Now that the examination period is approaching again, the vexed question arises: Cannot some regular method of marking be devised, which all the instructors in each freshman department may use. The marking system, which is unfair enough throughout the whole college, is particularly unfair in the case of the freshman year. It so happens that, while several sections pursue the same subject and have an equal amount of knowledge, one division of them is subjected to a very hard examination and the other to an easy one; the former being marked freely, so as to allow nearly every one to pass, and the latter closely, so that far too many are made to fail. Paradoxical as it may sound, there is a great deal of difference in marking what a man does and marking what he does not do, and yet many instructors seem to be entirely ignorant of this fact. If mistakes alone are counted and little or no credit given for what is done, a man is discouraged-precisely what should be avoided.

But aside from the papers themselves, it would certainly seem as if steady work throughout the term ought to count a good deal in the final marking, at least in those courses where the recitation system is pursued. The freshman year, being the only year in which the work is required, should be treated differently when it comes to the assignment of marks. In courses where recitations are held, it is much easier to estimate the amount of work each man has accomplished. An examination paper frequently chances on one portion of a subject which is not remembered, when the great part of the subject may be familiar, or vice versa. In the case of a lecture course the examination paper is the only evidence of the work accomplished, but in a recitation course this is not the case. If the instructors would encourage constant attendance and work in term time by taking some note of these recitations and allowing them to aid a man in his examinations, it would not only be beneficial, it would be fairer, and it is this that every one desires.