December 23, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



619 



The most extensive demand that the govern- 

 ment makes, however, is for entomologists. 

 Large numbers of such specialists are engaged 

 in the study of insect life in all its aspects. A 

 part of this work is done in the laboratories of 

 the Department of Agriculture, but in many 

 cases the field studies constitute a large propor- 

 tion. Some of the investigations are of the 

 most fundamental scientific value and there are 

 projects for the exhaustive studies of life his- 

 tories, such as, for instance, that of the honey 

 bee. In this case several men give all their 

 time to investigating, with excellent equip- 

 ment, the complicated social and biological life 

 of the hive. 



As biological science grows, places are 

 made in government departments to take ad- 

 vantage of the latest developments. Within 

 recent years the subject of genetics has under- 

 gone rapid development and some of the under- 

 lying laws of heredity have become known. To 

 extend our knowledge of these and to make 

 them applicable to animal breeding the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture has established special 

 facilities for the study of genetics and has em- 

 ployed men to investigate breeding problems in 

 the most comprehensive manner. Positions 

 thus opened are very attractive to persons de- 

 siring to follow the career of an investigator 

 unhampered by teaching responsibilities. 



The states now are also setting up labora- 

 tories which require trained zoologists. These 

 may be in their universities and colleges or 

 may be connected with public health depart- 

 ments, biological surveys, entomological com- 

 missions, or museums. Among them they oiler 

 some variety of choice but, in general, are dis- 

 tinguished from teaching positions by greater 

 contact with the general public and by a larger 

 element of administrative or regulatory work. 



Similarly, large cities have established de- 

 partments of public health in which there is 

 occasional demand for zoologists, principally in 

 entomological or parasitological studies. In 

 some cities also there are municipal museums 

 and zoological gardens which require zoologists 

 trained as collectors, field naturalists and sys- 

 tematists in different groups. Sometimes these 

 positions are very attractive. 



Finally there are research institutions on 

 private foundations where opportunities for 

 zoological investigators are of the highest char- 

 acter. The development of these has been 

 due largely to the failure of universities to 

 make adequate provision for research. The 

 rapid growth of science and the expensive 

 equipment required for investigational work, 

 together with the necessity of providing plenty 

 of unhampered time for the student of new 

 problems, has made inevitable and necessary 

 the establishment of research institutes. Since 

 these are well-endowed they offer attractive 

 openings for thoroughly trained zoologists. 

 C. E. McCluno 



TjNrVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 



GEOLOGY AS A PROFESSION 



INTRODUCTION 



" The geological book — the greatest histori- 

 cal document of the ages . . . ," these are 

 the words of one worker after thirty active 

 years of teaching and research. Are the at- 

 tractions of geology really such that able 

 young men of to-day may e^xpect to be led 

 to similar enthusiastic exclamation after 

 their initiation into the science? To answer 

 this question is the purpose of this paper. 



RELATION TO OTHER SCIENCES 



The first point which should be understood 

 is that a liking for chemistry, physics, biology, 

 mathematics, astronomy, or economics, ex- 

 cludes no one from becoming a geologist. 

 Geology is not truly an independent science; 

 it is a combination of other sciences directed 

 towards a specific field of study — the earth. 

 One of the greatest deterrents to more rapid 

 progress in geology is the lack of broad train- 

 ing in other sciences; a professor of geology 

 in a well-known university recently remarked 

 that he would rather teach a graduate stu- 

 dent well-grounded in other sciences and 

 knowing little geology, than one well trained 

 in geology and knowing little of other sci- 

 ences. The fact that geology is in many 

 ways not one of the exact sciences by no 

 means indicates that a foundation in these is 



