Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, Vol. 13: January to December, 1901 (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

James William Tutt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1332124607 ISBN 13: 9781332124602

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2019

Synopsis

Excerpt from Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, Vol. 13: January to December, 1901

Now comparisons are proverbially odious, and we suggest that the Century number of this magazine will definitely Show whether or not our conclusions are just. We take it that the series of articles in this number represent fairly the views of the more advanced students in each branch, the writers having been asked to give a brief summary of what they considered the most marked factors Of progress in their own special line of study during the century. The results will, we doubt not, be as interesting to our readers as to ourselves.

In conclusion there are one or two points we should like to urge with regard to the future Of entomological science in this country. We shall all, probably, be agreed that the failing points of scientific progress may be marked as (1) An accumulation of wasted effort in collecting material. (2) Want of initiative in striking out new lines of work. (8) Want Of perseverance in following up certain definite lines of experiment and Observation. (4) Ignorance of work already done. (5) Inability to recognise the requirements of modern science in methods Of work. These are SO self-evident that there is no need to waste Space in discussing them, and one can only look forward to a time when the conditions Of modern life, which are all in favour just now of the sciences which are purely utilitarian, shall not act against the true scientific enquirer, but put him in the same satisfactory position for real scientific work, as that in which they at present place his more fortunate brethren, the students of chemistry and physics.

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.

About this title

Product Description

Excerpt from Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, Vol. 13: January to December, 1901 It has occurred to us that the end of the nineteenth century was a very fit and proper time to give a brief review of the entomological work that has been done during the past hundred years, and for this purpose we have asked some of our leading working entomologists to contribute a short article on what each considered the more important factors of progress in his own particular line of study. To our request we have had a generous response, and this number is the result. In order to recognise the progress made in entomological science during the century, it is necessary to consider what goes to the making of entomological science, and even a superficial consideration will show that the work comprised falls pretty clearly into the following lines: (1) The alphabet work of describing and naming the material with which one has to deal. (2) The study of the material with a view to its proper genealogical arrangement. (3) The accumulation of facts by experiment and observation. (4) The collection of isolated facts into systematic order and the deduction of sound generalisations relating to the phenomena of life from these facts. The intelligent observer and the capable reasoner are undoubtedly the two factors that make most for the advancement of science; the proper arrangement and classification of the facts observed and the clear setting forth of the conclusions reached, may then be added. There can be no doubt, whatever, that the progress of systematic work will be the feature by which the nineteenth century will be specially known to future generations of naturalists. In 1758 the known number of lepidoptera in the world was 535, by the end of the last century it had reached 2100, i.e., just about the number of species now known to inhabit the British Islands; at the present time the number of described species of lepidoptera can be little short of 80,000, and the work in

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1332124607
• ISBN 13: 9781332124602
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 438