20 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIBNCR 
to minister to our needs, but this first service contains no such 
thought. To such an investigator nature resembles a huge 
unexplored continent, whose secrets are gradually discovered. 
Something of the enthusiasm of the original explorers of our 
great western territory takes possession of him. Every advance 
into the new territory impresses him with the fact that it is far 
more extensive than he had dreamed. Every trail is worth fol- 
lowing, for it means additional knowledge. Some trails may 
lead to rich farm lands and gold mines, but in exploration these 
are only incidents. To understand the new country, all trails 
must be followed and mapped. The figure has suggested the 
fact that this service of science is the service of the explorer, 
the service which makes all exploration worth while. Without 
it this nation would have had the Alleghanies for its western 
boundary. Without it nature would have remained a region of 
mystery, prolific in superstition, and of no service to civiliza- 
tion. 
This general exploration of the unknown was once more ap- 
preciated than it is now. The original explorations of nature 
appealed to the wonder instinct of a people to whom the new 
territory was a revelation; but after the new territory became 
mapped in its rough outlines, the wonder instinct subsided, and 
people turned their attention to the farm lands and gold mines; 
and began to demand that exploration should stand primarily 
for these things. 
Recently, however, the tide has turned and exploration in 
science is coming into its own again. This is indicated perhaps 
most significantly by the change of attitude in the scientific 
work of the government. Using my own subject as an illustra- 
tion, the Bureau of Plant Industry, under the Department of 
Agriculture, has recently been adding to its staff scientific ex- 
plorers. The reason for this has been a realization of the fact 
that practical application is sterile unless there is a continuous 
discovery of something to apply. Practice in an old territory 
is useful, but the discovery of new territory that demands new 
practice is far more valuable. If it had not been for explora- 
tion of territory we would have been farming in New England 
today instead of in Illinois; and if it had not been for scientific 
exploration, our practice would have remained that of a cen- 
tury ago. 
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