THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



357 



AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION' 



[established is::. Incorporate.!. Massachusetts, is'.i-j Incorporated, Connecticut, 1910 



Read Nature, Not Books. 



The "Scientific American" in the is- 

 sue of March 22, has an editorial re- 

 garding some suggestions as to what 

 the rich man might do for the scholar, 

 and says that the mere building of li- 

 braries and the equipping of them has 

 been a favorite pursuit of philanthro- 

 pists. "Scientific American" makes 

 the suggestion that the rich man might 

 vary the program of library building 

 and add to it a bibliographic institution 

 for the purpose of making all libraries 

 available to all mankind 



I want to add a suggestion to that 

 suggestion in the spirit of Henry David 

 Thoreau's statement that nature is of 

 more importance than newspapers 

 when he said "Read not 'The Times,' 

 but read the eternities." Louis Agas- 

 siz went a little farther when he said 

 "Study nature, not books." After all 

 what fleeting, evanescent things are 

 newspapers, books or even catalogues 

 that make available all books as sug- 

 gested in the bibliographic institution. 

 Why has not some rich man given of 

 his means to open to all people what 

 is far greater than all human books — 

 the book of the Infinite, the world of 

 nature? It is true that some rich men 

 have given many millions to it and also 

 some little bibliographic details of this 

 great book for the select few, but why 

 not open it wide for the easy and de- 

 lightful reading of the many? Sup- 

 pose a resident of Mars should come 

 to this earth, wouldn't he think it as- 

 tonishing that this great book of nature 

 has not been open to the public as it 

 should be, whereas the thousands of 

 details of men-made thoughts have 

 long ago been open? Read the great 

 book of Nature as well as books. We 

 believe that there is a value and a 

 joy in reading books, even those which 



do not pertain to the realities as the in- 

 numerable books of fiction, but what 

 thinking man or woman does not see 

 that for real things the great book of 

 Nature must be first and supreme? 



Fallen by The Wayside. 



In exploring nature's realms and in 

 guiding others in her enchanting paths, 

 it is sad to note that here and there some 

 one has fallen by the wayside and left 

 the others to go on alone. I have often 

 wondered why this is. A few years ago 

 a man who has had extensive experi- 

 ence in interesting people, especially the 

 young, in nature study, told me that he 

 had to secure once in four years, like the 

 colleges, almost an entirely new clientele 

 while very many would drop out after 

 the first, second or third year. Can any- 

 thing be more lamentable? Just as one 

 is getting well into the interests of na- 

 ture, really learning how to study nature, 

 to drop out and become a "has been ?" 

 But on the other hand what inspiring, 

 enthusiastic examples one sometimes 

 finds — dear old, and yet young, Henri 

 Fabre for instance, whose story is told 

 in this number. At seventy there 

 came to him increased facilities for the 

 study of nature, and he hailed them with 

 joy yet iwith a pathetic regret that most 

 of his life had been spent before these 

 facilities became available. Yet he 

 went to work, and the astonishing, the 

 inspiring fact is that since he was sev- 

 enty he has been working for more 

 than a score of years, and now at the 

 zenith of his fame and enthusiasm, is 

 still working. Bless the man. and the 

 woman too, whether the study is insects 

 or stars or microscopic forms, who never 

 sits down by the wavside. but continues 

 to push onward as briskly as is consistent 

 with good observation and the proper 

 enjoyment of the enchanting realms in 

 which he is moving, laboring and living. 



