﻿^^9^-J 
  BOTANICAL 
  GAZETTE. 
  237 
  

  

  zailogists 
  who 
  talk 
  of 
  "animal 
  biology," 
  and 
  manifest 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  a 
  

   peculiar 
  facility 
  for 
  dropping 
  the 
  modifying 
  adjective 
  noun. 
  So 
  we 
  hear 
  

   of 
  "biology 
  "—and 
  that 
  means 
  echinoderms 
  and 
  whales 
  and 
  salpa 
  chains 
  

   and 
  the 
  embryology 
  of 
  the 
  guinea-pig. 
  It 
  occasionally 
  means 
  the 
  fibro- 
  

   vascular 
  bundle 
  of 
  Pteris, 
  but 
  this 
  poor, 
  lonely 
  Pteris 
  comes 
  in 
  timidly 
  

   and 
  m 
  great 
  confusion, 
  amid 
  the 
  eccentric 
  hydroids 
  and 
  cetaceans. 
  I 
  

   have 
  had 
  students 
  observe 
  to 
  me 
  with 
  winning 
  confidence 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  

   "had" 
  botany, 
  but 
  "biology,"— 
  that 
  is 
  mystery 
  still. 
  Men 
  are 
  sent 
  out 
  

   from 
  the 
  university 
  referred 
  to 
  in 
  the 
  Gazette 
  editorial, 
  and 
  from 
  other 
  

   American 
  institutions, 
  who 
  are 
  totally 
  devoid 
  of 
  any 
  botanical 
  training 
  

   and 
  totally 
  pervaded 
  with 
  an 
  uncontrollable 
  yearning 
  to 
  label 
  their 
  

   zoological 
  courses 
  with 
  the 
  word 
  ^' 
  biology." 
  I 
  notice 
  in 
  the 
  introduction 
  

   of 
  Dr. 
  D. 
  H. 
  Campbell's 
  very 
  excellent 
  httle 
  text-book 
  on 
  structural 
  and 
  

   systematic 
  botany, 
  lately 
  from 
  theprrss, 
  the 
  following 
  clear 
  definition 
  of 
  

   the 
  term 
  biology; 
  ' 
  The 
  science 
  that 
  treats 
  of 
  Hving 
  things 
  irrespective 
  

  

  That 
  

  

  IS 
  the 
  generally 
  accepted 
  meaning 
  of 
  the 
  word, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  as 
  exhilarating 
  

   to 
  observe 
  zoologists 
  attempting 
  to 
  preempt 
  the 
  whole 
  field 
  with 
  calm 
  

   unphilological 
  assumption 
  as 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  to 
  hear 
  an 
  electrician 
  call 
  his 
  

   science 
  "engineering 
  "or 
  a 
  Greek 
  instructor 
  talk 
  of 
  "language 
  study," 
  

   meaning 
  thereby 
  the 
  accentuation 
  of 
  Homer 
  or 
  Thucydides. 
  Doubtless 
  

   this 
  uncritical 
  use 
  of 
  terminology 
  is 
  fostered 
  by 
  the 
  uncritical 
  study 
  of 
  

   biology 
  which 
  obtains 
  whenever 
  the 
  great 
  coordinate 
  branch 
  of 
  botany 
  

   18 
  lopped 
  off 
  and 
  thrown 
  in 
  the 
  fire 
  as 
  a 
  preliminary. 
  Possibly, 
  too, 
  it 
  is 
  

   ue 
  to 
  diffidence 
  and 
  possibly 
  to 
  sheer 
  ignorance. 
  But 
  principally, 
  I 
  am 
  

   inchned 
  to 
  think, 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  child 
  of 
  shrinking 
  one-sidedness, 
  the 
  progeny 
  

   . 
  ''^-balanced 
  courses 
  of 
  study 
  and 
  of 
  past 
  iniquity 
  in 
  methods 
  of 
  zor.log- 
  

   ical 
  instruction 
  which 
  makes 
  the 
  very 
  word 
  " 
  zoology" 
  distasteful 
  to 
  the 
  

   "^acher 
  of 
  to-day. 
  

  

  OPEN 
  LETTERS. 
  

  

  Rattlesnake 
  antidote. 
  

  

  '' 
  Important 
  if 
  true" 
  is 
  a 
  motto 
  often 
  illustrated 
  in 
  botanical 
  re- 
  

  

  r^.n 
  'PU' 
  ^__ 
  , 
  , 
  . 
  ,. 
  ■ 
  . 
  ..:-:-,:♦,, 
  ^rUr\ 
  woe 
  

  

  S/L 
  u 
  '^'^ 
  ^^^y 
  week 
  a 
  gentleman 
  has 
  died 
  in 
  our 
  vicmity 
  who 
  was 
  

   Hten 
  by 
  a 
  rattlesnake— 
  died 
  though 
  he 
  had 
  the 
  nerve 
  to 
  amputate 
  hi8 
  

   ^^n 
  hnger 
  with 
  his 
  jack 
  knife 
  on 
  the 
  field. 
  

  

  «t«f 
  ■^.^'^'■gyman 
  of 
  this 
  region, 
  the 
  Rev. 
  Mr. 
  Clark, 
  who 
  has 
  been 
  in 
  the 
  

   3 
  ^'"^'^ 
  the 
  early 
  history 
  of 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  territory, 
  has 
  for 
  two 
  years 
  been 
  

   ];;''"§ 
  jny 
  attention 
  to 
  a 
  weed 
  by 
  which 
  he 
  claims 
  to 
  have 
  saved 
  several 
  

   wp!i: 
  t 
  , 
  ^ 
  ^'*^'"s 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  safe 
  and 
  sure 
  cure 
  for 
  rattlesnake 
  bite. 
  Ihis 
  

   „J;p,^ 
  have 
  at 
  last 
  succeeded 
  in 
  getting 
  from 
  him 
  the 
  plant 
  in 
  biouni 
  

   shli 
  iP*"""^'^^ 
  to 
  be 
  HmraHum 
  So>u/en 
  Hook. 
  He 
  is 
  very 
  anxious 
  that 
  1 
  

   wh^i 
  ^^ 
  P",^''*'^ 
  the 
  plant 
  and 
  the 
  method 
  of 
  use. 
  The 
  plant 
  is 
  taken 
  up 
  

   arS 
  ^u^ 
  ^^^«h' 
  though 
  he 
  believes 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  into 
  a 
  druggist 
  prep- 
  

   "^auon 
  by 
  pulverized 
  powders, 
  or 
  a 
  decoction, 
  or 
  an 
  extract. 
  The 
  plant 
  

  

  