1922] Defense of the General Biology Course 129 



radiation, have sprung' from generalized ancestors low down on the 

 main stem of the evolutionary tree. In the organization of scientific 

 courses the analogy seems justified that the more generalized the ap- 

 proach the wider its suggestivaness, the greater the possibilities of 

 future adaptation on a firm substructure into a widely-ranging gamut 

 of specialized possibilities. 



It is further our belief that General Biology should be prerequisite 

 to beginning courses in Zoology and Botany as such, as well as for 

 special work in Bacteriology and Physiology in which courses pro- 

 grams of laboratory work and lectures may be organized of much 

 greater strength and thoroughness than would be possible with stu- 

 dents having no such general background. A further advantage in- 

 heres in the fact that such courses in Botany, Zoology, or other special 

 fields, attract mainlj^ only those who feel some beginnings of a special 

 interest and fitness for work in these specialized directions. An econ- 

 omy of both equipment and effort is thus effected. 



The North Carolina College for Women. 

 Greensboro, N. C. 



