56 
able weight should be given to it, not only 
in the individual work of the teacher, but 
in the construction of courses. I do not 
mean, of course, that in making the cur- 
riculum this consideration should have a 
predominating influence, but it should cer- 
tainly be borne in mind. Other things 
being equal the subject that has the most 
intrinsic interest is likely to have the highest 
degree of training and developing value, 
and I feel safe in asserting that this virtue 
is possessed to an uncommon degree by the 
subject of biology. Its importance in illus- 
trating the methods of scientific thought, 
and the practical utility im life of its subject 
matter are combined with an attractiveness 
that appeals to every intelligent person. 
To have under the eye the primitive forms 
of life in all their strange and suggestive 
variations, to follow the development of an 
apparently simple and structureless ovum 
into a complicated and exquisitely con- 
structed organism and to see these various 
stages in the individual history paralleled 
in nature by the slow phylogenetic growth 
of animal forms, to realize for one’s self 
the community of structure and function 
that binds together all living beings, these 
things are of a nature to awaken interest 
in the minds of the most careless. Such at 
least was my personal experience as a stu- 
dent, and such has been my observation 
upon many classes composed of men with 
varied training and widely different pur- 
poses in life. Just as an elementary study 
of astronomy lifts one out of his self-suffi- 
cient narrowness and brings him face to 
face with great thoughts and problems, so 
an acquaintance with the teeming existence 
of the microscopic world leads us to a 
thoughtful, intelligent and humble consid- 
eration of the great mysteries of the uni- 
verse. 
The desirability of having some form of 
biological work represented in our college 
courses commends itself to my mind for 
SCLENCE. 
[N. S. Von. XIII. No. 315. 
still another reason which has, I believe, 
some practical basis. I refer to the fact 
that during a man’s college life it is neces- 
sary as arule that some decision shall be 
reached concerning the character of his 
future career. There are some, doubtless, 
among our college students upon whose 
conscience the necessity of making this de- 
cision rests but lightly, by reason of the 
exuberant hopefulness and confidence of 
youth, yet upon the whole IJ fancy that few 
students in their senior year fail to give 
this serious subject much careful and anx- 
ious consideration. Motives of expediency 
or the advice of parents or friends fre- 
quently furnish the controlling factor in the 
decision to which he finally comes, but in- 
dividually he must desire and seek for some 
light, from his own experience, regarding 
his personal fitness and adaptability for the 
various possible careers that lie before him. 
It is a sad business when the search is 
fruitless, and he stands at the parting of 
the ways, undecided, not knowing which 
path offers to him the greatest chances of 
happiness, usefulness and success. It seems 
to me that a student’s college course should 
be of direct» assistance to him in this mat- 
ter of his life’s work, not only in giving 
him a general training that shall send him 
forth equipped for competition with his fel- 
lows, and prepared to enjoy the usufruct 
of the world’s intellectual inheritance, but 
specifically in throwing light upon the 
nature of his own talents. In some way 
this period of preparation and training 
should be adapted to enable the individual 
to find himself, to discover wherein lie his 
greatest interests and greatest possibility 
of success and happiness. For this reason 
it would seem to be a mistake if a depart- 
ment of knowledge so important and pecu- 
liar as biology is not brought in some way 
to the student’s attention. It forms the 
gateway to at least one great profession 
which though overcrowded at present is in 
