158 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XX. No. 502 



University of Notre Dame, and others, who have assisted mate- 

 rially, to the advantage of the school, by numerous lectures, given 

 partly to the students alone and partly to public audiences. 



The need of a summer school of biology in the vicinity of New 

 York and Brooklyn has been felt for some time. There are many 

 teachers and students who are on the look-out for methods of 

 passing the summer vacation, which will be at the same time 

 pleasant and profitable. To those interested in natural history 

 science, a summer laboratory of biology offers such an opportunity. 

 The success of the Biological Laboratory at Wood's HoU, and the 

 increasing demand upon its space, have demonstrated the need of 

 other schools of similar character. Moreover, the purpose of the 

 Wood's Holl school of attracting biological investigators, has 

 pointed out the need of a special school of instruction. The Bio- 

 logical Laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor has therefore been de- 

 signed to fill a somewhat different need than that of the Wood's 

 Holl Station. It is designed primarily as a .school of instruction 

 in zoology and botany, and not as a special laboratory for investi- 

 gation, or as a technical school, and is also intended for students 

 rather than for investigators. 



Students of biology who make use of our marine laboratories, 

 may be divided into three classes: 1. General students, who. 

 having little or no experience with living animals and plants, de- 

 sire a general course in zoology and botany. This class would 

 include medical students, who find biological study of great value 

 as bearing upon the study of medicine, and who find no time for 

 such work during the school year. 2. College students and others, 

 who, having had a general course in zoology and botany, desire 

 to do miscellaneous work of a higher character, or to study em- 

 bryology from the practical side. 3. Those who desire to under- 

 take original research, either independently or with special 

 guidance. Most of the marine laboratories on our coast have 

 been designed primarily for the third class, although other students 

 are welcomed in some of them. 



It has been the design of the school at Cold Spring Harbor to 

 plan its course especially for the first two classes. Every year is 

 seeing a growing demand for the teaching of natural history in 

 our public schools, and the teacher who is in especial demand is 

 the one who has had practical knowledge of his subjects rather 

 than simple book-knowledge. The need of summer schools, 

 where our teachers can gain this familiarity with nature, and at 

 the same time pass a pleasant vacation, is becoming more and 

 more felt. The increasing popularity of summer schools voices 

 this demand. The public-school teacher, who wishes to take a 

 prominent part in the better type of teaching which is rapidly 

 forcing its way into our schools, is beginning to feel the need of 

 practical work; and a. few years hence those teachers who have 

 made use of summer schools of practical experiment will be found 

 holding the best positions. The school at Cold Spring Harbor 

 has been designed primarily to meet this demand, and it pur- 

 poses to offer to all wishing to take good positions in our schools 

 a chance to so familiarize themselves with living things as to make 

 their teaching active and vital instead of mere text-book instruc- 

 tion. 



For this purpose an elementary course in zoology is arranged, 

 lasting six weeks. During the present summer this course has 

 been given by Professors Herbert W. Conn, Charles W. Hargitt, 

 and H. L. Osborn. It has consisted of daily lectures describing 

 animal types and giving information in regard to different zoologi- 

 cal topics. The lectures have been followed by laboratory work 

 upon the types described, either by microscopic study or with 

 dissecting instruments. The practical laboratory work is per- 

 sonally directed by the instructor in charge. The course of six 

 weeks thus directed gives a survey of all of the chief types of 

 animals, and, when accompanied by collecting and by such other 

 miscellaneous study as is sure to be suggested by the exigencies 

 of collecting excursions, gives the student a practical knowledge 

 of animals and life which he could not get by a much longer 

 cour^ of study away from the sea-shore. The general course thus 

 given is an elementary one, but at the same time many advanced 

 students find it worth while to follow the course partly as a re- 

 view, but more especially as a means of studying fresh specimens 

 of types which are familiar to them only from text-book descrip- 



tions. Either the whole or parts of this course are, therefore, 

 taken by nearly all the students in the Laboratory. 



To add to the value of the Laboratory in general instruction, a 

 course of scientific lectures is given during the summer by well- 

 known scientists from various institutions of learning. These 

 are given in a lecture-hall near the Laboratory and are illustrated 

 by lantern views. During the present summer there have been 

 fifteen lectures in this course upon various subjects connected 

 with geology, zoology, and botany. The lecturers have been 

 Professor Herbert W. Conn, Ph.D., Professor Charles W. Hargitt, 

 Professor H. L Osborn, Professor Henry F. Osborn of Columbia 

 College, Dr. Thomas Morong of Columbia College, Professor 

 Franklin W. Hooper of Brooklyn Institute, and Professors John 

 B. Smith, Byron D. Halstead, and Julius Nelson of Rutgers Col- 

 lege. These lectures, though of a high order, are not technical, 

 and are enjoyed by all the students. It is expected next year to 

 add a course in botany of a somewhat similar nature to that in 

 zoology for the benefit of those desiring summer work in this 

 subject. 



For students who have taken the elementary course or its 

 equivalent and desire more advanced work, no definite line of 

 instruction is laid out, but each student's work is planned for 

 himself. It may be that he wishes to study embryology ; he is 

 then set at work upon the development of some animal, and 

 shown how to study its various stages and interpret their mean- 

 ing, and taught how to preserve specimens for future study. It 

 may be some special group of animals which he desires to study ; 

 then the collecting apparatus is put into use to provide him with 

 as large a variety of the group in question as is furnished by the 

 region. It may be microscopic anatomy that he desires ; then he 

 is given practical instruction in tissue preservation, section cut- 

 ting, and staining. But, whatever the line of work such student 

 may choose, it may be independently planned for him, and its 

 chief aim must be in all cases to teach methods of work. For 

 college students who have studied under constant minute direc- 

 tion, this somewhat greater freedom of work with living speci- 

 mens, rapidly developes independence of thought and accuracy of 

 observation, and is of the utuaost value as training for future 

 work. 



A special line of work in bacteriological methods has been of- 

 fered during the last two years. This line of work has no special 

 relation to a marine laboratory, but there are many students, 

 especially among medical schools, who desire to learn methods of 

 bacteriological work, and find no time for it in their regular 

 course. For this purpose practical instruction in making culture 

 fluids and cultures, in separating and determining species of bac- 

 teria, is given. A course of twelve lectures upon the history of 

 bacteriology has been given by Professor Conn, during the present 

 summer. The lectures were delivered before the whole Labora- 

 tory, and those who wished have taken the practical work of 

 making cultures and the study of the bacteria in water and milk, 

 with other simple elementary bacteriological problems. 



Thus it will be seen that the school at Cold Spring Harbor is 

 especially intended for those desiring instruction and facilities 

 for acquiring practical knowledge of biology. But its plans do 

 not end here. Hitherto it has not been able to offer special in- 

 ducements to those desiring to undertake original research; yet 

 several investigators have been engaged in such work during the 

 last two summers, and it is the design of the management to offer 

 such opportunities as fast as facilities admit and occasion de- 

 mands. The new Laboratory in contemplation will contain pri- 

 vate rooms for research, and will be especially fitted up with ref- 

 erence to this work. Every endeavor will be made to meet the 

 needs of those who desire to use the Laboratory as a place of re- 

 search. The Laboratory aims first, however, at being an institu- 

 tion of biological instruction and to allow other lines of work to 

 grow as occasion demands. 



The session of the Laboratory lasts eight weeks, during the 

 months of July and August. The regular course of lectures occu- 

 pies the first six weeks, the last two weeks being reserved for re- 

 views and special independent work by the students. The tuition 

 fee for the general course is $30; for the whole session, $25. 

 Board is furnished at $5 per week and rooms can be obtained at a 



