Colleges no less than persons have their peculiarities and special
characteristics. Its very situation made it almost certain that at
Williams much attention would be given to the natural sciences. With
mountains and meadows on every side inviting their exploration, it was
almost a matter of course that much attention should be given to
botanical studies, and that the new sciences of chemistry and geology
should meet a hearty welcome. This was made the more certain by the
special qualification of the teachers of these sciences. Professor Dewey
was distinguished by his lectures and experiments in natural philosophy
and chemistry. Professor Eaton early gave lectures in mineralogy,
geology, and botany. He was a pioneer in these departments of science,
and an enthusiast whose spirit easily kindled a like spirit in others.
To pursue his favorite studies he had forsaken the profession of law. It
was his custom to take his classes into the fields and woods and there
interrogate Nature. Emmons, the younger Hopkins, Tenney, and Chadbourne
were teachers of similar spirit. Aided by the instruction of such men
the natural sciences have been studied with a zeal which has become
traditional at Williams. As evidence and result of this, a Lyceum of
Natural History has been established and maintained for many years by
the students, and has become a fixed institution. The Society has a
substantial brick building on the college campus containing a valuable
collection of specimens in the various departments of natural history,
and a hall in which the Society holds regular meetings for the reading
of papers and the discussion of questions relating to natural science.
The students have been encouraged also to pursue their researches at a
distance from the college, and various expeditions have been undertaken
for this purpose. The long summer vacations have frequently been
profitably spent in this way. In company with a professor of the
college, as their guide and helper, the members of the Society have
prosecuted their researches southward to the Gulf, and as far north as
Greenland. The college has now a table in the building of the United
States Fish Commission at Wood's Holl, on the southern coast of
Massachusetts, where the students have the opportunity, every summer, of
prosecuting their biological studies.
[Illustration: MORGAN HALL.]
[Illustration: From HARPER'S MAGAZINE. Copyright, 1881, by HARPER &
BROTHERS.