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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



sponsible for this deficiency in our 

 modern life, it is because it does 

 u'k lay enough stress on training in 



the art of popular presentation. 



Our universities cannot be expected 

 to discover and train many Mendels or 

 Galileos. The number of persons who 

 can profitably devote their lives to re- 

 search is relatively small in each gen- 

 eration, even though it ought to be larger 

 than it is now in this country. These 

 professional investigators for the most 

 part dislike to have people crowd 

 around them and look over their shoul- 

 ders as they work. YVe do not think 

 it would hurt them so much as they 

 think it would to give a popular expo- 

 sition of their researches, but we rec- 

 ognize the fact that they are often in- 

 capable of making comprehensible to 

 the lay mind the significance of what 

 they are doing, and in any case it would 

 not be profitable to take much of their 

 time for this purpose from the labors 

 for which they are peculiarly fitted. 

 But here is a task, indeed a duty, for 

 the large number of our graduates who 

 have been trained in the method of 

 science and inspired by its ideals and 

 yet _ are not able, either for lack of 

 genius or opportunity, to devote them- 

 selves to its advancement. They should 

 constitute the middlemen of science, 

 its spokesmen and popularizers. They 

 might stand between the small group 

 of research men, absorbed in their 

 specialties, and the great mass of 

 readers to whom the progress of 

 science is of importance and would be 

 of interest if pains were taken properly 

 to present it to them. 



It is not, of course, to be expected 

 that people will follow with interest 

 every step in routine of research, the 

 steady, tedious march of the advance 

 guard of science, even onward into the 

 unknown. But people are naturally in- 

 terested in two features of scientific 

 work, in its speculative and practical 

 sides, its theories and its aoplications. 

 In recent progress of the physical and 

 biological sciences both these features 

 have been present. The new theories 

 are revolutionary and the new applica- 

 tions innumerable. The newspapers 

 and magazines offer unprecedented op- 



portunities for reaching the public, but 

 these channels are insufficientlv utiliz- 

 ed. Occasionally a brilliant article ap- 

 pears in print and proves that it is not 

 impossible to be both accurate and 

 popular. But for the most part editors 

 have to sacrifice one or the other of 

 these qualities when they publish a 

 scientific article, and it is not to be 

 wondered at that they often escape 

 from the dilemma by ignoring the sub- 

 ject. But if our bachelors of science 

 had a little more of the missionary 

 spirit and a little more appreciation of 

 popular needs and tastes the deficiency 

 might readily be remedied. — The Inde- 

 pendent. 



For The Small Aquarium. 



The March issue of the New York 

 Zoological Society Bulletin is entirely 

 devoted to small aquaria, in a mono- 

 graph by Raymond C. Osburn. It con- 

 tains much descriptive matter and at- 

 tractive illustrations excellently ar- 

 ranged. 



Death of a Member of The AA Council. 



Professor Ralph Stockman Tarr, 

 head of the department of physical 

 geography at Cornell University, 

 known for his important contributions 

 to geology and geography, died on 

 March 21, aged forty-eight years. Pro- 

 fessor Tarr was for many years an ac- 

 tive member of our Council and fre- 

 quently gave information and advice 

 to the'AA. 



Kind Words of Approval. 



I think I appreciate what you are 

 doing and it is good. You are wise in 

 approaching the problem as you have, 

 and I wish you all success.- — Professor 

 Charles E. Bcssey, The University of 

 Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska. 



I read your attractive magazine with 

 interest monthly. I congratulate you 

 on the completion of the great work of 

 removing your Association buildings 

 and admire your courage and persist- 

 ence in furthering the interests of the 

 Association — Miss Laura Boorman, Pal- 

 mer, Massachusetts. i\ 





