July 24, 1003.] 



SCIENCE. 



119 



shows specimens, or at least pictures, charts 

 and diagrams, performs experiments, if neces- 

 sary, and directs the discussion. 



III. The instructor prepares a list of books 

 or papers which all relate to the same subject, 

 and which he wishes to discuss with his stu- 

 dents. He announces, say, a seminar on Dar- 

 winism, and either asks the members to report 

 on some books of Darwin's, Wallace's, Hiick- 

 €l's, Romanes's, Weismann's, etc., or gives 

 them some of the modern pamphlets dealing 

 with evolution, heredity, variation, etc., for 

 instance, Weismann's ' Germinal Selection,' 

 Gotte's 'Ileredity and Adaptation,' Pfoffer's 

 ^ Transformation of Species,' some of Karl 

 Pearson's papers, Cunningham-Weldon's con- 

 troversy, some of Davenport's papers, etc. 



rV. The instructor announces a seminar, 

 say, on evolution. He makes out a list of 

 ■topics relating to this special subject in such 

 a way that they all together will more or less 

 exhaust it. Such a list would be, for in- 

 stance : Classification of organisms before and 

 after Darwin. Geological and geographical 

 distribution of plants and animals. Australia. 

 Lamarck, Darwin, Wallace. Fertilization. 

 Heredity. Variation. Species. Anthropoid 

 apes. Pithecanthropus and the Engis, Spy 

 and Neanderthal, !Mentone and Cro-magnon 

 skeletons. La Madelaine, Hallstadt, La Tene. 

 Lake-dwellings, ancient and modern. Human 

 races. Each member chooses one topic and 

 makes himself acquainted with the main lit- 

 erature, prepares demonstrations and experi- 

 ments, procures pictures and diagrams and 

 works out a little lecture to be given before 

 the seminar. > 



It is also a good idea to have these lectures 

 written in the form of little essays which cir- 

 culate among the members of the seminar after 

 tlie lectures have been delivered and are, with 

 tlieir remarks on the margin, finally handed 

 in to the instructor. In a later session the 

 latter returns them and gives his criticisms 

 both of the paper and the annotations. 



V. In the same way, of course, a number 

 of unconnected topics may be chosen. The 

 instructor may want to have certain subjects 

 brought up ui)on wliich the general interest 



happens to be focused, or he may have dis- 

 covered certain deficiencies in the studies of 

 his students which they would be thus obliged 

 to make up. The same method will enable 

 him also to complement, as it were, his lec- 

 tures and laboratory courses by treating cer- 

 tain topics a little more fully than he can 

 afford in his regular course. 



VI. So far the teaching or imparting of 

 knowledge has been in the foreground ; but 

 still another idea can be accepted as the lead- 

 ing principle: thinking, which leads to re- 

 search. In other words, all the steps may be 

 gone through which have led to some impor- 

 tant discovery, or the history of a problem 

 may be followed up to its latest aspects. Here, 

 of course, the original papers will have to be 

 used to a much larger extent, and especially 

 all the pros and cons will have to be brought 

 out. We may take, for instance, all the dif- 

 ferent steps which finally have led to the dis- 

 covery of the c.vcles of the parasites of malaria. 

 (Laveran, Golgi, Labbe, MacCallum, Ross, 

 Grassi, Ziemann, Koch, Grass! and others.) 

 Or, taking fertilization, we might have: The 

 old spermatists and ovulists, Schwann's work 

 on the cells, Leuckart's article on reproduc- 

 tion; Darwin, Weismann; Flemming, Van 

 Ecnedon. Fol. Carnoy; Biitschli, O. Hortwig, 

 Conklin, ^Nfark, Wilson; Riickert. Hacker; 

 l^fevcs; Eovcri ; Loeb,« Morgan, Wilson; ^Nfau- 

 pas and R. Hertwig; Calkins. 



VIT. The method can also be used in labo- 

 ratory studies, each member making a certain 

 prenaration, constructing a certain apparatus, 

 making a diaernm or chart, etc. In this way 

 two birds, or three, might be killed with one 

 stone; the member in charge is obliged to 

 study and acquire a certain skill and cer- 

 tain methods to do his part as well as pos- 

 sible; the other members get the benefit of 

 the demonstration, and the laboratory finally 

 acquires for its collection some dissection, 

 microscopic preparation, some piece of ap- 

 paratus, a chart, some lantern-slides, etc. 



VTII. A plan may be adopted which 

 amounts to cooperation. In this wa.v a 

 resume of a certain question may be given, 

 for instance, a paper on the present aspect of 



