education the constant subject of their thoughts and the business of their lives? Many of our most distinguished classical scholars have made themselves such by studies pursued after graduating, youthful carelessness or whim having induced them to neglect in great part the precious advantages of their college life. But the preparation which they were compelled to make, the foundation deep and strong, which they almost unconsciously laid, rendered the task of resumption easy, when the taste and judgment of maturer years, or the force of circumstances, directed a return to the neglected pursuits. To diminish by one half the required amount of classical knowledge in the college course would be to render such a future resumption of these studies impossible, or, at least, to surround it with difficulties which few would have the ardor and perseverance requisite to encounter with success.

But the plan requires that all students, who are under age, should obtain the consent of their parents before relinquishing any branch of study; and it is thought, that in this way the danger of a rash choice will be obviated. Those who urge this feature of the scheme have surely never considered the characters and situation in life of most persons, who in this country send their sons to college. Many have not received a liberal education themselves; nearly all are engaged in the bustle of commerce, the labors of husbandry, or the toils of a profession, and have neither time nor thought to bestow on such a subject. The answer of a parent, consulted for advice by his son under such circumstances, would very naturally be, "Why, that is the very thing for which I sent you to college, to have your studies selected and your education determined by the authorities there. I know nothing about these things. Take your own choice." In respect to classical studies, the reply of an uneducated parent might chance to be still more peremptory, or very much in the style of the Dutch professor immortalized in the "Vicar of Wakefield." "You see me, young man; I never learned Greek, and I don't find that I have ever missed it. ten thousand florins a year without Greek; I eat heartily without Greek, and, in short, as I don't know Greek, I do not believe there is any good in it." This is only too faithful an epitome of the common arguments against classical learning; but we still hope never to hear it sanctioned by the

authority of a future Professor at Cambridge. Yet on one of its public days, since the introduction of the new system, it was our lot to hear from one of the ingenuous youth an argument reminding us strongly of the view of the Dutch professor.

It is argued in favor of the new plan, that it "will tend to connect in the minds of the students their college studies with the pursuits of later life." Their preparatory exercises, it is said, will be better adapted to their future destination, being chosen with direct reference to the profession which they intend to follow. Such reasoning, we cannot but think, shows an imperfect acquaintance with the position and views of the great body of the undergraduates. Not one in ten of them has any idea about choosing a profession till very late in his college course, and the great majority do not decide upon this point till after graduating. At this early age, their own minds are necessarily unsettled upon a subject of so great importance, and what prudent parent will venture to mark out a career in life for his son so many years before he is to enter upon it? The common and very wise course is to leave this matter to be decided by the pupil after he has finished his college studies, and ascertained, from some intercourse with the world at large, what employment is most likely to suit his taste and capacity. Besides, even if it were practicable, would it be worth while for the student, by a special selection and arrangement of his studies, to commence fitting himself for a profession or for any active employment at an earlier period, than is now common in this country? Is there any reasonable apprehension of time being lost before the youthful aspirant is fairly embarked on his voyage? It is the peculiar misfortune of this country, that, the openings into active life being numerous and easy of access, young men are tempted into them with hurried and imperfect preparation, and with their minds still in doubt, whether they have really hit upon the desired and appropriate profession after all. We have lawyers and clergymen enough, who have not attained their majority, and even legislators whose beards are hardly grown. Is it advisable to have them younger still, to abridge still further the period of general studies, to bring down the necessarily narrow and exclusive training for professional pursuits to the very brink of childhood? It is admitted, that the pupil ought first to obtain

"the elements of a general culture ;" and how weak, beggarly, and insecure must be this common basis of all effort, if the preparation of it, even by the most highly educated class in the community, must stop short in the student's sixteenth year. It is the curse of professional life, that its jealous nature requires the abandonment of all taste for general literature and science, and the resolute sacrifice of all the discursive exercises of the intellect and the imagination. The neophyte lawyer must imitate the example of Fearne in making a hecatomb of all his books, that are not bound in law-calf, and all his papers, that are not writs or instruments of conveyancing, before he can look forward to the higher honors of the bar and the bench. It is cruel to anticipate the period of this sacrifice, to nip in the bud the first flowers of taste and fancy, to check the earliest developement of the many-sided mind. Such a partial culture may indeed produce an able lawyer, a skilful physician, or a sound divine, though even this effect may reasonably be questioned; but for the education of the whole man it is profitless and wrong. It is one branch of that vast system of distributed labor, which condemns some individuals to spend all their lives in making the eighteenth part of a pin.

