NATURAL HISTORY 



INTRODUCTION 



ON SCIENTIFIC METHOD 



There are so many things to study in this world of ours, and 

 outside it too, that it is no easy task to draw up a complete list of 

 subjects. And supposing this done, it is a still harder task to 

 determine the connection between the various subjects. This is 

 not the place to attempt such a labour, and it will suffice for our 

 present purpose to point out that in universities and other seats 

 of learning it is customary to draw a distinction between " Arts " 

 and " Science " courses, though the boundary line is indefinite. 

 The Arts student is chiefly concerned with language, literature, 

 mathematics, and philosophy; while the Science student, as such, 

 is especially distinguished by the fact that he must work in the 

 laboratory as well as in the lecture-room, at chemistry, physics, 

 and biology, besides attending mathematical and, it may be, 

 philosophical classes. It will thus be seen that mathematics 

 and philosophy are considered common ground. 



As this book deals with a branch of science, it may be 

 well to enquire more particularly what " science " actually 

 is. And here we have to distinguish between " pure " and 

 "natural" science. "Pure" mathematics, the fringe of which 

 is touched by all of us when we study arithmetic, algebra, and 

 geometry, is an example of the former. It starts with certain 

 self-evident truths, and makes deductions from these. The 

 " natural " sciences, on the other hand, such as chemistry, 

 physics, and biology, involve the study of facts by observation 

 and experiment, these facts being afterwards used as a means 



.-Vol. I. 1 1 



