President's Address. - 33 



are equal to anything else." "The corniferous limestone is a rock 

 in which fossil corn is found." 



Thus far there have been considered the work, responsibilities 

 and duties of the naturalist. 



The work of the scientist may properly be considered next, for 

 he follows the naturalist in line of ascent. Natural history becomes 

 natural science when its facts are arranged in an orderly way, or so 

 as to show laws of sequence and underlying principles. The scien- 

 tist is the one who classifies the facts of observation so as to reveal 

 underlying and related principles, and evolves from the observations 

 and principles his great inductions in the form of theories respect- 

 ing heredity, cell activities in plants and animals, social economics, 

 the formation of the earth, the constitution of atoms and molecules, 

 the development of the great religions, the origin of plants, animals, 

 and even man, and observed facts in many other lines of research. 



Perhaps the wonderful discoveries of truth made by the natural- 

 ist-scientist are due in large measure to his remarkably exact classi- 

 fications of what he has learned by observation, experiment, and 

 reading. While these classifications have yielded rich returns in 

 new truths, both during their construction and in their completed 

 form, they have also served a most important use in directing the 

 investigations of students along fruitful lines of research, and in 

 opening the way for mechanics and inventors to discover new ways 

 in which known forces may be harnessed for the use of man. 



While the labors of scientists have brought untold wealth to our 

 industries, they have resulted in mixed blessings to our schools, 

 colleges, and universities. 



The scientist so loves his classifications and theories that he is 

 loth to have them materially modified. In the classroom he is very 

 apt to teach that they embody the whole truth and nothing but the 

 truth. As a consequence his pupils become non- receptive to even 

 obvious inductions of new truth. 



Luther Burbank has tried to work with university graduates on 

 his world-renowned farms at Santa Rosa and Sebastopol in his 

 plant-breeding experiments, but he has never been able to keep in 

 service a single university student. "Time and again some enthusi- 

 astic young fellow," according to W. S. Harwood in "New Creations 

 in Plant Life" (page 138)," would enter upon the work, and, bred to 

 the nomenclature and traditions of the scientists, would at once be- 

 gin enlightening Mr. Burbank on the best plan to follow in a given 

 instance, forgetting that the silent man patiently listening to him 

 stood at the head of the plant- breeders of the world." 

 -3 



