172 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XXI. No 530 



In America three expedients have been employed in the ac- 

 comodation of the new subjects in the four years' college course. 

 At first they were treated as "extras."' Later they were admitted 

 on terms of equality with the languages and mathematics, and 

 all suffered some abatement in extent and thoroughness, it being 

 held that elementary knowledge of all was more valuable for the 

 purposes of a liberal education than extended knowledge of the 

 remainder in case of the omission of science. The third expedient 

 is as yet new, but has more than approved itself as the only one 

 that can meet the conditions. I refer, of course, to the elective 

 system. It is liable to abuse, perhaps it has been abused; but, 

 under carefully weighed restrictions, it adds greatly to the cul- 

 ture-power of any curriculum. The disadvantages of the rigid 

 curriculum are too apparent for statement. How many men 

 have not achieved distinction in spite of the inflexible grind of the 

 old college mill. On the other hand, how many single-gifted 

 men have not been headed off and imprisoned in the unvarying 

 meshes of collegiate requirements. Emerson speaks somewhere 

 of "those classes whose minds have not been subdued by school 

 education." 



2. Closely associated with the relaxation of the rigidity of the 

 form of education is the new conception of educational values 

 that has resulted from the introduction of science instruction. 

 The study of antiquity has lost somewhat of its prestige as a prep- 

 aration for the life of to-day. But if the Greek and Roman life 

 and literatures have lost their supremacy in general, they have 

 not lost their disciplinary and quickening power for a certain 

 order of minds. And to erect a scientific curriculum which 

 should rigidly exclude these, as I believe Mr. Spencer proposed, 

 would be a blunder only less disastrous than the reorganization 

 of their old monopoly which was disintegrated by scicDce. 



3. I now mention last the catalytic force of science in the curri- 

 culum. Its presence has wrought the rejuvenation of the older 

 subjects by supplying the illustration of a new and contagious 

 method. They have acquired a new point of view, and in their 

 treatment the emphasis is not now where it once was. They are 

 immensely the gainers in educational value and in vitality. The 

 ease and promptness with which they have responded to this 

 scientific influence is the best guarantee of their permanence in 

 the scheme of culture. The "new psychology." the "new 

 political economy," and the "new history" may be mentioned 

 as illustrations of this transformation. The Latin and Greek 

 languages are no longer an end in themselves, but merely a 

 means to the reproduction of the wonderful thought and life of 

 the Latin and Greek peoples. Even theology, which, according 

 to Macaulay, is the most rigid and unprogi'essive of all the sys- 

 tems of human thought, is showing signs nf movement in response 

 to the influence of the natural sciences — in particular, of 

 biology. 



THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY. 

 SEASON, 1893. 



-SIXTH 



In addition to the regular courses of instruction in zoology, 

 botany, embryology, physiology, and microscopical technique, 

 consisting of lectures and laboratory work under the constant 

 supervision of the instructors, there will be a number of lectures 

 on special subjects, by members of the staff. A course of lec- 

 tures in Embryology will be given by Professor Whitman; on the 

 Morphology of the Vertebrate Head, by Dr. Ayers; and two or 

 more courses in Invertebrate Zoology, by Drs. Bumpus, McMur- 

 rich, Rankin, and Morgan. There will also be ten or more even- 

 ing lectures on biological subjects of general interest. Among 

 those who may contribute these lectures may be mentioned, in 

 addition to the instructors above named, the following: Drs. E. 

 A. Andrews, Johns Hopkins University ; Howard Ayers of the 

 Allis Lake Laboratory; Professors W. G. Farlow, Harvard Uni- 

 versity; William Libby, Jr., Princeton College; J. M. MacFatlane, 

 University of Pennsylvania; C. S. Minot, Harvard Medical 

 School; E. S. Morse, Salem; H. F. Osborn, Columbia College; 

 John A. Ryder, University of Pennsylvania; W. T. Sedgwick, 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology; E. B. Wilson, Columbia 

 College. 



The Laboratory is located on the coast at Wood's Holl, Mass., 

 near the laboratories of the United States Fish Commission. 

