38 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [February, 



EDITORIAL. 



All communications for this Journal, whether relating to business or to editorial 

 matters, and all books, pamphlets, exchanges, etc., should be addressed to Ameri- 

 can Monthly Microscopical JoJirnal, Washingtoft, D. C. 



Too Scientific. — We always feel mortified when we receive a letter 

 in which the writer says that he thinks he will discontinue his subscrip- 

 tion because the periodical is "■ too scientific." Just what such people 

 would say if their services were pronounced " too good " or " too accu- 

 rate," we may easily imagine. When called upon to explain, they 

 usually say that by '' too scientific" they mean too much obscured by- 

 technicalities and unfamiliar language ; and so we say that we feel 

 ashamed to have our work pronounced as containing too much language 

 which is unintelligible to the masses. .Scientific men often retort ; so 

 much the worse for the unskilled and unthinking masses. But we stand 

 on a middle ground between these two groups of people. 



The highest art is simplicity ; the highest culture is simplicity ; and 

 the scientist who scorns simplicity and deliberately seeks to cover his 

 knowledge with technical terms, deserves the scorn of the people whom 

 he seeks to bewilder. The scientist who fiiils to try earnestly to state 

 his knowledge in terms intelligible to the greatest number of people 

 should he pronounced careless and unsympathetic. 



But from that extreme behold this. We sometimes see people try- 

 ing to write for ainateurs and with what results ! They use words, 

 words, words, crowding twenty lines with what could be said in seven. 

 They even use bad grammar and deplorable rhetoric in their efforts to 

 make their language not "too scientific." We have seen striking ex- 

 amples of such well-meant effort and have heard it pronounced " bosh." 



What, then, shall we do } As for us. we shall not use technical terms 

 and rare words if we can help it, but oftentimes it is a necessity. We 

 shall not dilute our facts with twaddle and silly words, but we shall 

 sometimes omit long and very technical descriptions, and, perhaps, 

 hurt the feelings of contributors thereby. We shall tone down to com- 

 mon English what we present so far as possible, and we shall insist on 

 good grammar. To those subscribers who can see simplicity only in 

 what is so cheap as to disgust all scholarly people, we must bid a sym- 

 pathetic farewell. We cannot supply the place of elementary know- 

 ledge. There are dictionaries and books of first principles every where, 

 and we must assume that our friends are willing to. refer to them. 



With our new plan, however, of introducing many illustrations much 

 will be done to clear up the troublesome things and to bring micro- 

 scopy within the understanding of all who will study. 



CcMitributors are invited to send us illustrated articles as frequenth as 

 possible, aufl upon subjects of as wide interest as possible. 



Prompt Publication. — Our January number has been pro\()kingl\- 

 delayed by several causes, but the February number comes out at the 

 middle of that month. Hereafter the Journal will be issued promptly 

 on the fifteenth day of each month. Subscribers who do not receive it 

 soon after that date may send a postal card so stating, and tiie c;iusc of 

 non-receipt will be investigated. 



Those who prefer to have untrimmed copies for binding, and will 

 send a postal cartl so requesting, will be supplied with uncut numbers. 



