly are devoted to zoölogy during the first term, and 3 hours to botany during the second. In the sophomore class the work is first general zoology, but, special attention is given to the anatomy and physiology of domestic animals, because of its important bearing upon agriculture. The work of the second term is a study of vegetable morphology and physiology. In connection with this, each student is required to analyze and preserve one hundred plants, making full records of their characters. In the junior class attention is given to the anatomy, physiology, and life history of insects with especial reference to forms most injurious to agriculture. Each student is required to collect, mount, and dissect a sufficient number of insects to gain a general acquaintance with the leading characters of the group. The botanical work of the second half-year is a special study of forage plants, with practical work in the analysis of grasses. A short course is also given in cryptogamic botany, paying special attention to parasitic fungi. Some practice in the microscopic examination and identification of these is required of each student.

There is no laboratory equipped for biological work, and the only aids in the practical work of teaching are the botanical garden and the museum. The former is being rapidly equipped, and furnishes all mate

rial necessary to illustrate the course in botany. The herbarium consists of three separate collections, one containing about 3,000 specimens, another about 12,000, and the third, which was made by the authority of the legislature, containing about two-thirds of the flora of the State. There is a large collection of zoological specimens, but no adequate provision being made for storing them, they are of little value in aiding the work of teaching.

Most of the students enter the sub-freshman class. For admission to this a knowledge of merely the ordinary English studies is required. Students applying for admission to the college course must pass an examination upon the work of the sub-freshman year, the scientific work in this consisting of a course in physiology and hygiene, continuing through one term. Much complaint is made of the inadequate preparation afforded by the schools of the State.

MAINE STATE COLLEGE.
ORONO, ME.

The examinations for entrance are limited to the ordinary English studies and mathematics, and no scientific branches are required.

The course of study upon which special emphasis is laid, and for which the college is specially designed, is the course in agriculture, but in addition to this there are courses in engineering and several courses leading to the degree of bachelor of sciences. In all the courses physiology and botany are required in the freshman year, half the year being devoted to each. These subjects are practically taught, and in connection with each, 4 hours weekly are devoted to laboratory work. During the sophomore year there is an advance in the agricultural course. Attention is devoted to cryptogamic botany, and an important part of this work is the laboratory study, which occupies 10 hours weekly. In the second term of the junior year zoology and entomology are taken up. In the first named, lectures are delivered upon the principal groups of the animal kingdom, and students are required to make critical studies of the typical members of each group. The course in entomology consists of a general review of the orders of insects, illustrated by many of the more common forms. Following this, the injurious and beneficial insects are taken up more in detail, their life histories described, and the methods of treatment adapted to special cases pointed out. To furnish practical illustrations of this course many of the injurious insects are bred and carried through all their transformations in the class room, thus giving every student an opportunity to observe the various changes and recognize the different stages; in short, to acquire that practical knowledge of insect life which every well-informed agriculturist should possess. The subject of bee-keeping is also taken up and treated with considerable fullness, attention being paid to the methods of managing swarms and collecting products. During the senior year the subject of com

parative anatomy is considered, under which head the anatomy and physiology of domestic animals are treated, followed by an outline of the common wild animals, and at the conclusion of this study instruction is given in stock breeding and veterinary science.

The headquarters of the department are in Coburn Hall, a building recently erected and admirably suited for the purpose. The museum which is there placed contains representatives of the leading groups of the animal kingdom, being especially rich in insects and marine fauna. In addition there are numerous models, skeletons, charts, etc. Among the botanical collections may be mentioned a herbarium containing about 900 species of the Maine flora, the Blake herbarium containing about 14,000 specimens of foreign and indigenous plants, both phænogams and cryptogams; the Ellis collection of North American fungi, consisting of 2,300 species; a collection of several hundred specimens of marine algæ, as well as other smaller collections.

THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY.

WOODS HOLL, MASS.

This occupies a unique position among the educational institutions of the country. It is devoted to biological work alone, and its location has been chosen with reference to the abundance of both animal and vegetable forms within easy reach. The session occupies the three summer months only.

Provision is made for two classes of workers: investigators and students. For the former there are provided fourteen private laboratories and one general laboratory. To these no instruction is given, but all the resources of the laboratory are freely open. Every year a certain number are invited to carry on their researches here free of all cost. For those who are not prepared for original work special courses of instruction are provided. Lectures are given upon general subjects in zoology and botany, and laboratory work accompanies each. In addition to this, short lecture courses are devoted to special groups of animals or plants, the details of these varying from year to year. The laboratory for students accommodates about thirty workers, preference being given to teachers and others not beginners.

The laboratory consists of a two-story building 63 by 28 feet. Although it has been occupied but three seasons it is already much too small to accommodate those seeking admission. The equipment has been provided with great thoroughness with special reference to the needs of investigators. The laboratory possesses abundant facilities for collecting marine forms, and salt-water aquaria are also provided in abundance. Of special value to investigators, also, is the library, which contains complete sets of many of the standard journals, in addition to other publications.

MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE P. O., MD.

The biological course which all students are required to follow continues through four years. The first part of the freshman year is taken up with a consideration of the environment of living things, after which the classification of plants is taken up. Each student is required to familiarize himself with the names of the common trees and other plants of the vicinity of the college, also to prepare a small herbarium. In the sophomore class the domestic and wild animals are studied in the same way. While engaged in this work the student spends 4 hours weekly in recitation, and has in addition one field exercise.

The junior class study the morphology of selected animal and vegetable forms, principally those that are popularly well known, and the seniors devote their time to the physiology of these same forms, leading up to human physiology. This course consists of three lectures and 3 hours laboratory work weekly, with occasional field work.

The laboratory possesses no striking peculiarities of construction, and is equipped with a moderate outfit of microscopes, dissecting instruments, etc. The museum contains a small number of preserved animal specimens and a few skeletons. There is also a herbarium, illustrating the entire flora of Maryland and the District of Columbia, and a collection of about 400 varieties of woods grown in the United States.

MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

AMHERST, MASS.

No scientific subjects are included in the requirements for admission to the freshman class.

During the entire four years of the course the student is engaged in biological work. This begins with botany in the freshman year, in which structural botany is taken up in the first term and analytical botany in the third, 5 hours being given to each. Economic botany follows in the first term of the sophomore year, laboratory work being continued over into the second term, with horticulture in the third. Anatomy and physiology are also studied during the second term for 5 hours weekly.

Zoology is begun in the junior year, 8 hours weekly being devoted to laboratory work during the first term, and 3 hours to lectures during the second. Entomology receives 7 hours weekly during the third term. In the senior year the comparative anatomy of domestic animals is studied for 5 hours weekly during the first term, while veterinary science occupies 4 hours during the second.

This institution possesses ample facilities for the work done, and laboratory work is prominent throughout the course. Separate working rooms are provided for botany and zoology, and each has its own equipment of microscopes and other necessary apparatus. Ample