X TO THE STUDENT. 



years followed a golden rule, namely, that whenever a 

 published fact, a new observation or thought, came across 

 me, which was opposed to my general results, to make a 

 memorandum of it without fail and at once, for I had 

 found by experience that such facts and thoughts were far 

 more apt to escape from the memory than favorable ones." 



2. When you have seen a thing clearly, be sure to express 

 your conception, whether by drawing, or written descrip- 

 tion, or both, as accurately as possible. Learn to use 

 scientific language with precision. Write out your obser- 

 vations in full, in the best English at your command. 

 Avoid abbreviations and every other device for saving 

 time. Make your drawings so that an engraver could 

 copy them. Do not hesitate to do your work all over 

 again, if it can be improved, as it probably can be, and do 

 not leave a thing until you have not only a complete obser- 

 vation, but a complete expression of it. 



3. Do not be hasty in drawing conclusions. Make a 

 constant practice of comparing the object you are studying 

 with others of the same kind. Note differences and resem- 

 blances. Learn by the actual process what it is to acquire 

 a general conception. " Honesty in science means, first, 

 facts well proved, and then conclusions slowly and pain- 

 fully deduced from facts well proved." 1 In all your 

 work stop and think. The mere accumulation of facts, 

 if nothing is done with them, is of little consequence. 

 Constantly ask the question, what does this fact mean ? 

 You may or may not be able to answer the question, but 

 that is no reason for not raising it. 



4. Cultivate self-reliance, but not self-sufficiency. Study 



1 J. P. Lesley, Presidential Address, Am. Assn. for the Advancement 

 of Science, 1885. 



