SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION. 633 



acquiring for the first time an insight into the methods of the 

 investigator; he will thus be spared the unpleasant discovery 

 which the advanced student now too often makes that his early 

 training has unfitted him, rather than prepared him, for the task 

 of original inquiry. 



Much to be feared, also, is the tendency to overestimate the 

 value of examinations, and the great work of the future will be 

 so to improve these that they shall have no prejudicial influence 

 on the student's work and in no way check the development of 

 original methods of teaching ; we must fix our attention mainly 

 on the influences to which the student is to be subjected during 

 his career; the competent teacher will ever study his students 

 while they are at work, and do the best for them, provided he be 

 not rendered powerless by the trammels of an examination system 

 which heeds " results " only and not individuals. 



Finally, let me say that, while sympathizing most fully with 

 those who advocate a complete course of study, I feel that it is 

 very easy to demand too much very easy to make it impossible 

 for students to do justice to their work by imposing too many 

 subjects. Our chief desire must always be that students shall 

 acquire a knowledge of scientific method and the power of work- 

 ing independently. Certain subjects must be insisted on for 

 example, mathematics and drawing if a knowledge of these be 

 not acquired early it will never be acquired ; but apart from these 

 and a competent knowledge of the main subject, we probably 

 may, as a rule, be satisfied with comparatively little. Those who 

 have once learned to work and acquired a knowledge of scientific 

 method will, of their own accord, in proportion to their intelli- 

 gence, apply themselves also to the study of other subjects as 

 many among us have done ; those who are not sufficiently intelli- 

 gent to do this are not, as a^ule, improved by being forced to pay 

 attention to unpalatable studies ; on the contrary, they are, more 

 often than not, thereby hindered from acquiring a competent 

 knowledge of some one subject which does appeal to them, and 

 are spoiled for life in consequence. Reprinted from Nature. 



THE studies of Dr. E. W. Shufeldt have led him to believe that the art of 

 taxidermy has had an evolutionary growth peculiarly its own, and that of recent 

 years the strong tendency in the leading museums has been to group animals, and 

 for a variety of purposes. The author is convinced that in the future museums 

 will carry this idea still further, and that the groups will be so combined as to 

 exhibit, besides single species, showing some of their habits and surroundings in 

 their natural haunts, also to a large extent fauna! regions, and the animal and 

 plant life of various geographical areas. By such arrangements the eye will be 

 enabled to take in and the mind appreciate the aspect and the biologic forms of 

 any particular region of the United States almost at a glance. 



