370 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



OUR CONTRIBUTORS. 



In the prospectus of The Guide; to 

 Nature it was announced that for the 

 leading- articles, that is for contribu- 

 tions other than reports in "The Agas- 

 siz Association" department, and letters 

 in the department of "Correspondence 

 and Information." would be paid for 

 by a small amount of cash. 



It was not intended that the trifling 

 sum should in any sense be considered 

 an adequate nor a just remuneration 

 to those competent to write an article 

 for this magazine, but it was stated 

 that the small amount would make the 

 editor feel freer to return those MSS 

 that should not come within the scope 

 of the magazine, or that for any rea- 

 son he should find to be unavailable. 

 The editor has now come to the con- 

 clusion that that announcement was 

 a mistake and it is hereby withdrawn. 



The small amount put some of our 

 most acceptable contributors, as view- 

 ed by the less competent, in an un- 

 pleasant light, and the reader, who 

 knew how small the remuneration was, 

 smiled perhaps, and decided that his 

 own essays and observations, being 

 strictly original and having consider- 

 able value, should not appear in The 

 Guide, but should go where the maga- 

 zine is more wealthy, and the editor 

 more appreciative or generous, or both. 

 The fact, as seen from the editor's 

 office-window is that our best contri- 

 butors write solely for the good of the 

 cause, and if they were to receive pay- 

 ment in any way commensurate with 

 the value of their work, that would 

 be at least twenty times more than 

 The Guide to Nature could possibly 

 afford. Therefore let us come out 

 frankly yet positively and have no 

 "make-believe" payment. The editor 

 intends to be perfectly candid in the 

 future, and to tell any nature student 

 whether or not his contribution comes 

 within "the scope of things terres- 

 trial." and he will feel perfectly free to 

 retain or to return any contribution 

 on the merits of the matter, and not 

 on the basis of any trifling" cash re- 

 muneration, as an encouragement of 

 budding genius, or to youthful obser- 

 vers who are willing to try their "pren- 

 tice hand" on contributions for The 



Guide, with more thought for the cash 

 than for the cause, or for the literary 

 merits of the article, to say nothing of 

 the correctness of the detailed obser- 

 vations. 



In making this decision the editor 

 feels that he is occupying the fairest 

 and frankest position possible toward 

 his contributors, as well as toward 

 himself and other interested persons. 

 In the future every reader will know 

 that the writer did not supply his pa- 

 per for what he could get, but freely 

 gave it for the good of the cause. 



If The Guide to Nature were pub- 

 lished for the purpose of getting money 

 for its editor and its other directors, 

 it would be as generous to its contri- 

 butors as should be possible, or as any 

 other first-class magazine, and distrib- 

 ute cash payments with as much satis- 

 faction as dividends. But we are not 

 laboring to gather gold. As has sev- 

 eral times been explained and repeated, 

 the entire work is a labor of love. No 

 officer receives one cent of pay. Each 

 one labors for the good of the cause. 

 Those who are naturalists should be 

 the most eager, and I believe are the 

 most eager, to contribute to this work 

 in any way within their ability. It 

 should be easier and a real pleasure to 

 any earnest naturalist to give to others 

 the benefit of his experience and ob- 

 sei vat ions. 



This magazine must stand or tall on 

 the support or non-support of enthusi- 

 astic naturalists and others who realize 

 that naturalists are doing a commend- 

 able philanthropic work in pointing out 

 to the general public the interesting 

 and beautiful things in nature and that 

 these are a factor of importance in 

 benefitting and uplifting humanity, 

 and in making life worth living. 



ABOUT THE DEYIL-FISH. 



The bringing together of many in- 

 teresting facts hitherto known only to 

 a few scattered men of science about 

 the generally-dreaded devil-fish, has 

 been the result of an authoritative 

 study of the subject recently completed 

 by Dr. Theodore Gill, Associate in Zoo- 

 logy in the U. S. National Museum. 



