In his installation address Vice-President Keefe made reference to the great multitude of organizations to be found in the modern college, and proceeded to a discussion of the distinctive features of Phi Sigma by virtue of which the organization of this new society is justified. "There is need", said he "in Lawrence and in every other college, for scholastic organizations which will successfully and permanently keep before the eyes of their members the ideals to which their scholastic lives are dedicated.

"Absorption, after the manner of the sponge, is not the ideal of true education. That ideal, rather, is progressive, productive, creative.

"And between these two ideals of education there is a wide gap. The one is personal, the other is social. The one is selfish, the other is generous. The one is easy, the other is difficult. Absorptive study, it is true, may involve a love for knowledge. But productive scholarship, the pushing back of the walls of ignorance, requires for its foundation a galling discipline of body, mind, and spirit; the cultivation of methodical habits of work; and much sacrifice of pleasure, comfort, and freedom.

"And here is where Phi Sigma comes into the campus picture, for Phi Sigma is not merely a social or honor society. Recognizing these features, it seeks to relegate them to their proper place in college life, and cultivate in its members a willingness to undergo the continuous and galling restraints of the scientific method. This it will do in your frequent meetings, in which you will seek to acquaint yourselves with the progress of biological science and to discuss its problems with intelligence.

"No matter what may be the ends to which you devote your lives, Phi Sigma has something to offer you which perhaps no other campus association can afford. You are to look upon your key not as a badge of honor or recognition, but as a reminder of your responsibility as a student, and your obligation, whatever may be your walk in life, to maintain in yourself the curiosity, the inquisitiveness, the tenacity, the open-mindedness and the unselfish disinterestedness of a true man of science."

In response, Mr. Carl Hoffman, President of the newly installed Chapter, spoke in part as follows:

"Doctor Keefe, in behalf of the Biology Club of Lawrence College, now Alpha Delta Chapter of Phi Sigma Society, I want to tell you that we very much appreciate the recognition that has been accorded to us by the National Society. We feel that the aims and ideals of Phi Sigma as set forth in its Constitution are identical with those toward which our Chapter has been working for the seventeen years of its existence, and it was on account of this fact that we made bold to petition for a charter.

"In behalf of the Chapter I want to make this pledge to you, and to all the other chapters of Phi Sigma, that we will sincerely and earnestly devote

!

ourselves to the quest for Knowledge, and love of Truth, and the cultivation of the Spirit of Science.

"And, Doctor Keefe, we want you to know that we are not unmindful of all that you have done for us in bringing our petition to the favorable attention of the National Society, and we are not unaware that it is largely as a result of the influence you have exercised in our behalf that this recognition has come to us. We shall always think of you with gratitude. We hope we may hear and see you often. We shall look upon you as the godfather and the Father Confessor of our Chapter, and shall claim the privilege now enjoyed by many under your more immediate supervision of addressing you as Father Keefe."

• Installation of ALPHA EPSILON Chapter

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.

This evening has been a wonderful success for us here at Pittsburgh. It marks the greatest step ever taken by the biological group. This is the first National Biological Society to come on the campus and in this knowledge we know that it surely will hold a big place in our institution.

The installation went off beautifully with Professor R. D. Fox, of the University of Akron at the helm. We were presented with a gavel by Eta Chapter. This gavel has historical significance in that it was made from one of the old research tables of the University of Akron and has had many noteworthy pieces of research accomplished over it.

The installation took place in the Lecture Hall of the Section of Education of the Carnegie Museum. Dr. O. E. Jennings, one of our faculty members and an honorary member of the chapter of Phi Sigma at Washington and Jefferson (Nu) is the curator of this section. After a five course banquet in the Museum Cafeteria, the following speakers were called on: O. E. Jennings (head of the Botany Department, curator of education and curator of botany at the Carnegie Museum), Dr. J. L. Cartledge (instructor of botany, also Treasurer of the local Chapter), Dr. J. C. Donaldson (professor of anatomy who took the place of Dr. Davenport Hooker, head of the Anatomy Department), Dr. R. T. Hance (head of the Zoology Department), and myself, President of the local Chapter.

Everything went off beautifully and all of the students were impressed with the importance of the task that they have taken on their shoulders. We are all very happy as it is a real victory for the students of this university.

STANLEY T. BROOKS, Carnegie Museum.

BIOLOGICAL TRAINING AND THE
PRINTED PAGE

By M. C. Merrill, Editorial Chief of Publications,
United States Department of Agriculture.

