-----+------------+------------+------------- | Candidates | | | who | | Candidates Year.| inscribed | Candidates | admitted | their | examined. | to the | Names. | | Polytechnic. -----+------------+------------+------------- 1832 | 567 | 468 | 183 1833 | 367 | 304 | 110 1834 | 627 | 541 | 150 1835 | 729 | 633 | 154 .....|............|............|............ 1837 | 629 | 508 | 137 1838 | 533 | 410 | 131 1839 | 530 | 531 | 135 .....|............|............|............ 1842 | 709 | 559 | 137 1843 | 802 | 559 | 166 1844 | 746 | 531 | 143 1845 | 780 | 559 | 136 -----+------------+------------+------------- Giving an average of one student for four candidates _examined_, so that it is impossible to imagine that there is any lack of ability in those selected. A similar result appears to follow from some other more recent statistics. -----+---------------+-----------------+---------- Year.| Number of | Number declared | Number | Candidates | admissible | admitted. | who inscribed | to the Second | | their Names. | Examination. | -----+---------------+-----------------+---------- 1852 | 510 | 216 | 202 1853 | 494 | 222 | 217 1854 | 519 | 238 | 170 1855 | 544 | 232 | 170 -----+---------------+-----------------+---------- In judging, however, of these numbers, it should be borne in mind that, a very large number of the candidates who succeed have tried more than once; the successful of this year have been among the unsuccessful of last year, so that the proportion of individuals who succeed to individuals who fail, is, of course, considerably larger than one to four. Of the 170 candidates admitted in November, 1855, 117 had put down their names for the examination of 1854, and 53 only had not been previously inscribed. Of the 117 who put down their names, 19 had withdrawn without being examined at all, 71 had been rejected on the preliminary examination, 27 had been unsuccessful at that of the second degree; 98 of the 170 came up for the second time to the examination.]