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SCIENCE. 



[X. S. Vol. XVI II. Xo. 447. 



better laboratory and library facilities, more 

 and better material to work with, and more 

 personal instruction is given here than in 

 Germany. The foreign methods — this may, 

 perhaps, be said in their favor — make stu- 

 dents more independent, because there are no 

 strict directions to be followed, no note-books 

 to be compiled. The professor gives you the 

 animal, tells you the literature, and leaves 

 you. You have to find out all about the 

 creature yourself, and when he comes back 

 you have to demonstrate to him what you 

 have found. If that is not enough, he simply 

 tells you that you have to keep on and he does 

 not allow you to pass on to anything else 

 until you have found and seen and drawn, 

 yourself, everything that you can be expected 

 to find. This method, of course, would not 

 work with large classes. It can be used over 

 there because the classes in zoology, botany 

 and so on are always small and, besides, the 

 students are more mature when they enter the 

 university. Each professor has his individual 

 laboratory method, which is just as good as 

 anybody else's and which he does not care to 

 publish. The general courses are always given 

 by the head professor, because he is expected 

 to have done so much special work that he is 

 able to generalize. Thus he develops his 

 methods from his special studies and carries 

 them out, or has them carried out by his as- 

 sistants. The younger ' doeents,' on the other 

 hand, give the advanced and special courses. 

 They begin with their own specialties, widen- 

 ing their programs gradually, and thus de- 

 velop special methods in their laboratory 

 courses in their turn. 



Where the classes are larger, and especially 

 in the beginners' courses, the methods are 

 often stricter and more school-like. In chem- 

 istry, physics, histology, etc., the methods are 

 similar to those used in this country. 



Let us see now what we may expect from a 

 seminar in zoology, and in how many different 

 ways it may be conducted. 



I. There is, first, the simple method of 

 reading a book with the students. This may 

 be used as an introduction for beginners. Let 

 us take, for instance, Darwin's ' Origin of 



Species.' The students read a chapter at 

 home; at the seminar, the chapter will be dis- 

 cussed and questions asked. The animals 

 mentioned by Darwin will be exhibited as 

 specimens or, at least, in good pictures. In 

 connection with these animals a great many 

 questions will come up, and the instructor may 

 ask a member to look up some special litera- 

 ture and report the next time. Of course the 

 instructor has his plan, which he follows, and 

 in harmony with which he directs all the 

 discussions. Here and there he will have to 

 interpret and show that certain views can not 

 be held any longer, or that some authority, 

 perhaps himself, does not agree with Darwin, 

 and why. Thus the students are given sev- 

 eral points of view on the subject and led to 

 independent thinking. 



In this way, without school-like recitations, 

 the whole book will be gone through. While, 

 in a course of lectures, the students will get 

 the general idea of evolution, the seminar will 

 show them how such an eminent investigator 

 as Darwin worked and reasoned, and will give 

 them a lot of detailed knowledge, and many 

 inspiring thoughts for their own work besides. 



II. Another seminar would be, for instance, 

 ' Darwin, His Life and Work.' The instructor 

 gives an outline of Darwin's life; each mem- 

 ber takes one book or certain chapters, reads 

 them and prepares a report for the meeting. 

 Discussions, explanations and demonstrations 

 follow. If the class is small, all of the nu- 

 merous books can not be read by the members, 

 and the instructor will have to pick out cer- 

 tain books or chapters which seem most im- 

 portant or interesting, and to give short re- 

 views of the others himself. 



There are a great many important books 

 and pamphlets about which a student of zool- 

 ogy ought to know something and which he 

 can not possibly read all by himself, especially 

 if they be written in a foreign language. 

 More than one book in German or French can 

 not be expected from a student per semester 

 or per year, but when each member of the 

 seminar reads one book, something can be 

 accomplished for the mutual benefit. The 

 instructor gives the necessary explanations. 



