222 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:5— May, 1918 



and included life Take up something definite by which, through 

 the interest inevitably developed, you will be led on to farther 

 study, and in the meantime you will forget your cares and the war. 

 You may feel that it is selfish and exclaim, "Have we any right 

 to forget about the war for even an hour?" 'In answering this 

 objection we should like to repeat a few earnest words said to us 

 by Charlotte Kellogg the author of The Women of Belgium and 

 the one American woman who went to Belgium officially connected 

 with the American relief work; in response to the question as 

 to how she endured the strain she said, "It was only by doing 

 the common things, — performing the little ordinary duties and 

 talking about them as usual, which made us for the moment 

 forget the horror of it all, that we gained the strength to go on 

 and endure all that we must witness and perform the tasks awaiting 

 our hands." 



THE EDITOR NOT ALWAYS A PROPHET 



At the beginning of the year, believing that we knew what 

 contributors to The Nature-Study Review would like to write 

 about, especially after they had received a hint, we announced 

 with cheerful assurance the topics for each issue of The Review 

 for a year. On the whole it worked well and the next year's 

 topics are already announced and many good contributions are 

 already in the proper pigeon-holes of the editorial desk. 



This May number was to be given over to the garden flowers, their 

 visitors, and a detailed study of that most useful garden product, 

 the potato. Alas! no one seemed inspired to write about garden 

 flowers; but Professor ^Vinal, always a live wire in the nature- 

 study field, saved the day by sending in the best study of the potato 

 that we have ever seen. However, so many valuable articles 

 about other topics have been contributed that the May number is 

 undoubtedly far more interesting than if the editorial plans had 

 been carried out. After all, being a sure prophet must be very 

 monotonous indeed; the only prophet that could find life interest- 

 ing must be the one who has to keep a keen eye on events and note 

 what percent, of his prophecies come to pass. 



