The WMature-Btudent 
a fearful piece of mechanism. I appreciate that. But 
what is any system of nerves or muscles — mere 
dead dog — compared with the love and affection 
of the dog alive?” 
The professor was trying to make a biologist out 
of me. He had worked faithfully, but I had persisted 
in a very unscientific love for live dog. Not that I 
didn’t enjoy comparative anatomy, for I did. The 
problem of concrescence or differentiation in the 
cod’s egg also was intensely interesting to me. And 
so was the sight and the suggestion of the herring 
as they crowded up the run on their way to the 
spawning pond. The professor had lost patience. I 
don’t blame him. 
“Well,” he said, turning abruptly, “ you had better 
quit. Youll be only a biological fifth wheel.” 
I quit. Here on my table lies the scalpel. Since 
that day it has only sharpened lead pencils. 
Now a somewhat extensive acquaintance with sci- 
entific folk leads me to believe that the attitude of 
my professor toward the out-of-doors is not excep- 
tional. The love for nature is all moonshine, all 
maudlin sentiment. Even those like my professor, 
who have to do with out-of-door life and conditions, 
57 
