Excerpt from Introduction to Elementary Practical Biology: A Laboratory Guide for High-School and College Students For the purpose of developing in the student the power of independent observation, to teach him that the source of all knowledge is not the book rather than the specimen, that there is a great deal to be seen besides that which the book describes, and that he is not to consider that, though his observations may not agree with those of the book, the latter must, necessarily, be right-these are the reasons why this guide has been written. The guide consists essentially of questions on the gross and minute structure and on the physiology of a series of common animals and plants which are typical of their kind - questions which can be answered only by actual examination of the specimen or by perform ance of the experiment. Directions are given for the collection of specimens, for their preservation, and for preparing them for examination, also for performing simple physiological experiments. Particular species are not required, as the questions usually apply equally well to several related forms. The material of which the guide is composed has been gradually accumulated during an experience of nearly seven years of teaching high-school and college classes, consisting of students of both sexes and of ages vary ing from fourteen to fifty years. With the exception of a few additions made while preparing the manual for printing, all of the work herein detailed has been per formed by college students, and a very large part by students in the second year of their high-school course. Although it is thought that the topics are so arranged and the questions so worded that any one of average intelligence can study any or all of the organisms given, still it is not intended that the guide shall supersede the instructor, but, rather, aid him. The student will always require the advice and suggestions of his teach er, who will need to point out many of the structures which here are only named, and which it would be im possible to describe so that the student could find them for himself, without defeating the very object which the guide seeks to attain. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.