a! ae 
y 
304 
at a stated hour to receive books returned, and 
restore the receipts for them: until the card is 
returned to its signer, he is responsible for the 
book. This system of almost absolute freedom 
in taking books from the library is still on its 
trial: it has now been in practice for four 
months, and with the best results. Those who 
desire to take books home appreciate the trust 
reposed in them, and also the convenience to 
them of the present plan, and are anxious to 
secure its continuance. 
The principle on which the library is man- 
aged, of inviting students to co-operate with 
the administrative officers in making it possible 
to allow the freest use of all books in it com- 
patible with their safety, has been extended to 
the instruments in the various rooms for ad- 
vanced work. On admission, each man has as- 
signed to him a microscope, microtome, other 
histological appliances, and such chemical glass- 
ware as he is pretty certain to need. For these 
he signs a receipt, undertaking to restore the 
articles in good order on demand, or pay a 
specified sum forthem. Glass slides and covers 
are purchased in quantity, and supplied by the 
janitor at cost. Other glassware, only occa- 
sionally needed, is supplied to any member of 
the laboratory on requisition, the recipient sign- 
ing an agreement to return or pay for it. With 
these exceptions, free use of all instruments re- 
quired for such work as he has been permitted 
to undertake is allowed to every student, on 
condition that upon removing any piece of 
apparatus from its drawer or cupboard he shall 
leave in its place a card bearing his name. 
The only alternative, of course, is to lock 
every case, and only issue apparatus on formal 
application to a special officer. The men are 
on their honor, and also know, that, if instru- 
ments cannot be traced, the present system 
must cease. Hitherto the endeavor to secure 
their aid in carrying out this plan of making 
all the apparatus accessible with the minimum 
of trouble or delay, has had most satisfactory 
results ; largely, no doubt, owing to the fact 
that the majority of the students are graduates 
old enough to have a sense of responsibility, 
and to influence the younger men. Once a 
month one of the fellows, or graduate scholars, 
examines the instrument cupboards in each 
room, compares their contents with the inven- 
tory, notes what piece of apparatus has been 
taken and who has taken it. If any instru- 
ment is not accounted for, he posts a notice 
asking who has it. During the past four 
months the latter proceeding has been neces- 
sary only three or four times, when students 
had, in the hurry and excitement of an experi- 
SCIENCE. 
[Vor. III., No. 59. 
ment, forgotten to write the required receipt: 
in every such case the delinquent has at once 
come to apologize and explain. What may be 
called the ‘ permanent’ apparatus in the labo- 
ratory, as distinguished from glass tubing and 
other perishable ‘ current’ apparatus renewed 
yearly, has cost more than ten thousand dol- 
lars: about fifteen hundred dollars are annually 
provided for repairing and adding to it. Dur- 
ing the current year another five hundred dol- 
lars has been placed at the disposal of Dr. 
Stanley Hall for the purchase or construction 
of apparatus for psycho-physiological teaching 
and research. ‘This stock of instruments is so. 
valuable, and in many cases so easily injured, 
that a longer trial will, of course, be necessary, 
before it can be decided whether the present 
system of leaving every thing unlocked, and 
trusting students to leave an acknowledgment 
for such instruments as they take, can be con- 
tinued without undue risk of loss or injury by ~ 
carelessness for which no one can be found re- 
sponsible. ; 
The work for which the laboratory has been 
planned and built was stated in Professor Mar- 
tin’s lecture, published in our issues of Jan. 18 
and 25. Briefly, it is the training of beginners 
in biology in the fundamental properties of liv- 
ing matter, and the structural and physiological 
characteristics of the chief groups of plants 
and animals; in co-operation with the seaside 
laboratory of the university, to afford oppor- 
tunities for advanced study and research in 
animal morphology and embryology ; and, ulti- 
mately, similar opportunities for advanced stu- 
dents of botany. In addition, very special 
attention has been given to providing facilities | 
for class-instruction, advanced study and re- 
search in animal physiology and histology, and 
opportunity for such senior students as intend 
to become physicians to learn the methods of 
experimental pathological and therapeutical 
research, so far as they can be carried on in 
a laboratory. It is hoped that in this way 
the biological laboratory may prepare annually 
some students to enter special laboratories of 
pathological or pharmacological research more 
immediately connected with a medical school. 
SOME PECULIARITIES OF PLANT- 
GROWTH. 
Tue following cases are here placed on rec- 
ord as affording interesting instances, not only 
of the ability of plant-tissues to repair injury, 
but of the enormous power exerted by vege- 
‘table structure during the process of develop- 
ment. 
