522 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1137 



a legitimate place; the field drawings are nec- 

 essarily rough, and are used, never for their 

 own sake, but to supplement and elucidate the 

 written statement. 



It has been the experience of the writer that 

 the freshman college student has a very vague 

 idea as to essentials and non-essentials in field 

 work and field records, and must be given sys- 

 tematic training in this. The records for the 

 first few trips are examined by the teacher with 

 particular care, and fully criticized and cor- 

 rected. This is usually sufficient to give the 

 student an accurate idea of standard field 

 records. Insistence is placed upon the prin- 

 ciple that field work must be genuine field 

 work, and a rigid tabu is placed upon the 

 writing up of notes from memory days after 

 the trip has occurred. Two excerpts from 

 Adams's 8 lucid statement may be pertinently 

 reproduced herewith: 



The processes of observation and field study and 

 note-taking are so intimately related that taking 

 notes becomes one of the essential parts of careful 

 observation. This is also one of the most difficult 

 habits to acquire. The beginner is inclined to 

 write them up, especially field notes, in the even- 

 ing after his return from the field. Such notes 

 are generally brief, lack details, and are usually 

 of little value. 



We sometimes hear that reflections upon the 

 work should be reserved for the return to the lab- 

 oratory or study. This advice seems to be based 

 on the assumption that study in the field is not 

 particularly stimulating and suggestive. On the 

 other hand, deliberating interpretatively in the 

 midst of the problems under consideration is one 

 of the most favorable conditions possible for the 

 improvement of the quality and quantity of one's 

 work. 



A number of articles of field equipment are 

 habitually taken on the trip, and are listed 

 herewith. 9 Not all of these are taken on 

 every trip; the kit is modified from time to 

 time to suit the particular needs of the day. 



s Adams, C. C, loc. cit., pp. 41-42. 



9 The little book "Botanizing," by W. W. 

 Bailey, Preston and Pounds, Providence, 1899, 

 contains much useful information concerning bo- 

 tanical field work; especially Chap. 2, on equip- 

 ment, Chap. 3, on collecting, and Chap. 4, giving 

 directions for particular families. 



1. Vascula — a number of small ones, one to 



each student, or to every two or three stu- 

 dents, depending upon the character of 

 the collecting ; frequently one or two large 

 vascula, for woody specimens or other 

 bulky material. 



2. Diggers or trowels — one or more, depend- 



ing upon nature of collecting; the entomo- 

 logical collecting-tool listed by Kny- 

 Scheerer has proved particularly satis- 

 factory. Narrow garden trowels are good. 



3. Pocket-knives — several large, strong knives, 



with sharp blades. The writer has been 

 surprised and amused many times by the 

 pocket-knife equipment of the average 

 college student; the girls have none, and 

 those of the men are usually wholly un- 

 suitable for botanical purposes. Students 

 are encouraged to supply themselves with 

 good substantial pocket-knives, for as 

 every field botanist knows, a surprising 

 amount of botanical dissecting and an- 

 atomical work can be done with an ordi- 

 nary sharp knife and a Coddington lens. 



4. Coddington lens — one inch, in folding metal 



case; one for each student. 



5. Maps — of the region to be visited, the larg- 



est scale obtainable; giving topography, 

 hydrography, etc. 



6. Magnetic compass — for use in connection 



with map work. 



7. Compound microscope — portable type; occa- 



sionally taken, to provide for the demon- 

 stration, in the field, of certain structures 

 — e. g., algas, fungi, sporangia, prothalli, 

 elaters, pollen, protonema, etc. 



8. Dissecting kit — in folding leather pocket- 



case, with scalpels, scissors, needles, etc., 

 for field dissections. 



9. Field glasses — prism binoculars; used on 



trips into the mountainous districts. 



10. Steel tape—K. & E. 50 ft. Lilliput, very 

 light and convenient; English and metric 

 graduations; useful in many ways. 



Miscellaneous vials, tin boxes, paper envelopes, 

 twine, gummed labels, etc., as occasion 

 requires. 



For studies along the coral reefs and beaches 

 waterboxes and collecting pails are taken. 



