40 General Biology 



modern scientific study, and yet the student need but turn to the 

 glossary of this book, and go over the' names there given, to see that 

 ancient Greek is not only valuable, but essential ; for, practically every 

 name of plants and animals comes from the Greek, and unless the 

 meaning of the word itself is known, the entire subject-matter becomes 

 mere memory work. 



The reason each student must draw a picture of what he sees in 

 his laboratory experiment, is to force him to observe so well and so 

 accurately that he can make so accurate a drawing of a structure that 

 another may in turn recognize the object from the drawing. Drawing 

 a picture of what he sees also forces the student to keep the subject 

 in mind for a greater period of time than would otherwise be the case, 

 and gives him a definite graphic mental picture of what he has seen. 



A knowledge of English makes it possible for the student to present 

 a word-picture of the same matter that the drawing presents. 

 A description is, therefore, demanded of the student in addition to the 

 drawings, thus again causing him to call to mind all that he has seen 

 and noted. This not only means that the repetition will cause him to 

 remember the subject-matter the better, but it means that he learns to 

 do that particular thing upon which much of his future reputation as 

 a professional man depends, namely, to prove to others in clear and 

 telling language what he knows. 



The mere gathering of facts is of no more value than the mere 

 gathering of bricks. The important thing in science is to be able to 

 coordinate the facts one finds, and to read into these facts their real 

 meanings. Meanings, however, require the use of the intellect, and the 

 laws which govern the intellect are embodied in that branch of study 

 called philosophy. The most important philosophic studies for the 

 scientific student are logic, psychology, and ethics. 



Every valid conclusion which anyone may form must be built up 

 logically. Logic is merely the grammar of reason. In fact, every 

 diagnosis that a medical man makes, must be built entirely upon logic 

 if it is to be worth anything, or to stand the test of truth. 



The study of the way in which the mind works is called psychology, 

 and a man cannot intelligently study and clearly understand any of the 

 abnormal workings of the human mind, unless he first knows the normal. 

 He can know little about mental or nervous diseases unless he knows 

 the way in which the mind works when it is not diseased. In his study 

 of neurology the medical student follows the various nerve-tracts of the 

 brain and spinal cord, but he cannot understand the real meaning of 

 these nerve-tracts unless he knows the principles of psychology. He 

 will become a follower of fads and fancies while he misses the under- 

 lying truths and facts which the real scientific man should have. 



From the philosophical realm we obtain the validity of our ethics. 

 Ethics is the science of conduct. We know that holding an air-breathing 

 animal under water will drown it. And just as death to the animal 



