Accordingly my answer resolves itself into a two-fold one. Let the students begin the study of the sciences in the mandarin or vernacular; don't wait until they can understand Wên-li.

When they can read Easy Wên-li intelligently then teach the sciences by preference through that as a medium.

St. John's College, Shanghai,

Yours sincerely,

Protestant Episcopal Mission.

F. L. HAWKS POTT.

DEAR MR. FERGUSON: In answer to yours of April 25th I reply that in my humble opinion the best medium for conveying truth of all kinds is the language in common use by the people to whom that truth is to be conveyed. Hence Mandarin is preferable to Wên-li, and the vernaculars are preferable in the districts in which they are used. Here in Shanghai the Mandarin is easier understood, and is therefore much better than the Wên-li, and I presume it is so in other non-mandarin districts. The Romanized answers very well for those who have learned it, and in many respects is more convenient than the character, but I think the use of the character guards against mistakes which might occur in using the Romanized. For works intended to be used throughout China I would use the Mandarin, which will, I think, be better understood by a larger number of people than the Wên-li.

In my opinion Wên-li is a great obstacle to popular education. As the use of Latin in the middle ages educated a few at the expense of the masses so does Wên-li shut out the light of scientific, mathematical and religious truth from the masses of China, and even the educated would make more rapid advance if they were freed from its shackles. The education of the future will relegate it to a place somewhat similar to that of Latin in our Western schools.

The vernaculars must, of course, be enriched by terms taken from Wêu-li and Mandarin, and the Arabic numerals and other mathematical signs are very convenient, if not absolutely necessary to the best work. J. A. SILSBY.

Shanghai, Presbyterian Mission.

DEAR BROTHER: Some days ago I received a letter from you asking me to state what, in my opinion, was the best medium for communicating scientific truth to the Chinese-Wên-li, Mandarin or Romanized Colloquial. I have no hesitation in saying that for this part of China the best medium would be an Easy Wên-li, This would be much more widely understood than either Mandarin

or Romanized Colloquial, and would be read with much greater pleasure even by those who could read all three. Scientific books written in Mandarin would not be read to any extent here. Mandarin is spoken by comparatively few people here, and most of those who can read it can also read Wên-li. The Romanized Colloquial is out of the question at present. In the first place there are so many different dialects spoken in this province that a number of separate editions would have to be prepared. In the next place after they were prepared scarcely any, at present at least, except a few hundred people connected with the Amoy missions could read them. Very little progress, if progress it should be called, has been made in the Foochow region in the way of Romanizing. Books written in Romanized Colloquial would be unintelligible, therefore, to all but very few in this part of China, and judging from appearances would remain so for many years to come. In my judgment therefore Wên-li is the only medium to be thought of by those of us whose work is here.

Sincerely yours,

GEO. B. SMYTH.

Methodist Episcopal Mission, Foochow.

Notes and Items.

It is with great pleasure that we have to add the names of seven new members of the Educational Association of China to the eight announced in March last. First comes the Rev. Paul Kranz with a subscription of $20, making him a life member. Next follow, as ordinary members, Miss A. M. Stanton, Kiukiang; Rev. Leonard Wingham, B.A., Chungking; Rev. R. J. Davidson, Chungking; Dr. Henry Porter, Pang-chwang; Rev. Geo. Cornwell, Chefoo; and Rev. George Douglas, M.A. (Edin.), Liao-yang. This makes пр the total of members to 89. There are still several schools in different parts of China whose teachers have not yet enrolled themselves, and whom the treasurer will be glad to hear from with a view to membership.

Dr. Henry D. Porter, of Pang-chwang, is busily engaged in the preparation of a Chinese work adapted from "Martin's Human Body." Anyone engaged upon a similar treatise would do well to correspond with Dr. Porter. It would be a pity to have more than one person employing valuable time in doing the same work in

different parts of China. Dr. Porter's "Elementary Physiology" is now in pretty general use in mission schools, and deserves to be widely known.

We have received a copy of the second edition of "Colburn's Mental Arithmetic " in Chinese, printed at the A. B. C. F. M. Press in Peking. This valuable school book is now offered to the Educational Association of China to be placed on its list of arithmetics. The edition was carefully revised by Miss Porter. It has not the simplicity of Dr. Pilcher's more modern work, but for older classes it has already proved of great advantage. The real value of a school book in Chinese does not always appear on the surface, but is discovered after it has been taught for several terms. Without this practical test the most careful and accurate translations of our best textbooks can only be looked upon in the light of experiments. Chinese schools and colleges really need to have books specially prepared for them, and not mere translations, as a rule.

