66 SPECIALIZATION IN NATURAL SCIENCE. 



begin our season with the full equipment of a completed 

 building, a museum of very creditable proportions, fur- 

 nished with many instructive specimens, and a sufficient 

 endowment from our generous founder to keep us from 

 the "carking cares" of debt. It is now an excellent 

 time for those here, who have any scientific tastes, and 

 are willing to give some time to science, to take a new 

 start in some special scientific work. It is especially an 

 appropriate time for the young people of Poughkeepsie 

 to start out on scientific careers, with the prospect of 

 many days and years in which to learn to do accurate 

 and noble work. I am very desirous of seeing such an 

 uprising of scientific spirit among our young people, to 

 which they may contribute a jDortion of that time which 

 they now give, probably, in some excess, to athletic 

 games. Were I a young man, and I feel as if I were, I 

 would much prefer to acquire some of my athletic power 

 in rambles and climbs of investigation, that would give 

 me a growth of scientific strength, as well as of bodily 

 strength, year by year. But I must also urge those in 

 middle life, or even on its down-hill side, to feel encour- 

 aged to take up some scientific specialty, confident of at 

 least a fair measure of success, and at any rate of much 

 mental up-building and enjoyment, if they take hold 

 with zeal. Instances have not been rare of much effect- 

 ive scientific work begun and carried on entirely in the 

 later periods of a long life. I have personal knowledge 

 of one, who, though a clergyman, in active charge of a 

 parish, has recently acquired an honorable reputation 

 as a scientific specialist ; yet he did not apply himself 

 to these scientific studies until after the period of gray 

 hairs. And this is a good place to say that the work of 

 an unscientific profession need not necessarily prevent 

 your doing good scientific work. One of the most emi- 

 nent paleontologists in the United States is a lawyer in 

 practice ; quite a number of physicians, and not a few 



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