o students enrolled who had previously obtained a literary or
scientific degree. Only 15 per cent. of all the students matriculated
had obtained a degree before entering the medical schools. There is an
evident lack of thorough preparation in foundation studies on the part
of the students. The medical profession is second to none in
importance, and the students of medicine who will give time to the
more extended culture of a college course will naturally obtain
greater skill and a broader range of thought, which will contribute to
their efficiency as practicing physicians.

It is also encouraging to know that the statistics of each decade
indicate that an increasing proportion of young men entering the
ministry have received a college education. There were 112 theological
schools in 1890, that reported 7,013 students, of whom 1,372 were
graduated, or two for every one hundred thousand of population. This
is certainly not over-crowding.

Of the students in theology enrolled in the schools of the various
denominations in 1890, the proportion was as follows: Baptists, 15.6
per cent.; Presbyterians, 15 per cent.; Methodists, 14.9 per cent.;
Lutheran, 14.7 per cent.; Roman Catholic, 13.4 per cent.;
Congregational, 9.7 per cent.; Christian, 5.5 per cent.; Episcopal,
4.7 per cent.; Hebrew, .5 per cent. Of the total enrollment, 7,013,
only 1,559 students had received degrees in letters or science. The
church demands educated men for the pulpit. A call to the ministry in
these days means that a man should prepare for the work. God does not
honor the slothful, but the man who seeks to make full proof of his
ministry. This is done when a man of piety takes the time to acquire
mental culture and refinement, and to become able properly to guide
and instruct the people. Such ministers, "thoroughly furnished unto
every good word and work," honor the church, and strengthen the cause
of Christ. Their mental endowments command respect and inspire
confidence. There never has been a time in the Christian ministry when
there was such a demand as now for ministers with minds cultivated and
well stored with knowledge, and hearts set on fire by the Holy Ghost.

The old idea that a college graduate must study for medicine, law, or
the pulpit, has attracted a large number of them into these
professions. We have learned, however, that these professions are not
superior to other avenues in science and business. A college training
is only a mean