The long looked for "Zoology" by Mrs. Parker, of Soochow, is now completed and placed on sale by the Educational Association at the Mission Press, Shanghai. The price is 40 cents per copy. It forms a thick but neat volume of over 73 leaves of descriptive matter, with questions in smaller type. There are, in addition, 32 leaves, closely filled with photolithographic illustrations, containing between three and four hundred separate pictures, each bearing the English as well as the Chinese name. At the end there is a classified vocabulary with all the names arranged in their proper scientific order, both in English and Chinese. This in itself is a capital idea and most efficiently carried out. A careful perusal of the book shows that no pains have been spared by Mrs. Parker to render it highly useful, both for school and general purposes The illustrations form a most attractive feature. Every mission school will welcome it as supplying a long felt want. It would be a very acceptable present to any Chinaman able to read. A treatise on the Vegetable Kingdom, now in the course of preparation will, it is hoped, be a suitable companion to this Zoology.

All who are interested in education in China will feel deep sympathy with the Rev. W. A. P. Martin, LL.D., who passed through Shanghai last month on his way home on a year's sick leave for special medical treatment. He has made a great and lasting impression on the nation by the exercise of his varied talents, and has been honoured in a special manner by the Imperial Government. For upwards of a quarter of a centary he has held the mos

prominent educational post in the empire that could be awarded to a foreigner. His educational works in Chinese are widely esteemed. His "Mathematical Physics," just issued, is alone a lasting monument to his great skill in expressing in the Chinese language the most abstruse scientific ideas. Among his other works, which are too numerous to mention, is his "Evidences of Christianity (F). Although one of his earliest productions it is a model for elegance of style and accuracy of statement, so that edition after edition has been circulated far and wide and used by missionaries of all denominations. It has perhaps done more to give the educated classes in China a clear understanding of what Christianity really is than any other ten books put together. Dr. Martin carries with him the earnest wishes of every educator in China that he may speedily be restored to perfect health and return to the sphere of labour he has so long and so successfully filled.

Rev. Lyman P. Peet, of Foochow, forwards a neatly printed and very convenient set of Arithmetical Questions, which he has been using successfully for some time in his school at the various examinations. Although only the first part of the work it contains seven hundred miscellaneous questions taken at random from Dr. Mateer's School Arithmetic. It thus supplies, to a certain extent, the want expressed on page 288 of last month's RECORDER, and will be laid before the Publication Committee with a view to its adoption.

The Educational Directory for China is making good progress. Over eighty reports have already been received from the various mission centres. Many of these reports embrace the statistics of several schools of different grades, combined under one organization. The list will remain open for at least another month, to give schools at a distance, or in places where communication is difficult, the opportunity of being properly represented. Should the directors of any school have failed to receive one of the printed forms the omission will be gladly rectified on application to Dr. Fryer.

The second part of the Temperance Physiology Series, translated into Chinese for school use, is now in the printer's hands. The original, named "Lessons in Hygiene," is authorized by Mrs. Mary H. Hunt, National and International Superintendent, Department of Scientific Instruction of the W. C. T. U. The third part will follow in due course.

Contractions used for naming the Books of Scripture.

E

BY REV. W. CAMPBELL, F. R. G.S.

(English Presbyterian Mission, Formosa).

VERY one admits the need there is for having a list of contracted names for the books of Scripture; in other words, that we cannot afford to be continually writing and printing such expressions as 撒母耳上 Sat-bó-ni siong*,撒加利亞 Satka-li-a aud þ⇓⇓ Eй Thiap-sat-iô-nî kɩ chiân.

The lists at present in circulation (because there is no standard one for the whole of China) go on the principle of choosing some character that will readily suggest the fully written-out name. This method is simple enough, except in cases where the same character enters into the composition of four, five or even six of the names to be represented. Moreover, all the lists in use require to add the characters siōng, Thả, chiân and hō for distinguishing the first from the second part of those books which bear the same title.

With regard, then, to this comparatively minor question the writer ventures to suggest that in preparing the "Complete List of the Books of Scripture," which will doubtless appear on the fly-leaf of the forthcoming Union Bible, the translators should also select one character from the name of each book to represent the contracted way of writing it for purposes of quotation, and that in selecting those characters-for being printed under each name as the authorized form of contraction-a preference should be given for such as can be written with the fewest uumber of letters in the Romanized form.

It seems evident that it would be a saving of labour and give a much neater appearance to our future Reference-Bible, Concordances, Text-books and Calendars were the sixty-six books of Scripture thus to be represented by exactly the same number of different characters. while a corresponding advantage would be gained for Romanized versions if, without loss in any other direction, we could write such a word as Sè instead of Chhòng, To instead of Thoân

The accompanying lists will show what is meant, but others might have been added which contain even greater divergences than these. It may be worth while to note that the contractions from Amoy will be found in the late Dr. Talmage's version of the Heidelberg Catechism, those from Foochow in a well-known Reference Testament published there and the table from Hankow in Dr. Johns' recently issued translation of the book of Psalms.

* The Romanizing in this paper follows the spelling of the Amoy vernacular.