164 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Dec. 



comfortable arm chair in front of a small desk, seated himself, 

 and began a hasty revievv? of the gromid covered by the previous 

 lecture. The review occupied about five minutes, when he 

 plunged into new matter and continued talking with a fair degree 

 of rapidity to the close of the hour. Professor Weismann is 

 always accompanied by an intelligent attendant, who brought 

 forward such charts and models as were necessary to illustrate 

 the lecture. Many of these are employed. In fact the wall behind 

 the lecturer was always covered with charts which could be 

 drawn down or rolled up at will, in addition to coloured diagrams 

 on the blackboard. One of the features of Weismann's lectures 

 was the facility with which he could use coloured chalks in 

 sketching organs and special features to be illustrated. He in 

 common with other lecturers in this school always employed 

 chalk of a definite colour to illustrate given tissues or organs. 

 A system of this kind adds very considerably to the clarity of 

 the lecture. Dr. Weismann used no notes in lecturing. At the 

 close of the hour he immediately retired to his private room. It 

 is considered a very special privilege on the part of the student 

 to be able to approach the professor and discuss any point 

 covered in the hour's lecture. Although long past the seventy- 

 year mile post Weisinann is still lecturing daily at twelve, in- 

 cluding Saturday. 



Among the pleasant experiences during my stay at Freibourg 

 were attendance and participation in several botanical excur- 

 sions, of which there are a number every week, there being 

 one every Saturday and usually one on Sunday. The number 

 of students attending these excursions varied from twentv-five 

 to forty. Usually several women were members of the party 

 A fee is charged for the privilege of attending them, in the same 

 way that a fee is charged for laboratory facilities. 



The ordinary plan was to take a certain train out of town 

 for a given distance into the country, the details and a map of 

 the route having been previously posted in the laboratory and 

 lecture rooms of the botanical department. One of the assistants 

 usually acted as business manager of the party, purchasing 

 tickets and apportioning the expenses among those attending. 

 On arriving at the starting point for field work the party im- 

 mediately struck out into the country at a smart pace. It must 

 be borne in mind that botanical students (or field-naturalists) 

 are not given the freedom of the countryside in the same 

 generous way in Germany that obtains in Canada and the United 

 States. Parties are not allov/ed to tramp at will over meadow 

 or even through pasture lands. If such liberties are attempted 

 they are likely to come into sharp conflict with the owner of the 

 land. There are certain crown properties, however, in which 



