February 25, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



279 



tical feasibility tliat promises such great 

 results. David Eiesman 



University op Pennsylvania 



a plan for cooperation among the 

 smaller biological laboratories 



Second thought is hardly necessary for a 

 realization of the fact that the scientific lab- 

 oratories of the smaller colleges throughout 

 the country suffer greatly from their isolation, 

 from the overworked condition of the in- 

 structor, and from the indifferent quality of 

 the materials for daily use in the ordinary 

 courses in zoology, botany or general biology. 

 Such conditions, furthermore, have a habit of 

 continuing thus unchanged throughout the 

 years, much to the vexation of the instructor 

 as well as to the detriment of the many stu- 

 dents, in the aggregate, who take the various 

 courses. 



Although the complexity and expense of 

 thorough laboratory equipment are both un- 

 limited, it is yet evident that the prime deside- 

 rata for the giving of the ordinary courses to 

 undergraduates are fairly simple matters — a 

 good culture showing large Amceha proieus in 

 abundance, prepared slides stained so as to 

 show mitosis plainly under a dry objective, 

 and other similar items of equipment are mat- 

 ters simple to mention but far from being 

 satisfactorily provided even in some of the 

 better laboratories. 



Some further conditions confronting the 

 biologist in the smaller laboratory may be 

 summarized as follows: The task of providing 

 a set of slides satisfactory for illustrating the 

 organology and histology of the earthworm is 

 not so difficult a matter in itself but, when 

 taken in connection with the preparation of 

 many other needed series, it is obviously out 

 of the question that the work be done thor- 

 oughly well. The result is either equipment 

 good in quality but scanty in amount or, if 

 the supply be adequate, the quality is low. At 

 this point it is perhaps worthy of remark that 

 the provision of class and demonstration ma- 

 terials for the use of elementary students re- 

 quires a special talent of the preparator. The 

 lack of special scientific insight characteristic 



of the average student makes necessary prepa- 

 rations as plain as to detail as they are lack- 

 ing in special bias. 



As a possible method for providing some of 

 this equipment satisfactorily and from the 

 scientist's, rather than from the dealer's, point 

 of view it has many times occurred to us that 

 a system of mutual aid among a league of the 

 smaller laboratories might be established 

 which would not only furnish a system of ex- 

 changes of material valuable for teaching and 

 research purposes but which might also be 

 conducive to scientific and educational bene- 

 fits as well. The writer feels certain that 

 many of the difficulties outlined above would 

 be relieved by the method to be proposed, 

 which, briefly stated, is as follows: For each 

 of a number of laboratories to specialize upon 

 the preparation of a different element of 

 equipment as, for example, the culturing of 

 protozoa or algae, the collection and proper 

 preservation of certain other available mate- 

 rials and, in particular, the preparation of his- 

 tological or cytological slides high in value 

 for the demonstration of general principles. 

 A division of labor thus affected, special pains 

 might be taken for the collection, fixation and 

 staining of material of a definite sort in order 

 that the very best results might be secured 

 and in a field for which the special training 

 of the biologist or the special development of 

 his laboratory might reasonably be expected 

 to add value to the product. The method 

 once mastered the mechanical details of in- 

 definitely repeating the process and so provid- 

 ing a supply for others at work upon other 

 tasks might be carried on by almost any 

 undergraduate assistant. 



Concentration of effort upon a task of this 

 sort might easily result in a surprisingly high 

 quality of a certain preparation even from a 

 laboratory of small size and very modest 

 equipment, and conversely the returns from 

 the establishment of the system in benefits 

 from other institutions might safely be de- 

 pended upon to steadily affect a marked im- 

 provement in the quality of the courses 

 offered. 



Geographical advantages might also be de- 



