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SCIENCE 



[Vol. XXI. No. 543 



methods of biologic research ; he needs practical training in sys- 

 tematic and faunal zoology and botany with special reference to 

 the extent of individual variation in species, the modification of 

 species by food and environment, and the nature and constancy 

 of specific characters in different groups ; he should have the bene- 

 fit of lectures on the principles of biology and on the geographic 

 distribution of life; and be should be taught to work out for him- 

 self the relationships and probable genetic affinities of the mem- 

 bers of a few well-selected genera in different groups. 



The teacher and professional student who aspire to tread the 

 higher paths of biology are unworthy of their chosen field unless 

 they possess a broad and comprehensive grasp of the phenomena 

 of living things — a grasp that comes only after years of patient 

 study and personal familiarity with animals or plants. Perhaps 

 the true explanation of much of the prevalent kind of biology 

 may be found in the circumstance that a considerable proportion 

 of our teachers are the output of a few institutions in which their 

 studies have been guided by section cutters and physiologists. 

 They are well trained in methods of research in limited fields, 

 which training may be acquired in the brief space of three or four 

 years, but are ill fitted to impart a knowledge of the leading facts 

 and principles of biology, or of the kind of biology likely to prove 

 most useful to the average student. 



Some of our universities encourage and support the most ab- 

 struse and recondite investigations in the field of pure science, 

 without regard to an economic outcome — for which they deserve 

 the greatest credit — but such studies are rarely suited to the re- 

 quirements of the ordinary college curriculum. On the contrary, 

 the tendency of the times in matters of instruction is to render 

 undergraduate courses more practical, so that the knowledge 

 acquired may be useful in after life. With this end in view, it 

 may not be amiss to inquire how the kind of biology now com- 

 monly taught compares with systematic and faunal zoology and 

 botany? Will anyone attempt to maintain that 10 per cent of 

 the present teaching is of any value in after life, except to the 

 specialist, or that more than one per cent of the students taught 

 biology become specialists ? It seems clear, from the standpoint 

 of availability in the ordinary walks of life, tbat the prevalent 

 kind of biology teaching is a failure. Systematic and faunal 

 Ztology and botany, on the other hand, while fully equal to the 

 branches now taught as a means of mental discipline, have in 

 addition an economic value, and are sources of permanent interest 

 and happiness to the majority of mankind. Huxley, in one of bis 

 early public lectures, said : " To a person uninstructed in natm-al 

 history, his country or sea-side stroll is a walk through a gallery 

 filled with wonderful works of art, nine-tenths of which have 

 their faces turned to the wall. Teach him something of natural 

 history, and you place in his hands a catalogue of those which are 

 worth turning round. Surely our innocent pleasures are not so 

 abundant in this life that we can afford to despise this or any 

 other source of them " ("Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews," 

 London, 1870, pp. 91-92). Not only are excursions into the coun- 

 try or to the sea thus made more enjoyable, and the tedious delays 

 at the railway station converted into sources of entertainment 

 and profit, but even much of the drudgery and routine of every- 

 day life may be turned to good account. Instead of the mental 

 stagnation that naturally follows the automatic performance of a 

 monotonous daily task, there is an incentive to observation that 

 stimulates the intellect and results in the agreeable acquisition 

 of knowledge. In short, acquaintance with our common animals 

 and plants appeals to an inherent desire to know more of nature 

 in the aspects commonly presented to our senses ; it increases the 

 joys and lightens the burdens of life ; it promotes the healthy ex- 

 pansion of the intellect and the development of the nobler im- 

 pulses and sentiments, making better men and better women. 



Another argument in favor of a knowledge of systematic and 

 faunal zoology and botany is that it largely increases the amateur 

 element in science and brings the great mass of the intelligent 

 public nearer the technical specialist, thus creating that interest 

 in and appreciation of scientific research that leads to liberal en- 

 dowment. The kind of biology now taught in most of our edu- 

 cational institutions has the opposite effect, tending to deepen 

 the chasm between the people and the specialist. So long as an 



unfathonable abyss separates science from the intelligent citizen, 

 just so long may the specialist expect to lack the earnest support 

 on which his success so much depends. 



