l8 9i.J Editorial. 



181 



sale of 30,000 copies of any book they own, and to furnish with the 

 book an -'outline of study." It is not our province to speak in general 

 of the books used, but since botany has been made one of the sub- 

 jects of the present year, we may be justified in commenting upon the 

 character of the work proposed. We are free to say that if the whole 

 range of botanical literature had been searched, no more unsuitable 

 book could have been found to give these teachers any conception of 

 modern botany. 



It was with a feeling of curiosity that we have watched for some of 

 the results; and they have come speedily enough in the shape of nu- 

 merous letters from these struggling teachers. Their general opinion 

 seems to be that if this is botany, they want no more of it. They are 

 not to be blamed, for feeding on husks is never an inspiring diet; it 

 only inspires a strong desire to leave the country of husks as speedily 

 as possible. It is as if they were studying English literature, and in- 

 stead of being directed to a study of the great masterpieces were told 

 to memorize an English dictionary. In the " outline of study" which 

 accompanies this glossary (by courtesy called a "botany"), a ludicrous 

 attempt has been made to get into the current of laboratory methods. 

 By a strange fatality, every plant whose examination is called for either 

 does not grow in Indiana, or is to be secured months away from its 

 natural time of appearance. 



The prominent result of all this has been to disseminate a wide 

 feeling of disgust for one of the most delightful of sciences; and the 

 study of botany in the schools of the state has received a terrible back- 

 set. The possible movement for good, referred to in the opening sen- 

 tence, is one just inaugurated by the Indiana Academy of Sciences, 

 a thoroughly organized and vigorous body. The schools of the state 

 and the scientific men are both so completely organized, that the in- 

 fluence of one can be easily brought in contact with the other. A 

 committee of the Academy has been appointed to devise measures for 

 securing a better grade of science teaching in the schools, and to at- 

 tempt to counteract the influence of "reading circle" science. As the 

 committee has been organized, not simply to draft resolutions, but to 

 enter upon a practical campaign of hard work, we may look for some 

 good resu'ts. 



It has occurred to us that it would be well for scientific men all over 

 the country to attack this problem in a more organized way. It is 

 easily seen that as students pass from our well-equipped laboratories 

 and become teachers in these schools, the leaven of scientific methods 

 •s slowly working its way through the mass. But as yet, the mass is so 



