50 
a crude theory or foolish notion. It con- 
tributes, in other words, to that sound sci- 
entific foundation which is a characteristic 
of the well-educated physician. We find, 
therefore, in many or indeed in most of our 
colleges that courses in biology are arranged 
with special reference to the needs of those 
who expect to gointo medicine. The value 
of this preparation is emphasized by the 
fact that in Great Britian all medical stu- 
dents are required to show evidence that 
they have had courses in elementary biology 
before entering upon their medical studies, 
and in this country one at least of our 
better schools makes a similar requirement. 
This intimate and recognized relationship 
to one of the most important professions is 
in itself a strong practical reason for the 
encouragement of undergraduate courses in 
biology in our colleges, for it is evident, I 
think, that the rapid increase in preliminary 
requirements now taking place in our med- 
ical schools will result in a corresponding 
increase in the number of those who, in- 
tending to enter medicine, will first prepare 
themselves by a college training. There 
will be in the future a greater demand from 
this source for biological instruction. 
This relationship of biology to medicine 
is not, perhaps, wholly beneficial to biology, 
in that it tends in the minds of some to give 
to the subject a technical aspect which is 
inconsistent with pedagogical ideas of what 
shouid constitute the proper material for 
undergraduate study. On the contrary, it 
has always seemed to me that biological 
courses, of the kind I have in mind, are sin- 
gularly well adapted to the purposes of a 
liberal training, that they possess both a 
culture and a training value entirely apart 
from their especial importance as a prepa- 
ration for professional life. The educational 
value of biological work has been pointed 
out by many eminent writers. Huxley has 
summarized the arguments upon this point 
by showing that the work involved leads 
SCIENCE. 
[N.S. Von. XIII. No. 315. 
necessarily to training in observation, in 
comparison and classification of facts, in 
deduction and verification, that is in those 
processes of thought which enter into the 
intellectual life of every man. The special 
feature of biological training, perhaps, is the 
exercise it gives to the power of observa- 
tion ; in this respect at least it possesses a 
distinct advantage over other means em- 
ployed to develop the mind, and I fancy 
that few will dispute its supremacy in this 
regard. 
But another important influence, from 
the standpoint of liberal training, which: 
may be expected from a college course in 
biology is frequently overlooked. I refer to 
the culture value of biological studies in 
bringing one into an intelligent relation 
with life on its physical as well as its 
psychical side. To my mind this feature is 
emphasized by the frequent instances one 
meets of crass ignorance regarding the 
simpler processes of bodily life. By way of 
example, a friend of mine, a gentleman and 
a scholar, a linguist of international reputa- 
tion, once remarked to me that he was suf- 
fering from a headache, and he thought it 
probable that the fumes from his liver had 
gotten into his head. Evidently my friend, 
like some other classical scholars, had im- 
bibed his physiological information quite 
incidentally from very ancient sources. 
With respect to modern biological knowl- 
edge his position was not more advanced 
than that of Brother Jasper regarding the 
planetary system. So, too, I am informed 
upon good authority that an eminent divine 
in this country based a certain mystical 
theory of his own regarding spiritual phe- 
nomena upon the fact that after amputation 
an individual may experience sensations 
in his lost fingers or toes, a fact per- 
fectly understood by any one possessing an 
elementary knowledge of physiology with- 
out recourse to far-reaching mystical views. 
Curiously enough, deplorable ignorance of 
