Τ A POEM AND A TOAST. IT gives the editors of BOSTONIA much pleasure to comply with the re quests, both public and private, that the poem of Miss Frances Bent Dillingham and the toast of Miss Lucile Gulliver which were presented at the meeting of the Epsilon Chapter last June be published in BOSTONIA. These poems for Miss Gulliver's prose is winged - breathe a tender reverence for the memories which cluster about the old college home, while eagerly and hopefully greeting the dawn of the new era upon which the college has entered. Those who attended this final gathering of the graduates of the college under the old roof-tree will attest that toast and poem accurately reflect the glow of memory and the ardency of hope which made that last home-coming so memorable. A GRATIFYING RESPONSE. T is a source of gratification that in response to Mrs. Atherton's article in the July BOSTONIA urging a larger representation of the alumnæ of Boston University in the Association of Collegiate Alumnæ, a number of our graduates have applied for membership in that organization. The approaching meeting of this association in Boston makes it especially desirable that Boston University shall be adequately represented at the gathering. In another column of this issue of BOSTONIA will be found an announcement giving details concerning the approaching convention. THE COURSES FOR TEACHERS. THE HE extract from the Evening Transcript which we publish in another column of this issue indicates that in establishing courses for teachers the College of Liberal Arts has met a real need and is likely to broaden its field of usefulness. The fact that the work done in these courses may count toward a degree proves an incentive to ambitious teachers who have hitherto been unable to complete a college course. Teachers who already have a Bachelor's degree are entering these courses with a view to earning an advanced degree. The number of courses provided this year is generous, but it is the intention of the college to extend the work, so far as practicable, in response to the indicated needs of teachers. The Departments COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS. THE NEW HOME OF THE COLLEGE. In spite of obstacles which at one time seemed insuperable, the work at the College of Liberal Arts began promptly on the date announced in the Year-Book, Thursday, September 19. The work in the building had by no means reached completion, but by strenuous efforts halls were cleaned and classrooms were fitted up sufficiently to allow registration and recitations to begin. Each day has seen marked progress in the task of finishing the main building, and although several weeks must elapse before the workmen finally withdraw, the building is so nearly complete that the officers and students of the college are in a position to form a fairly accurate estimate of the facilities which the new structure will place at the disposal of the University. The work on the new chapel and gymnasium is progressing steadily though slowly. The walls have reached a considerable height, and it is hoped that by the beginning of the second semester the students will have the use of a commodious chapel, and an amply furnished gymnasium with running-track and swimming-tank. It is already evident that the amount of space at the disposal of some departments of the college is greatly in excess of that which was available in the old building on Somerset Street. The number of ordinary recitation-rooms, especially those of a smaller size, is not at present sufficiently large to provide each instructor with a recitationroom for his exclusive use; but certain portions of the building which were temporarily left unutilized can be so divided as to supply several additional classrooms. After the erection of the new chapel and gymnasium the amount of vacant land in the rear and on the side of this structure is still sufficient to permit the erection of buildings commodious enough to provide for the future needs of the college for a considerable period. The general impression which the visitor will receive on entering the building is that of spaciousness and quiet dignity. The marble floors, the iron stairways, and the granite columns attest the solidity of the structure. An electric elevator will furnish ready access to the six floors. The library, a very large and finely ornamented room, with a gallery, will provide ample space for quiet study and research. The young men have for their own exclusive use a large room for study, with an adjoining assemblyroom to be used for conversation and for public meetings of the men of the college. Upon the completion of the new chapel the young ladies will have in that building their study-room and their lockers. The space acquired by the removal of the lockers to the new gymnasium will be utilized for a refectory on the first floor of the main building. While the college as a whole acquires additional facilities by the acquisition of these spacious new buildings, the Department of Natural Science will, for the first time since its organization, find itself in quarters sufficiently commodious to permit it efficiently to carry on its work as an integral part of the college. In view of the recent establishment of the Department of Natural Science, and in answer to inquiries concerning the nature of the equipment which this department of the University now has at its disposal, the following description of the laboratories and apparatus of the departments of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics will be read with interest by high-school teachers of Science, as well as by our own graduates in general. THE DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY. The removal of the college to its new location has been the occasion for making some greatly desired improvements in the opportunities for work in astronomy. The twelve-foot dome, under which the seven-inch refractor has been mounted heretofore, afforded ample space for direct visual work, the only kind at first contemplated. Later, when a spectroscope was secured, the observing-room was too small for the convenient handling of the telescope with this attachment. Indeed, when the spectroscope was adjusted for using the prisms for photographic purposes, it was impossible to direct the tube to some parts of the sky. This telescope will now be placed under a fifteen-foot dome, thus securing an observing-room of generous dimensions. When the five-inch refractor was presented to the college it was not feasible to erect another dome, and the telescope, on its tripod mounting, was housed in a rectangular room, where it has been regularly used by students, though at some disadvantage. The old twelve-foot dome will now be used for this instrument, which, through the generosity of a graduate, will be equatorially mounted on a heavy iron pillar, and provided with a driving-clock. Under these improved conditions, this telescope will offer an excellent opportunity to students qualified for the work. Formerly, it has not been possible to secure proper accommodations for the clock, the chronometer, the barometer, and various other accessories for work in the observatory. This condition will no longer exist. Works of reference, star maps, observation books and drawings, will be located so that they may be conveniently consulted. There were some advantages in being on the top of Beacon Hill; but that which has been lost by the removal will, it is believed, be more than overbalanced by that to be gained. THE BIOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. The new Biological Laboratory occupies a large room on the northwest corner of the second floor of the College Building. The room is over twenty feet in height, so that perfect ventilation is assured, and is lighted by ten very large windows, affording excellent facilities for work with the microscope. There are seven large laboratory tables, each accommodating six students at once, and these are amply spaced so that it is possible for the instructor to supervise the work of each student even in large classes a condition quite impossible in the congested quarters of the old building. Arrangements are also provided so that lectures to the smaller classes may be held in the laboratory; special tables are provided for this purpose with accommodations for classes of about fifty. The larger classes, such as botany and physiology, which usually run over a hundred, will be held in the large amphitheatre in the southeast corner of the same floor. The laboratory also has a chemical table, hood, and a considerable number of specimen cabinets, some from the old building and some acquired with the new. The room is adequately supplied with electricity, gas, and hot and cold water. Adjoining the laboratory is a smaller room, which combines an advanced labora tory for research and an office for the professor of biology; and connected with this is an admirable dark-room with red and yellow electric lights for photographic work, |