not try in this discussion of the problem of study to summarize
completely the principles and precepts that have been presented so well
in the four books on the subject that have appeared in the last two
years. I do not know, in fact, of any book that is more useful to the
teacher just at present than Professor Frank McMurry's _How to Study and
Teaching how to Study_. It is a book that is both a help and a delight,
for it is clear and well-organized, and written in a vivacious style and
with a wealth of concrete illustration that holds the attention from
beginning to end. The chief fault that I have to find with it is the
fault that I have to find with almost every educational book that comes
from the press to-day,--the tendency, namely, to imply that the teacher
of to-day is doing very little to solve these troublesome problems. As a
matter of fact, many teachers are securing excellent results from their
attempts to teach pupils how to study. Otherwise we should not find so
many energetic young men to-day who are making an effective individual
mastery of the principles of their respective trades and professions
independently of schools and teachers. Our attitude toward these
questions, far from being that of the pessimist, should be that of the
optimist. Our task should be to seek out these successful teachers, and
find out how they do their work.

Among the most important points emphasized by the recent writers upon
the art of study is the necessity for some form of motivation in the
work of mastering the text. We all know that if a pupil feels a distinct
need for getting information out of a book, the chances are that he will
get it if the book is available and if he can read. To create a problem
that will involve in its solution the gaining of such information is,
therefore, one of the best approaches to a mastery of the art of study.
It is, however, only the beginning. It furnishes the necessary energy,
but does not map out the path along which this energy is to be expended.
And this is where the greater emphasis, perhaps, is needed.

One of the best teachers that I ever knew taught the subject that we now
call agronomy,--a branch of agricultural science that has to do with
field crops. I was a mere boy when I sat under his instruction, but
certain points in his method of teaching made a most distinct impression
upon me. Lectures we had, of course, for lecturing was the orthodox
method of class instruction. But th