The study of systematic and faunal zoology and botany may 

 seem superfluous to the physiologist, histologist and technical 

 specialist who are content to contribute their mite to the general 

 fund —a not unworthy ambition — but to those who aspire to 

 solve the problems and master the principals of biology a broader 

 view is necessary — a view that can come only to those who pos- 

 sess an intimate personal acquaintance with the interrelations of 

 living species and the nature and extent, of their modifications — 

 for how is it possible to form a clear conception of the operations 

 of natural selection, of the effects of environment on species, of 

 the transmission of acquired characters, of special adaptations, 

 fortuitous variations and so on, without first knowing something 

 of the species themselves ? It is true that a few section-cutting 

 physiologists, possessed of speculative minds, have ventured to 

 enter the domain of philosophic biology, but it would be ungra- 

 cious to contrast their productions with those of such naturalists 

 as Humboldt, Darwin, Huxley, Wallace, Haeckel, Agassiz, Hyatt, 

 Cope, Dall, Allen or Ward. 



In order to avoid the possibility of being misunderstood, I wish 

 to reiterate what has been already said in substance, namely, that 

 while the present paper is intended as a plea for systematic biol- 

 ogy, no complaint is made against the proportionate teaching of 

 physiology, histology, and embryology, but only against the ex- 

 clusive or disproportionate teaching of these branches, as if they 

 comprised the whole of biology. And it may be added for the 

 benefit of those who insist that the term biology should be re- 

 stricted to the phenomena of life rather than the phenomena of 

 living things, that, while unqualifiedly opposed to this narrow 

 view, my present purpose is not to discuss the meaning of words, 

 but to show the necessity of i-emodelling the current one-sided 

 courses of instruction by the addition of systematic and faunal 

 zoology and botany, with a view to the development of a broad 

 and comprehensive school of biology, worthy of the age in which 

 we live. 



In my judgment, university training in biology should com- 

 prise : 



1. Elementary instruction in general biology, including cell 

 structure and the structure of the less complex tissues of animals 

 and plants. This involves laboratory work with the microscope 

 and insures the necessary knowledge of microscopic teehnic. 



2. Lectures on morphology, taxonomy, and the relationships 

 of the major groups of animals and plants, both living and fossil, 

 supplemented by laboratory work which should be restricted to 

 the study of types and should keep pace with the lectures, if pos- 

 sible. 



3. Systematic work inwidely separated groujjs. This work must 

 be done in the museum or laboratory, and may be supplemented 

 by lectures. It should include the higher vertebrates as well as 

 invertebrates and plants. In the case of advanced, students, 

 original work should be encouraged, particularly revisions of 

 genera. 



4. Faunal work, consisting of the study of the life of limited 

 areas. Care should be taken to avoid too comprehensive an un- 

 dertaking; and the groups chosen for study should be selected, 

 as a rule, with reference to the literature or specimens available 

 for comparison. The necessary field-work, if impracticable 

 during the college year, may be done in vacation. Whenever 

 possible, field excursions should be made at frequent intervals 

 during the college year, under competent supervision. 



5. Lectures on the distribution of life. In time, paleontolog- 

 ic distribution ; in space, geographic distribution. These lectures 

 should be illustrated by maps, diagrams, and specimens. Access 

 to zoological and botanical gardens and museums is of the utmost 

 importance. 



6. Lectures on the principles and philosophy of biology, compris- 

 ing evolution, heredity, migrations, special adaptations, and so on. 



Botany and zoology should be taught separately under the 

 second and third headings, and together under the first, fifth and 

 sixth. Under the fourth heading they might be taught either 

 separately or together, as most convenient. 



