No. 373-] EDITORIAL. 51 
May it not be possible to regard the earth and its inhabitants as 
a unit? Then the problem would be to describe the various parts 
of this unit and to explain their relations to one another. While 
the solution of this problem is too vast an undertaking for any one 
man or any generation of men, may it not be legitimate to adopt it 
as the final purpose of a journal which is intended to represent the 
great body of naturalists in this country? It seems to us that this is 
a legitimate ideal of attainment, and one which, if kept steadily in 
view by editors and contributors, will afford that unity of purpose 
which is essential to success. 
But in order to be truly representative and to attain the highest 
success, we need the cooperation of every naturalist in America. 
We are glad of your subscriptions, but we especially desire your 
contributions. To every one who has anything interesting to say 
we extend a cordial invitation to use our columns. If the editors 
are allowed to choose from the best that is produced, they will find 
no difficulty in issuing a magazine that Americans may be proud to 
call the American Naturalist. 
