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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 717 



feasor Swain, is the new suggestion which is 

 probably destined to be the basis of all in- 

 dustrial training. In a word, it is the peda- 

 gogical idea that the practical man learns by- 

 using. The question, " What is it good for ?" 

 has often been feared and avoided as the 

 badge of cheap superficiality, on the one hand ; 

 and, on the other hand, as a serious menace 

 to sound and honest research. But are we 

 not now in a position where we may safely 

 trust the well-trained teacher to use the 

 actual need, and to employ the use of a 

 science, as guides in teaching and learning 

 that science? The immense advantage to be 

 gained, for many students, by the combined 

 assistance of the eye and the hand suggests 

 that it may be best to start with actual tests 

 and problems. This will place the student 

 squarely face to face with facts and needs. 

 This will also quicken the interest of the stu- 

 dent; and it may prove to be the perpetual 

 provider of a keen interest, that subtle psycho- 

 logical stimulus which spurs every good 

 worker to success. Once given this start, 

 and with the well-trained teacher, the student 

 is naturally led to the helpful guidance of 

 books and theory. Necessity is still the 

 mother of progress ; and we need not fear the 

 sad augury implied in Professor Schlichter's 

 remarks on teaching "dyeing and not chem- 

 istry." The student need not be " out of 

 date," either at the start or later, if he is 

 naturally led to the books and literature on 

 his special field. Moreover, the student who 

 starts with the practical, is always in touch 

 with the actual needs of his craft — something 

 which is often a sealed book to the theorist. 

 It is not to be denied that this reversal of the 

 application of theory to fact and need has its 

 difficulties and dangers; so do all systems of 

 education. But it looks like the solution of 

 the technical and industrial education prob- 

 lem. It is to be hoped that this idea will not 

 be allowed to slip from the attention of edu- 

 cators — the idea of using the fact, the prob- 

 lem, the need, the experiment — as the natural 

 starting point for education, for teaching 

 theory, and to catch the interest of the stu- 

 dent. It bears three marks of genuineness, 

 namely: It meets the practical needs; it 



catches the interest of the student; and it 

 exemplifies the inductive method of learning 

 through use. 



Charles S. Palmer 

 23 Pakk Place, 

 Newtonville, Mass., 

 August 29, 1908 



HUMMINGBIRD AND HORNET 



Early in the summer of 1907 a dish of 

 sweetened water was placed on the railing of 

 the veranda of a cottage in North Acton, Mass. 

 The next morning a female hummingbird was 

 seen hovering over it. In a few days she 

 became so accustomed to the presence of the 

 family that she would feed from the vessel 

 while a number of persons were sitting only 

 a few feet away. 



This year (1908) the cottage was first occu- 

 pied on June 2. The next morning a pair of 

 hummers were seen hovering over the railing 

 where the sweetened water had been placed 

 the year before. A saucer of water contain- 

 ing a few lumps of sugar was immediately 

 provided for them. 



They helped themselves frequently from this 

 for several days, when the male disappeared. 

 The female has continued her visits to the 

 saucer many times each day up to the present 

 time (August 24). 



On July 22, while sitting within five feet 

 of the vessel, I noticed, for the first time, a 

 bald-faced hornet (Vespa maculata) inside the 

 saucer. As I watched its motions, the hum- 

 mingbird appeared, hovering over its accus- 

 tomed feeding place. Instantly the hornet 

 darted at it, and the hummer fled, closely 

 pursued by the insect. The spectacle exactly 

 resembled, on a small scale, the driving of a 

 hawk or crow by a kingbird. In a minute or 

 two the hornet was back exploring the con- 

 tents of the saucer. 



Presently the hummer returned, poised itself 

 over the tempting dish, long enough to see 

 that its enemy was on the ground, when it fled 

 precipitately. She still (August 24) continues 

 to come many times each day, only attempting 

 to feed when the field is clear of hornets. 



Charles W. Mead 

 American Museum of Natubal Histoet 



