30 Kansas Academy of Science. 



their labors, mistakes which have been repeated by too many science 

 teachers in the classroom. 



Lists of plants, insects, and other invertebrates, fish, amphibians, 

 reptiles, birds, and mammals, and detailed sections of geological 

 strata, with lists of the included fossils, are of most interest and 

 value to the one who made the list or section, are of some value to 

 a few specialists, and are of no interest or value to the general reader. 

 In the classroom their value is the same as that of the algebraic 

 quantity, x. 



Tons of scientific reports are gathering dust in private and public 

 libraries because 99 readers out of 100 care nothing for them. Lists 

 of species of plants, shells, insects, vertebrates, fossils and minerals 

 are seldom read save by those who desire to make exchanges and 

 who are enthusiastic collectors. 



Editors of periodicals intended for the general reader have learned 

 by severe- experience what matter pleases their patrons best. I 

 quote the following from an advertising circular issued by the New 

 York Independent: ''There is a prevalent belief among editors 

 that the average reader hates science and will turn against any 

 journal which attempts to force it down his throat. Nevertheless, 

 we regard it as much our duty to get accurate, authoritative ac- 

 counts of discoveries in science as it is to record a battle or a royal 

 marriage." 



We all know that the Independent is right, and the inference is 

 plain. All reports of scientific work to be read by a willing public 

 should be issued in two or three parts. One part might contain the 

 detailed account of experiments performed, uninteresting save to 

 the specialist ; the long story of how the observations were made, 

 interesting chiefly to the one who made the observations ; and the 

 long lists of names of the specimens collected, valuable mostly in 

 making exchanges and in exciting the envy of other collectors. 

 The second part could be made to show what gseat and valuable 

 truths had been learned by experimentation or field observation, 

 and how the species collected are related to man's welfare or may 

 be made to contribute to his comfort. A third part should be pre- 

 pared so as to be of assistance to students and to all others who de- 

 sire to become naturalists. It should provide some easy method of 

 learning what naturalists have discovered and of getting the sci- 

 entific names of species of minerals, plants, and animals. To this 

 end, natural-history manuals provided with easily understood keys 

 and glossaries ought to be provided for the use of young natural- 

 ists and others little skilled in determining species. 