 The building consists of two stories, and has 33 private labora- 

 tories for investigators and 5 general laboratories — two for be- 

 ginners in investigation in zoology, one for teachers and students 

 receiving instruction in zoology, one for botany, and one for 

 physiology. The Laboratory has aquaria supplied with running 

 sea-water, boats, a steam launch, collecting apparatus, and 

 dredges; it is also supplied with reagents, glassware, and a lim- 

 ited number of microtomes and microscopes. No alcohol can be 

 supplied beyond what is required for work in the laboratory. 



By the munificence of friends the library will be provided not 

 only with the ordinary text books and works of reference, but 

 also with the more important journals of zoology and botany, 

 some of them in complete series. 



The Laboratories for Investigators will be open from June 1 to 

 Aug. 30. They will be equipped with aquaria, glassware, re- 

 agents, etc., bid microscopes will not be provided. In this depart- 

 ment there are 33 private laboratories for the exclusive use of 

 Investigators. 



Those who are prepared to begin original work under the 

 guidance of instructors will occupy tables in the general labora- 

 tories for investigators, paying for the privilege a fee of fifty 

 dollars. The number of such tables is limited to 20. 



An elementary course in vertebrate embryology will be intro- 

 duced this season, designed to meet the needs of thofe who have 

 completed the general courses in the Students' Laboratory. The 

 study will be confin( d mainly to the fish egg as the best type for 

 elucidating vertebrate development. Each member of the class 

 will be supplied with material and be expected to work out each 

 step in the development from the moment of fecundation. The 

 aim will be not only to masfer the details of development but 

 also to acquire a thorough knowledge of the methods of work. 

 Methods of preparing surface views, imbedding in paraffin and 

 celloidin, various methods of staining and mounting, drawing, 

 reconstruction, modelling, etc. The course will thus combine 

 just what is needed as a preparation for investigation. 



This course will open Wednesday, July 5, and continue six 

 weeks, and it will be conducted by Mr. Lillie and Professor Whit- 

 man. The fee for this course will be fifty dollars, and the class 

 be limited to ten. 



Applicants should state what they have done in preparation for 

 such a course, and whether they can bring a complete outfit, 

 viz., a compound microscope, a dissecting microscope (thfe Paul 

 Mayer pattern made by Zeiss is the best), camera-lucida, micro- 

 tome, etc. In case these instruments are furnished by the 

 Laboratory, an additional fee of ten dollars will be charged there- 

 for. No applications for less than the whole course will be 

 granted. 



The Zoological Laboratory for teachers and students will be 

 opened on Wednesday, July 5, for regular courses of six weeks 

 in zoology and microscopical technique. The number admitted 

 to this department will be limited to fifty, and preference will he 

 given to teachers and others already qualified. By permission of 

 the director and by the payment of additional fees, students may 

 begin their individual work as early as June 15, but the regular 

 instruction will not begin before July 5. 



Though more advanced students who may wish to limit their 

 work to special groups will have an opportunity to do so, the 

 regular course in zoology, in charge of Professor Bumpus, will 

 embrace a study of the more typical marine forms and elementar-y 

 methods of microscopical technique. The laboratory work, out- 

 lined below, will be accompanied by lectures. 



July 5-8. Study of the Lobster. (General anatomy — methot's 

 of injecting — preparation of histological material.) July 11-15. 

 Coelenterates {Campanularia , Tubularia, Metridiv.m, Mnemeop- 

 sis). July 17-22. Vermes {Nereis. Balanoglossus, and Phasco- 

 losoma. Polyzoa, Bdelloura). July 24-29. Echinoderms (Asterias, 

 Arbacia, Echinarachnius, Thyone); llollusks (Venus, Syeotypus, 

 Loligo). July 31-Aug. 5. Crustaceans {Branchipus, Pandanis, 

 Lepas, Idotea, Talorchestia, Cancer, Linndus). Aug. 7-15. Ver- 

 tebrates (Amphioxus, Raja, Teleost). 



The tuition fee is thirty-five dollars, payable in advance. Ap- 



