March 6, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



369 



white people, and this in connection with the 

 wrinkled condition and the presence of the ear 

 described by Hrdlicka has led me to consider the 

 Negro ear as having undergone a greater amount 

 of retrograde metamorphosis than the ear of the 

 white people, even a greater amount than the hypo 

 or hyper forms. I am at present at work on the 

 development of the ear of the fetus in the colored 

 people to determine the extent of development of 

 the ear in the early stages of fetal development in 

 order to find the extent of retrograde metamor- 

 phosis. 



The First-year Zoology Course: John P. Camp- 

 bell. 



The first-year zoology course is of special im- 

 portance, for the reason that most students go no 

 farther. It should, therefore, have the widest hu- 

 man interest possible, and be no more technical 

 than is necessary, in order to give the largest re- 

 turns to the greatest number. As usually con- 

 ducted, this course consists of a more or less in- 

 tensive study of a few types, the idea being that 

 the benefit to be derived is directly proportional 

 to the amount of contact with these in the labora- 

 tory. This is believed to be wrong, and the idea is 

 urged that the amount of laboratory time should 

 be just enough to develop a mental attitude in the 

 student, and put him in sympathy with the meth- 

 ods by which the subject has been developed. If 

 the laboratory work consists merely in verifica- 

 tion, no amount will do this, but if it is properly 

 conducted, this result may be reached in less time 

 than is commonly used. Emphasis should be laid 

 also on the historical and philosophical aspects of 

 the subject, and for this purpose students should 

 be required to do wide reading and make ample 

 abstracts. Every effort should be made to have 

 the student get a large view of nature, and he 

 should be able to interpret as well as observe. 

 General discussions should be introduced wherever 

 possible. Zoology is the study of animal life, and 

 the more contact with life is presented, the 

 stronger is the course. Morphology in the old 

 sense has passed away, but the more the student 

 learns to interpret structure in terms of modifica- 

 tion in relation to environment, the more is he 

 likely to be mentally awakened. , The order of 

 presentation is most important and, in the writer 's 

 experience, few students are intelligently interested 

 in the Protozoa, if they are used to introduce the 

 course. Insects serve much better as an introduc- 

 tory subject, after which evolution may be taken 

 up. If then the insects are reviewed and the re- 



maining Arthropods taken up in the light of evo- 

 lution, the study of the tissues in these leads log- 

 ically into the Protozoa, after which the remain- 

 ing phyla may be taken up in ascending order. 

 The success of this course should be measured by 

 the reaction of the student, and the proportion that 

 are attracted to take the more advanced work, in 

 which, of course, different methods should be pur- 

 sued. The round-table discussion of Professor 

 Campbell's paper was led by Professor Galloway. 



The Content of a First Course in Zoology: T. W. 

 Galloway. 



I. This is so conditioned by what we desire to 

 accomplish that I want to outline briefiy some of 

 the more important things I think we should try 

 to do for the pupil in such a course. (1) We 

 should produce and conserve a vital interest in 

 animals. (2) We should secure an appreciation of 

 the human values of animals. (3) We should en- 

 courage the attitude in the student of raising and 

 solving problems concerning animals. This means 

 the scientific attitude and the scientific method. 

 (4) The pupil should have some ability to use the 

 library, the field and the laboratory in pursuit of 

 these interests. (5) He should be able to sustain 

 interest in such problems for considerable periods. 

 (6) There should be some sense of the way in which 

 organisms respond to the environing conditions; 

 some conception of individual development, and of 

 the evolutionary series of animals. (7) The pupil 

 should have some knowledge of the cell and of 

 protoplasm as basal in plant and animal life. (8) 

 He should get some practical experience in classi- 

 fying organisms. (9) He should have a concep- 

 tion of the place of man in the biological series, 

 and in such a way that it will heighten rather than 

 diminish his appreciation of the meaning of the 

 higher human qualities. (10) We should secure 

 for him a sane appreciation of the origin and 

 meaning of reproduction and sex, and of its bear- 

 ing on human life. 



II. It follows from the above that the point of 

 view can not be narrowly morphological. Such, or 

 all, of the possible approaches must be used as 

 will contribute to these ends. Morphology, physiol- 

 ogy, ecology and distribution, classification, touches 

 of embryology and such general questions as evo- 

 lution, heredity, history of biology and the like, 

 must be included. Morphology alone secures little 

 more than a certain deftness of observation and 

 expression. Only when it is enriched by the more 

 vital aspects do we secure discrimination, and the 

 making and testing of general conclusions. The 



