CIVIC BIOLOGY 



CHAPTER I 

 PLAN OF THE COURSE AS A WHOLE 



Motto of the course : "That we may know enough to work together." 



United effort is the central idea in civic organization, and 

 its extension underlies advance in civilization. Civic biology 

 consists in that group of problems in the control of living 

 nature to solve which requires that a community unite in 

 working together intelligently. There is a large body of 

 such problems which must be made a vital part in the edu- 

 cation of every citizen, for in no other way can they ever 

 be solved. 



We are suffering enormous losses, in destruction of nat- 

 ural resources, in unfruitful labor, in damage to property, in 

 preventable disease, due to lack of proper civic organiza- 

 tion. One ignorant or careless member of a community may 

 kindle a forest fire, or clear a watershed that will cause a 

 water famine over an extensive territory. He may permit 

 bisects or vermin to breed, or allow fungi or bacteria to grow, 

 that will cause great damage to property, and disease and even 

 loss of life among his neighbors. 



It is a slight matter to extinguish a match or a camp fire ; 

 it may require the strenuous efforts of thousands to cope 

 with a burning forest. So with every member of a commu- 

 nity cooperating intelligently, slight effort may achieve great 

 results, utterly impossible unless all work together. 