Have you ever wondered what in the world the writer of a biological article was driving at? You have probably been attracted to the article by its title. You eagerly pounce upon it for suggestions or information that will help you in your work. But after the first few pages of expectant travel you begin to doubt or wonder or query. Your soul is not being satisfied, and yet duty and conscience force you on to the bitter end. At length you are disgusted and disappointed, mostly with yourself. Your inferiority complex grows. Are you dull or just plain dumb? Perhaps this is an off night or you are tired. Tomorrow you will "get" the author the first time. But will you? ̧ That depends not only on you but on the article.

It is possible that the article is all right and is fulfilling its full functionthat of providing information for the few whose background enables them to understand it. You know, there is a disturbing number of papers of that type in modern biological literature. And the number seems to be threateningly increasing. But with that class of papers you will probably have no just complaint if they are well written, provided in wading into them you do not get beyond your depth. They will remain as beacon lights for the specialized few.

But it is also possible that the article is very faulty. It may be one that you can consider justly irritating, for it is within your range and yet is all bound up in confusion. The author's thought seems befuddled; there is neither rhyme nor reason to the arrangement; many of his awkward statements say one thing when you are sure he must mean another; and you are positively aghast at the conclusions he derives from his data.

Just as there are teachers of science in our institutions who pooh-pooh the idea of the student of science taking any courses in the method or technic of teaching on the ground that subject matter is both all important and all inclusive so there are research workers who regard instruction in the technic of writing as a childish waste of time. And the student who is doing his own thinking as he traverses the established route through college is usually made painfully aware of the result of these viewpoints in the teaching and the scientific literature to which he is exposed.

Of course there are teachers of science who have native teaching ability and teach mighty well; there are likewise research workers whose writings are unusually clear, logical, and effective. If one has the gift of undoubted writing ability bestowed upon him by nature he should be thoroughly grateful. To him

this present paper will not apply, and if he reads it he can do so with self-congratulation.

But how about the great mass of students who are not so endowed? The majority take rank in that comfortable group that is neither brilliant nor stupid. For them the road to unusual accomplishment lies over the stony route of struggle. They must plod and trudge and sweat.

If the student of biology is planning a career in research, or even if his research is to be only a side line, he should keep clearly in mind that the end product is the printed page, not the laboratory notebook. But the printed page imposes definite obligations which should be fairly and fearlessly faced. The principles of composition enter very positively into consideration. Such commonly disdained matters as grammar, spelling, and punctuation require a dusting off and brightening up for service. Oh yes, the writer may neglect these points as being entirely unworthy of the attention of a rising biologist, but he does so at his peril. If there is no merciful editor lying in wait somewhere along the line to knock the rough corners off the contribution, there will be sure to be some merciless reader who will take satanic delight in grinding the paper into meaningless pulp.

Unfortunately, in many of our institutions giving work in biology, and high-class work too, not enough emphasis is placed upon the end-product printed-page aspect of the student's scientific training. Courses in English, language, composition, and analysis of technical writing are under-stressed or not fully appreciated. It is assumed that if the student is deficient along these lines he will brush up on them independently, particularly when he gets into the graduate school or when he is ready to present his results in printed form. But the result of such expectation is likely to be disappointing. Postponement or neglect of adequate training in writing too often occurs. the discriminating scientific readers recognize the deficiency as soon as the printed page appears. Just as experimental work in agriculture by those lacking thorough training in the fundamental sciences is often characterized by inadequacies, so the writing of a biologist without appreciation of the art of writing carries the imprint of disappointing deficiency.

And

In this competitive age, however, the law of supply and demand is operating toward higher standards in technical writing. Editors of scientific publications have come on the stage, scientific journals are getting more discriminating regarding the character of the material accepted, and readers of experience in science are demanding greater care in the preparation of manuscripts. The young biologist who has a laudable ambition to make use of the printed page would therefore do well to scrutinize his ability and preparation for writing.

HOFF AND WEBBER

The first of their kind! Phi Sigma needs more Hoffs and Webbers.

Mr. Hebbel E. Hoff and Mr. Ebbe C. Hoff are charter members of Psi Chapter and are now at Exeter College, Oxford, England. They retain, at a considerable distance, a keen interest in Phi Sigma which other members nearer their old chapter might well develop. A reproduction of Hoff's check for a three years subscription to the Biologist is shown on this page.

Mr. George F. Webber a member of Zeta Chapter now at the Agricultural Experiment Station, Gainesville, Florida, is as unique as Mr. Hoff in that his is our first life subscription.

Life subscriptions show a real live interest in Phi Sigma.

We need more Webbers!