Mr. Greene was of opinion that the sons of parents who possess some education are not inferior in natural abilities to the average American boy. In the English class I listened to some very fair reading, certainly as good as in the Russian seminary at Erivan. Some very practical theses were expounded; why, for instance, should one sleep in a bed and not on the floor? For four reasons: a floor is cold, dirt collects upon the floor, gases hang to the floor, damp affects the floor. There can be little doubt that the Armenian schools are greatly benefited by competition with the less fashionable American institutions. They at least receive a certain stimulus and some new ideas. This is notably the case in respect of their schools for girls, which owe their development to the American example. During the course of our stay in Van I visited every school both in the city and the garden town. In no better and surer way is the traveller enabled to gauge the attainments of the community among whom he sojourns. The Armenians possess no less than eleven such institutions, each dispensing both primary and secondary education, and counting as many as 2180 pupils in all, of whom about 800 are girls. The majority, namely six, are purely ecclesiastical foundations, that is to say, they are attached to the churches and largely supported by Church funds. But four are owned and managed by private individuals, attracting to them the children of the wealthier parents. The single remaining unit is contributed by a school for girls which is due to the munificence of a wealthy Russian Armenian, the late M. Sanasarean. It has received the name of Sandukhtean. In numbers it is surpassed by the Church school of Hankusner, which has a roll of 250 maidens. These attend in the private residence of the present Katholikos, the author and patron of the college. The four private schools number about 400 scholars, of whom over 100 are of the female sex. All these schools, with the single exception of Yisusean, are situated among the gardens. This last, of which the name signifies that it is dedicated to Jesus, is attached to the ancient churches of Tiramayr and Surb Paulos in the walled city and close to the foot of the rock. [104]