There is much just criticism directed against the Harvard undergraduate's use of English, as shown in the various college papers and in the written work of the courses. To the outsider there might seem to be here some ground of complaint against the college for neglect of an important branch of the student's education. A glance at the records of this year's freshman class in the admission examination in English will at once put an end to any such idea. In 1894, out of five hundred and five candidates who presented English for the entrance examination, only four received "credits," and the average standard was by no means high. It is doubtless true that the conditions under which the candidates write their papers are not favorable to the production of good literary work; but this is not sufficient justification for the general weakness of the English used. This can only be explained by supposing a natural lack of literary ability, or else a very unfortunate inadequacy in the training of the candidate at the preparatory school. The latter fault is doubtless at the root of the trouble.

Harvard has long been endeavoring to make some improvement over this state of affairs, but, it must be admitted, without great success. Each year there are thrust upon the English department from three to four hundred students who are sadly incapable of writing their own language well. With this mass of unformed material to develop, the wonder is not that much of the undergraduate English remains unsatisfactory, but rather that any of it is ever really satisfactory. It is to be hoped that the preparatory schools will before long come to the aid of the college, and build up in all their students at least the foundations of literary ability.

About 100 men are trying for the track athletic team at Dartmouth. The candidates for the baseball team will begin practice this week.

Phillips Academy at Andover has an attendance of 505. A large majority in the two lower classes are preparing for Harvard, while from the two upper classes Harvard will receive almost as many as any other college. It would appear that Andover was again coming to be what its founders expected it would always be, a feeding school for Harvard.