EDITORIAL AND GENERAL 



117 



country, and say, "Oh, they are only 

 millionaires — they cannot know any- 

 thing nor enjoy anything as we 

 'esoteric few' can enjoy." On the 

 other hand, the wealthy nature lovers 

 might look upon this naturalist in 

 the field with his net as an abnormal 

 being with "wheels in his head." We 

 say envious things about millionaires' 

 estates and despicable things about 

 the "crank," because each of us is try- 

 ing to be esoteric. The pitiable 

 "esoteric few" are those, whether they 

 have much or little money, who have 

 neither eyes nor heart to get in touch 

 with Mother Nature's wonderful boun- 

 ties. 



The writer of the letter containing 

 the criticism is a famous specialist in 

 mosses who is doing excellent tech- 

 nical work, and frequently pauses and 

 takes time to induce others to join in 

 his favorite pursuit. He and the mil- 

 lionaire's estate are in exactly the same 

 category only the estate is on a larger 

 scale because its owner has greater 

 means with which to accomplish his 

 purpose. Where the specialist has had 

 a few students to these beautiful 

 plants, the other naturalist with the 

 greater ability that comes from more 

 money has taken thousands to the 

 trees, the flowers and the birds. 



We all are children in Mother 

 Nature's garden. Some must care for 

 the trees, some must watch the birds 

 and some must peer with a lens into 

 the cells of a moss. Let each worker 

 try to cheer with good words the 

 labors of the other and not be envious. 

 So live that the Owner of this garden 

 may say to each worker, "You are do- 

 ing good by introducing others to My 

 garden, and by making Me better 

 known to them." 



* * + * 



Futhermore there is another point 

 of view often brought vividly to my at- 

 tention. In the early numbers of this 

 magazine we published a story of rab- 

 bits from the point of view of The 

 American Fur Fanciers' Association, 

 whose membership is almost entirely 

 composed of adult men and women. 

 One of our microscopists wrote that he 

 did not want the magazine any longer 



because it is too "kiddish" and pub- 

 lishes articles on children's pets. 1 won- 

 der what there is about a rabbit that 

 is "kiddish," and what about the rotifer 

 and its curious antics under the miscro- 

 scope that makes it "mannish." Why 

 are the large things so little and the 

 little things so dignified and scienti- 

 fically so large? Why not live and let 

 live? Does every reader of every 

 magazine find every page to his liking? 

 Why not select and absorb that for 

 which he has an affinity, and let the 

 other reader take what he discards as 

 uninteresting, uninstructive, too ele- 

 mentary, or maybe too , the present 



reader may supplv the word that suits 

 his needs? To me your countenance 

 may have the beauty of an angel ; to 

 my companion it may not be worth 

 even a single glance. Isn't it Shake- 

 speare who says that the point of a 

 jest lies in the ear of him that hears 

 it? Possibly the excellence of a mag- 

 azine lies in the cerebral structure of 

 him that reads it. The thought is 

 worth considering. 



By Example Rather Than By Precept. 



The greater number of our readers 

 thoroughly understand the ideals and 

 the principles under which The Agas- 

 siz Association is doing its work, and 

 they also understand the phase of it 

 that is exhibited in The Guide to Na- 

 ture, but occasionally, from a reader 

 in places far distant from Arcadia, 

 there comes the objection that we are 

 localizing the magazine too much, and 

 as an example the fact is cited that we 

 have "written-up" several local people. 

 As a naturalist I necessarily write only 

 on the subjects that come within my 

 immediate observation, and I use these 

 for the enunciation of principles. They 

 are as comprehensive as the circum- 

 ference of the earth. 



Occasionally a teacher will say, "We 

 want a little more material regarding 

 birds and plants for use in the school- 

 room and wish you would tell us more 

 about our common things along these 

 lines." My reply to such is, get a text- 

 book on those subjects: we stand for 

 certain humanistic principles. Please 

 turn to the first cover page and read 



