DI'AOTIU) TO I'll!': S'I'UDN' OF NATURE 



109 



turn with a check Hst of the l)irds they 

 have seen or the flowers they have named. 

 Still others depend for results u])on the 

 number of miles they have "hiked" and 

 others, liberally supported, have as their 

 gospel fresh air and pure food in con- 

 trast even for a few weeks or a few days 

 with the stifling influences of the great 

 and crowded city. 



All these are highly commendable in 

 their own special field. When one con- 

 siders any one of them, he wishes to 

 devote his life to that particular form of 

 nearness to nature. One man longs to go 

 to the country and raise bullfrogs or 

 skunks, while another would like to 

 specialize in taking young people from 

 the crowded city to camps for a few sum- 

 mer weeks, while another would like to 

 tell every young man in the country how 

 to apply the proper fertilizer to a field to 

 obtain the best crops ; while another gives 

 careful consideration to the best form of 

 fishhook or the proper kind of fly to use 

 and when to angle successfully for large 

 and spirited fish. But these are only 

 parts of a wondrous and inspiring 

 whole, parts of the life of old Mother 

 Nature. It is too big an undertaking to 

 specialize in all forms of nearness to na- 



ture. l)ut nearness to nature is too im- 

 ]3ortant to have any part of it neglected, 

 ft has often been said that if one were to 

 go through a big universit_\- and take all 

 the courses about one hundred and fifty 

 years would be required. What can one 

 do in such a dilemma? Shall he be con- 

 tented with a smattering and know noth- 

 ing thoroughly, or shall he know thor- 

 oughly some one thing and nothing of 

 anything else? The Agassiz Association 

 has always believed that one should sur- 

 vey the whole field and become a special- 

 ist in one or a few things and then have a 

 wide range of sympathy and helpfulness 

 for others interested in other depart- 

 ments. One who shuts himself within a 

 shell, whether it be a mental pursuit or 

 a physical cell, limits himself to a re- 

 stricted range of enjoyment. 



Dr. Bigelow and ArcAdiA. 



(An Editorial in the "Saturday 

 Chronicle;/' New Havln, Satur- 

 day, August 5, 19 16.) 

 Those of our readers who know the 

 lure in nearness to nature will find much 

 satisfaction in the interesting story of 

 ArcAdiA on another page of this issue, 



the entrance to KcriANV bungalow, the home of Till, I'.nlANIST. 

 The building is almost completely covered with roses and honeysuckle, and is surrounded by a picturesque 



botanical garden. 



