NOTES AND LITERATURE. 
GENERAL BIOLOGY. 
Lloyd and Bigelow’s Teaching of Biology.!— In the joint volume 
by Professors Lloyd and Bigelow, on the teaching of biology in the 
secondary schools, the first half of the book, under the sub-title 
“ The Teaching of Botany and Nature Study,” comprising some 320 
odd pages divided into ten chapters, is by Professor Lloyd. The 
style, while at times a little abrupt, is convincing and forceful, and 
much sound common sense is inculcated in this presentation of the 
subject. The introductory chapter is of the nature of a general 
exposition of the value of science in education and of the sciences 
the especial value of biology. The author brings out clearly the 
importance of biological training, not only from the facts which it 
' teaches, but also, what is more essential, the discipline which it affords. 
The nature study side of the question is first considered since that 
subject is first demanded in the schools at the present time. Here 
we find strong arguments for the necessity of intellectual honesty and 
against that curse of nature study, sentimentalism. The pitfalls 
which lie in the way of teachers, in the confusion of teleological and 
causal interpretations of organic structures, are dwelt upon. 
The subject of botany itself is begun in the following chapter and 
the various aspects of the subject developed in the subsequent ones. 
The greatest interest perhaps centers in the discussion of the differ- 
ent types of botanical courses. Every modern botanist must agree 
with the author in his advocacy of a dynamic point of view, rather 
than the formal morphological one which arises from a lack of a 
proper consideration of the physiological side of the subject. While 
the necessity of some study of types is recognized, very cogent and 
just criticisms are made of the extreme *type course," criticisms, 
indeed, which apply not only to biology as taught in schools, but 
also as taught in colleges. 
The starting point for a botanical course will always be a moot 
‘Lloyd, F. E. and Bigelow, M. E. Zhe Teaching of Biolegy im the Secondary 
Schools. New York, Longmans. 1904. American Teachers Series. dvo, 
Viii + 491 pp. 
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