156 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



In ' Jo 5S at the dedication, Ed- 

 ward I Va V'eck also gave expres- 

 sion to some stimulating thoughts. 

 Among these good things is this : 



"Astronomy is the foe of small 

 thought. I do not know, I only won- 

 der whether it was astronomy which 

 developed in my father his great, his 

 unusual love for truth, or whether it 

 was his love for truth which drew him 

 to astronomy. But this I do know, that 

 its close connection with human 

 thought was one of the reasons why 

 he adored astronomy." 



The stars in Heaven are torches bright 

 To light the way for the Queen of Night. 

 — Emma Peirce. 



We Must Work! Work! Work! 



There is another habit that is not so 

 prevalent as formerly — the habit of work. 

 Those who made the American nation 

 what it is to-day worked long and hard. 

 The spirit of hard work now seems to be 

 lacking and we hear constantly that eight 

 hours or less work a day is all that a 

 strong, healthy man should do. Where 

 would the United States now be if our 

 forefathers had been content with eight 

 hours' work a day? Where will the 

 United States be in the race for future 

 commercial supremacy among the na- 

 tions of this spirit continues? We l.ave 

 ships to build, railroads to develop, an 

 army and navy to be manned, and count- 

 less tasks to perform. Every patriotic 

 man should give the best that is in him,- 

 not the least, if we are to avoid serioits 

 difficulties at home and abroad. — Howard 

 Elliott. 



For hand sectioning' for the micro- 

 scope, Professor George J. Peirce re- 

 commends the Gem Damascene safety 

 razor blade set in the stropping handle of 

 the Gem Safetv Razor. 



Chinchona, on the east end of the is- 

 land of Jamaica, is under discussion as 

 a permanent biological station for Am- 

 erican students. Among othei attrac- 

 tions are the neighborhood of a large 

 tract of virgin forest, a very respectable 

 mountain range close to the sea. "horse- 

 tails" growing fifteen feet high, and fern 

 thirtv and fortv. 



It Is Good To Live. 



BY HAROLD GORDON HAWKINS, WESTFIELD, MASS. 



Ah, it is good to live, just live, 



Close to the soil from which man sprung. 



Far from the artificial city with it's toil and 



strife, 

 And superficial gloss and pride of place. 

 It's sorrows and regret, it's vain ambitions, 

 And stamping out of individualty in man. 

 Yes it is good to live, to be alive. 

 To all the beauties of the country-side. 



To hear the songs of multitudes of birds, 

 Flooding the air with glorious melodies. 

 To watch the ploughman breaking the dis- 

 tant field. 

 To smell the warm, moist earth just freshly 



turned 

 To find bright flowers of Alay beneath dead 



leaves. 

 To feel the warming breath of Spring upon 



one's face 

 To drink the waters of some limpid pool. 

 To bathe in it, and race upon it's shore. 

 To sink at close of eventful day, 

 Into some quiet mossy bed. 

 To rest and gather strength for coming 



trials 

 Yes, it is good to live, just live. 

 To help the needy and the sore oppressed, 

 To comfort them when faith and hope have 



fled. 

 To love mankind and all the name implies. 

 To hold the hand of some grief-stricken 



friend. 

 And weep with him, and strengthen him. 

 To know that Life, sorrowing or rejoicing 



ever. 

 Abounds upon the wide-spread face of 

 earth. 

 Yes, it is good to live, just live, 



— Emma Peirce. 



Hugo de Vries, the great authority on 

 mutation in plants, has arrived at the 

 age when by law he is obliged shortly to 

 retire from his professorship at Amster- 

 dam. He will establish a small private 

 laboratory and botanical garden, and de- 

 vote the rest of his life to his experiment- 

 al work. 



The new Hawaii National Park, lately 

 created by Congress, boasts among other 

 attractions the most continuously active 

 volcano in the world, the largest active 

 volcano, and the largest active crater. 

 Kilauea. Mauna Loa, and Haleakala are 

 all included in the tract. Haleakala, less 

 familiarly known than the other two, 

 has had an eruption within tw^o centuries. 

 Its crater is three thousand feet deep, and 

 is said to offer at sunrise the grandest 

 volcanic spectacle this side of the moon. 



