of our own. As we have had no experience I cannot state results, but I will say that we have decided to hold a practice term each year, giving the students and professors four weeks of work at the close of the spring term so that each student will have three summer terms of four weeks each. All departments will be affected. We are going to hold commencement one week earlier than usual; this will bring it about the first of June and then the whole month of June will be given up to practice work. This will make the college year about thirty-seven weeks.

PROFESSOR RAYMOND: It may be interesting to some of you to know that the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute summer courses in topographic surveying are given the first four weeks of the fall term. The students are taken away from Troy and work continuously in this survey until it is completed. In Troy no credit is given for practical work done elsewhere unless it is known definitely that the work has been more than that given at the institute and exactly of the same kind. It is believed the boys ought to have that particular course. It does work hardships sometimes, and in the west it is much more difficult. There are more boys, I think, in the state institutions depending on their own resources to get through with their education, and I think it is harder there to control this matter.

We have not attempted to control them in Iowa but are going to try it next year.

PROFESSOR SPERR: It appears in the discussion of these surveying courses that other people are accomplishing as much in four weeks as I find it hardly possible to accomplish in eight. I can best show how we

put in the time by submitting our schedule. It has never seemed desirable to diminish the time allotted to any one of the topics; but I should be pleased to hear suggestions for a better subdivision of the time.

DEAN TURNEAURE: How much work do you give during the term time?

PROFESSOR SPERR: We give seventy hours of computations and topographical drawing preceding the field work and an optional course in office work of one hundred and eight hours is given, following the field work. During the time covered by the schedule from seven to eight hours a day are occupied in the field with the instruments and the text; and from four to five hours a day are occupied with the study of the text-books, with computation and drawings and with written examinations. Usually some little time is required to finish up the computations and maps for the work preceding the railroad surveying, therefore a day is assigned on the schedule for cleaning up work of this kind.

PROFESSOR F. H. NEFF: The work for the students in civil engineering as partly outlined at the present time for the practice term at Case School of Applied Science is as follows: At the close of the freshman year there will be four weeks devoted to elementary surveying, at the close of the sophomore year four weeks of railroad work, and at the close of the junior year a similar period devoted to practical astronomy and geodesy. There will be recitations each day in each one of these classes and in some of them the subject will be taken up in class before the practice term begins.

PROFESSOR HENRY S. MUNROE: At Columbia University we have had a summer school of surveying in suc

cessful operation for twenty years. In Vol. 1, page 243, of the proceedings of this Society will be found a description of this school in some detail. In most particulars the organization and scheme of instruction is the same now as then, and it is not necessary to repeat what was then said regarding our work. As a result of these twenty years' experience we can testify to the value of field instruction of this character, and so far as the students are concerned, we feel that with us every day of such a summer session is profitably spent. Some years ago we put the school on a permanent basis, the university purchasing several farms, including the one previously leased. On this property a number of buildings have been erected for a summer camp, and arrangements made for an adequate water supply and proper drainage.

In some respects our scheme of work differs radically from that adopted elsewhere. We do not attempt to make maps for publication, nor do we undertake extensive surveys requiring the coöperation of large bodies of students. Such surveys and maps necessarily burden the instructors with much undesirable work which we believe lessens their usefulness as instructors and consumes time which might be employed to more advantage in their legitimate work of teaching. Our surveys and field exercises are designed solely for educational purposes, and in each case we endeavor to accomplish the result in the simplest possible way. Each of the earlier surveys is preceded by special exercises designed to teach the student the manipulation of the instruments to be employed and some of the details of the field method to be used in the next survey.