Catholic Central High School - Banner Yearbook (Fort Madison, IA)

Page 96 text:

B OLOGY WHY BIOLOGY SHOULD BE STUDIED IN THE HIGH SCHOOL One may wonder of what value the study of Biology is to the high-school boy or girl. Since Biology is a study of all living things, it treats of the structure of plants and animals and gives special attention to their relation to man's com- fort and happiness. There are thousands of varieties of plants, from the gi- gantic trees of the forests to the tiny mass of plants we call mold. All these have a very delicate and a highly specialized structure. Green plants furnish us with clothing, trees can be made into lumber. Of course, there are also many harmful plants such as the weeds of the garden which check the growth of the vegetables, the brush in the pasture lands, and the dense thickets which prevent sunlight from reaching young trees and other plants in the woodlands. These harmful plants might be destroyed if everyone would join in the battle against them, by mowing them down before the seeds become ripe, by preventing the killing of useful birds, that eat weed-seeds, and by clearing brush from the woodlands. Now let us consider the animals. Of all the animals, the insects are the greatest in number of species. Pollination in many flowers and fruit trees could not be carried on without the aid of insects, especially the bee. This in- sect also makes honey which we use as food, and bees-wax which finds many uses. There are harmful insects too. The corn borer and the codling moth de- stroy hundreds of crops yearly, and the woolly aphis is a deadly pest to sheep growers. Insects are also spreaders of disease. The house-fly is a common NINETY-FOUR

Page 95 text:

IMPORTANCE OF CHEMISTRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL The question, Of what value is Chemistry to the high-school boy or girl is frequently asked and can be readily answered by naming and explaining its four objects: namely, a better appreciation of the student's environment, the securing of new knowledge which can be applied to various fields of human en- deavor, a training in scientific thinking, and the opening of a wealth of unsolv- ed problems of vast importance to human comfort and happiness. , pn As chemistry is a science which deals with changes in the composition of matter, the laboratory work itself is interesting. Then, too, the opportunity giv- en to the student to perform his own laboratory work, will develop his ability to question, will give accuracy to his observations and power to generalize the results of his experiments. He soon realizes that chemistry is fundamental to almost everything that composes his environment. His food, clothing, shelter, the warming of his home, the different implements used in his every-day life, are all based more or less upon chemical principles. - All the industries which transform raw materials into a finished product for human use, are essentially chemical industries. Perhaps the most important change taking place is within our bodies. Here we are scarcely conscious of the changes of food, of fats, starches, sugars, and proteins into living tissues and heat energyg yet it occurs. As all plants require nitrogen, the development of processes for making from the air nitrogen compounds. has been a chemical triumph of great bene- fit to the farmers who are now no longer dependent upon the nitrates of Chile and the potash deposits of Germany. Again, Cottrell has become the nation's benefactor by his work in connection with the Fixed Nitrogen Laboratory in Washington of which he is director, an important position both in peace and war. Dyes of the highest quality are now made in such quantity that we export to other countries after supplying our own needs. Again, it is the chemist who devised methods for preparing the various substances that are used for combat- ing disease, it is the chemist who has prepared the liquid motor fuels that have made possible the airplane, the motor boat and the automobile. The student must, in the study of chemistry, master certain fundamental laws and theories which will give him an appreciation and understanding of the ways by which true science develops. A new world is opened in the study and writing of the chemical symbols, formulae and equations. The modern theories of ionization and atomic structure, are essential for an adequate understanding of modern chemistery. Chemistry touches our lives in so many ways through its applications to industry, agriculture, home activities, medicine, warfare, and the enrichment of life in general, that to omit it from the curriculum would be to deprive the student of one of the most interesting and useful fields of human knowledge. -HELEN CAPWELL, '28. NINETY-THREE

Page 97 text:

carrier of all diseases, especially the typhoid fever germ. Th mosquitoes carry the germs of malaria and yellow fever. Thorough screening of houses is one of the easiest and most efficient ways of preventing these diseases. We now come to the study of birds. Birds are wholesale destroyers of weed-seeds and harmful insects. Many birds, especially those, of the larger groups, have beautiful plurnage which is used in decorations the world over. There are also song birds such as the beautiful canary, which is kept in captivity precisely on account of its wonderful song. One of the most peculiar and most interesting traits of birds is their migration habit. Sometimes birds fly great distances with incredible speed. Man has domesticated some birds, which we call chickens, turkeys, and geese. The flesh of these is used as meat, their eggs as food, and their feathers for pillows, etc. Better citizens are the result of the study of Biology, because by the study of Physiology, which is included in Biology, they learn to control their environment more easily. In order to have health the rules of sanitation and of hygiene are studied. They learn to respect the advice of the municipal health agencies and municipal quarantinesg they realize the need of a pure water supply, of proper sewerage, proper supervision of the milk supply, and the necessity of the best care of other foods. Biology also teaches the value of the conservation of natural resources, such as the forests. Much inspiration is given through the study of the work of scientists who have been the world's greatest benefactors. Some worthy of mention are: Pasteur, Darwin, Meudell, Burbank, and Harvey. All new discoveries have been made by men and women who were once just boys and girls as we are, with possibly no notion of the way in which they' were to help to make this world a better place to live in. Everyone of us is anxious to do some little thing to improve the conditions under which people live. There is still much to be learned about the relation of plants and animals to man, and some of us should prepare ourselves to take a part in this great work. -CHARLES DE COURSEY, '3o. A CLOUD I saw this cloud hov'ring so low, It seems as though it'd almost mow A slim white mast Athe wind did guide. And some times seemed almost to hide The stern deep lines of the straight bow. It dipped across the landscape so It seemed to rule the waves in tow. And then again in swiftest stride, I saw this cloud. It stretched across like darkened floe And seemed like icy breath to blow. Onward it went and seemed to glide Until it reached the heavens wide. I saw this cloud. -ROSE GOCKEL, '25. NINETY-FIVE