DEMONSTRATION MATERIAL IN GEOLOGY 57 



of the older school, think that demonstration material, in general, should 

 be used infrequently ; physiographers, as a rule, incline to the belief that, 

 aside from maps and lantern slides, little is needed. 



The importance of field-work as compared with other kinds of instruc- 

 tion was repeatedly pointed out. The opinion of an eminent field geol- 

 ogist on the relative value of lectures, demonstration material, and field- 

 work is worthy of earnest consideration. He writes : 



"It was not until Lawson came to the University of California and organized 

 field excursions on Saturdays that I became really interested in the subject. 

 Le Conte's lectures, admirable as they were, would never have made me a 

 geologist. Therefore I believe that the committee might well concern itself 

 primarily with field instruction in geology. Here, of course, some colleges are, 

 by situation, far superior to others. The problem is to make the most of the 

 surroundings and to arouse interest in the geological processes and results 

 that are at hand." 



Apparatus 

 general discussion 



By demonstration, or illustrative material, is meant apparatus, geolog- 

 ical models, relief maps, topographic maps, lantern slides, and moving- 

 pictures of animated block diagrams. 



The committee endeavored to learn what apparatus is in use in North 

 America, but no especial effort was made to discover what is employed in 

 Europe. It also urged geologists to indicate what apparatus, if any, 

 should be constructed. In asking these questions the committee did not 

 mean to imply, as the writers of some letters understood, that apparatus 

 is as important as, or more important than, good teaching. For example, 

 one man says : 



"I do not believe geology is to be advanced primarily by apparatus of any 

 kind, useful as apparatus is." 



If by the use of apparatus it is possible to impart knowledge more 

 effectively than in any other way, apparatus should be used, and for this 

 reason attention was directed to the subject. 



Arthur L. Day, of the Geophysical Laboratory, writes : 



"Judging by the inquiries which frequently come to us, [geological appa- 

 ratus] ... is frequently in demand, and, if properly advertised, would find 

 as ready and general a market as physical apparatus does among universities. 

 What is needed is not plaster models of formations, but rather models repre- 

 senting the action of formative processes." 



Prof. W. M. Davis, however, while appreciating the value of apparatus. 



