1 1 THE NA TURE-STUD Y RE VIE W [su-apr., 1909 



Practical and Scientific Biology. Professor Ganong's article 

 on nature-study and science courses is of extreme interest to those 

 teachers in the East who are working hard to find the middle 

 ground between evolutionary biology and so-called practical 

 biology, especially with reference to the teaching of younger 

 pupils. "Practical biology" is a rather hazy expression at the 

 present time, but as time goes on we begin to see more clearly just 

 what this expression connotes. 



As we work over these so-called practical topics we are able to 

 observe the attitude of our students towards them. Evolu- 

 tionary science is necessarily taught from the standpoint of its 

 own content, hence there is a minimum possibility of shaping it 

 to the needs of young students, or to particular geographical lo- 

 cations. Its goal is the understanding of certain generaliza- 

 tions which on account of their somewhat philosophic character 

 do not always appeal to the minds of adolescents. On the other 

 hand the guiding principle of the practical work must be that of 

 accommodation to the needs and capacities of the students. 



It seems to me that there is no better way to reconcile these 

 two somewhat antagonistic views than that of combining them 

 wherever possible. Thus for example in botany our typical 

 synthetic course demands a study of seeds and germination. 

 Now, after studying these things and performing the usual ex- 

 periments, many good students ask what the practical bearing of 

 all this is. If we then show them by lantern lectures, demon- 

 strations, exhibits or other means that plowing, harrowing, and 

 cultivating have a definite relation to the problems of warmth, 

 moisture, and air supply as studied in the experiments, we find 

 that the latter grip the pupil's mind in a way that makes us 

 think that our teaching is really accomplishing its purpose. 

 Again, in studying seeds the pupil worries through the termin- 

 ology — epidermis, epicarp, endocarp, testa, tegmen, endosperm, 

 and so on. All these take on a new meaning when he applies 

 them in a study of the processes of grinding and bolting in our 

 great flour mills. 



When we come to study the stem, the topic of forestry and 

 lumbering is usually thought of as being the practical phase. It 

 is a practical phase, but only one of several. Dr. Hodge sug- 

 gests the study of forty trees in detail. It is difficult to see of 

 what use such an amount of detailed information could be to 



