Januaby 31, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



179 



versity at Sapporo; another is a distin- 

 guished professor of botany in the same 

 institution ; a third enjoys eminence as one 

 of the most distinguished literary men of 

 Japan, with a high repute as a scholar in 

 foreign lands; while others have won dis- 

 tinction in various callings in their native 

 land. 



There is probably no part of President 

 Clark 's work which has left so enduring an 

 impression and influence as his participa- 

 tion in the efforts of Japan to introduce 

 the best in our western civilization. His 

 success in this undertaking was based in 

 part upon his appreciation of great public 

 utilities, and in part upon his enthusiasm 

 and ability as a teacher ; and it was largely 

 in consequence of the stimulus imparted 

 by him that so many of the students of the 

 Sapporo College sought and won distinc- 

 tion in the domain of science and literature. 

 His administration at Sapporo was gov- 

 erned by the same broad-minded policy and 

 comprehensive views that gave success to 

 the parent institution, and it is one of the 

 most prominent features of both colleges 

 that, in spite of his strong, scientific in- 

 clinations, he recognized the importance of 

 a liberal culture combined with ability to 

 meet the practical issues of life. It is this 

 breadth in scientific training, this all-round 

 culture and capacity for work, and ability 

 to deal with every-day problems, that has 

 given to the graduates of both institutions 

 the element of success — they have been 

 trained to the best ideals of useful citi- 

 zenship. 



I should like to enlarge upon the present 

 position of and future outlook for both 

 physiology and pathology in this institu- 

 tion, because of the important historical 

 relation in which President Clark's work 

 stands to both of these very important 

 subjects, but the limitations of the present 

 occasion will not permit me to do so. But 

 I can not avoid a reference, in closing, to 



the very important connection which must 

 ever exist between the work of this college 

 and the biological sciences. It requires but 

 a moment's reflection to appreciate the 

 enormous values represented by the various 

 agricultural interests directly affected by 

 the operation of disease and the depreda- 

 tions of destructive forms of insect life. 

 For this reason, if for no other, the study 

 of zoology must always find a prominent 

 place in the curricula of institutions deal- 

 ing with agricultural problems. But when 

 we further reflect that such interests are, 

 after all, secondary to those in which botan- 

 ical science is concerned, because all forms 

 of animal life are primarily dependent 

 upon plants for their sustenance, it becomes 

 evident that the study of botany, in its 

 many-sided aspects, is of paramount im- 

 portance, and that it is, after all, the real 

 foundation of scientific agriculture. For 

 this reason it finds a peculiarly appropriate 

 place in our agricultural colleges, and I 

 have for a long time been under the im- 

 pression that there are no institutions 

 where it may be more profitably cultivated, 

 not only with reference to its direct appli- 

 cation to the solution of great economic 

 problems, but with reference to its purely 

 scientific aspects; for, after all, the prac- 

 tical side becomes possible only after the 

 purely scientific side has been dealt with. 

 It is for these reasons that economy is 

 finally gained by securing to botanical de- 

 partments a competent staff and a thorough 

 equipment in buildings and apparatus ; and 

 the fact that this dedication is being held 

 to-day is abundant evidence that the people 

 of Massachusetts appreciate to the full the 

 far-reaching importance of the work to be 

 executed here, under the able direction of 

 Dr. Stone and his assistants. 



But I would further point out that na- 

 ture's processes, although exceedingly cer- 

 tain of fulfilment, are nevertheless exceed- 

 ingly slow. If it has taken 500,000,000 of 



