Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 33.djvu/386

372 upon any economic subject in his respective group. Limited space prevents the reproduction here of even a part of a single paper, thus prepared, although the desire is strong to do it. Some students exhibited much originality in grouping the most important facts and followed up the work until all the sources of information were exhausted. The views of different authors concerning the relative position and "naturalness" of the orders frequently came up, and many important points in systematic botany appeared for consideration.

Some teachers may think too much time was given to this library-work. Let it be kept in mind that at this same time the field-work upon the collection was being prosecuted. During the afternoon a student may have searched in the field and forest for living spicemensspecimens [sic], and the following evening hunted in the botanical alcove of the library for the facts concerning an economic topic, or collected notes for a paper upon a natural order. The work outside of the class-room and laboratory was a wholesome and healthful mixture of searching in the open air and among the library-books. The habit of looking up subjects in a list of authorities is exceedingly valuable, and one which many students, of themselves, never acquire. When at the same time they get information upon the most practical of subjects, a double purpose is served. A breadth of view of economic botany is thus obtained which does not come from conning a text-book or listening to a course of lectures.

Each student took full notes upon the orders as the papers were presented in class. At the close an examination was held, which consisted in writing upon six out of ten orders chosen by lot from the whole list. Each student, of course, omitted his own order if it chanced to be among those drawn.

In direct contrast with the work in the library was that upon the topics of research. These subjects were also given out at the beginning of the term, so that observations and experiments could be extended over fully three months of the growing season. This is the fourth branch of the term's work, and was designed to lead the students to become investigators in a small way, and learn to ask questions of and receive answers directly from Nature. How well this work was done can only be determined by a careful reading of the papers prepared under this head. It is impossible to more than indicate the results obtained. In the following notes the topics of research are given within quotation-marks: The student with "The Wild Plants of our (the college) Public Grounds" found one hundred and eight species in thirty-four orders. The paper gave the number in each order; those which were herbs, shrubs, or trees, etc. For example, there were twenty-seven compositæ, ten polygonaceæ, five cruciferæ, ten families with two