We have spoken with freedom of the introduction of the voluntary system, and the consequent depreciation of classical studies, at Harvard College, because it seemed to us an unnecessary concession to the utilitarian spirit of the times, and a departure from the wise and generous purposes, for which the institution was established. The change, unless we greatly err, was not desired by the great body of the community, who feel little interest in the conduct of the College, being affected only by its more remote results. And they are wise enough to see, that the higher interests of science and learning, the preservation of a high standard of education and general scholarship, are indissolubly connected with the honor and welfare of the country. The smaller class, who have a more lively regard for the institution to which they are indebted for their own early training, or to whose guardianship and instruction they are about to intrust their sons and relatives, look with surprise and regret upon a measure, which seems like a total departure from the former principles of management, and the effect of which must be to lessen the amount of sound scholarship in the country, and

to lower the estimation in which it is held. They are unwilling, that the College should diminish the magnitude and value of its gifts, for the sake of dispensing them to a greater number of persons. The experience of one or two years will probably show how groundless was the expectation, on which the authors of this system have acted, that a large body of students would be attracted to Cambridge by such a free and conciliatory proposal. Then, if not before, we hope they will be willing to retrace their steps, and to stake the reputation of Harvard College, not on the numbers enrolled in its Catalogue, but on the extent, accuracy, and thoroughness of the education obtained within its walls.

ART. III. — A Report on the Insects of Massachusetts Injurious to Vegetation. By THADDEUS WILLIAM HARRIS, M. D. Published agreeably to an Order of the Legislature, by the Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. Cambridge: Folsom, Wells, & Thurston. 1841. 8vo.

FEW things in the history of Massachusetts have manifested a more enlightened self-interest, than the appropriations for scientific purposes, to which we are indebted for this Report. Public measures of this description are easily misrepresented; and those demagogues, who are the pest and shame of every free community, are always on the watch for subjects which can be thus perverted, since in this way they can turn aside the public mind from too close investigation of their own character and proceedings, and at the same time gain credit for a regard to the interests of the people, while they care for nothing but their own. It is easy to show, that the State is to gain nothing in dollars and cents by such a Report as this, and therefore to represent the pittance by which the State secured the services of this eminent naturalist, as a magnificent and wasteful appropriation, though, in comparison with what would anywhere else be paid for such labors, it was in fact exceedingly small. When an outcry on the subject of economy can be so easily raised, and when jealousy in regard to public expenditure is so easily excited, we think it very honorable to the Massachusetts legislature that they should

have treated this danger with contempt, and taken large views of what concerned the interest of their constituents. We venture to say, that this work before us will survive a thousand state papers which came into existence at the same time, and which are already, like the falling leaves, on the way to their original dust.

Several of the legislatures of the different States, taking the same judicious view of their duty, have made appropriations for geological surveys of their territory, and in that way have brought to light rich and unsuspected treasures, which were hidden beneath their soil, and which might otherwise have lain there for ages longer, useless and unknown to mankind. In these cases there was an obvious inducement to undertake and persevere in such enterprises, since it was certain that mines, quarries, or at least materials for improving the soil, must be discovered; and each one who builds a house or cultivates a field may hope for direct advantage from the investigation. But when a zoological survey is proposed, there is no such immediate inducement to undertake it, and the advantages in prospect are of a kind which it requires some thought and forecast to understand. Still, we do not hesitate to say, that, deservedly honored as Professor Hitchcock's Reports have been, none of them were of greater importance than the one before us. If the same facts respecting insects had been presented to the public a quarter of a century ago, some of her most valuable forest trees might have been saved to New England, vast amounts of the productions of the earth would have been rescued from destruction, and many enterprising men who have made efforts to improve horticulture and its kindred arts, would have been prevented from giving them over in despair. It may be said, that this Report, in many cases, only states the evil, without proposing a remedy. This is true; but it must be remembered, that no remedy can be devised till the nature of the evil is understood. It is the province of science to detect such facts, and give them to the world; and then, knowing precisely what needs to be done, the active sagacity of practical men will not be slow to find the sort of antidote wanted. Many a sturdy cultivator, harassed and perplexed by the insidious forays of these unseen marauders, has prayed, like Ajax, that he may have the privilege of fighting them in the light and the day; and now, when, through the instrumentality of Dr. Harris, his desire is granted, we