SUGGESTED SYLLABUS FOR COURSE IN BIOLOGY BEGINNING IN FEBRUARY AND ENDING THE NEXT JANUARY 411 HYGIENE OUTLINE 415 WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND TEMPERATURES 417 SUGGESTIONS FOR LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 418 INDEX 419 A CIVIC BIOLOGY I. THE GENERAL PROBLEM--SOME REASONS FOR THE STUDY OF BIOLOGY What is Biology?--_Biology is the study of living beings, both plant and animal._ Inasmuch as man is an animal, the study of biology includes the study of man in his relations to the plants and the animals which surround him. Most important of all is that branch of biology which treats of the mechanism we call the human body,--of its parts and their uses, and its repair. This subject we call _human physiology_. Why study Biology?--Although biology is a very modern science, it has found its way into most high schools; and an increasingly large number of girls and boys are yearly engaged in its study. These questions might well be asked by any of the students: Why do I take up the study of biology? Of what practical value is it to me? Besides the discipline it gives me, is there anything that I can take away which will help me in my future life? Human Physiology.--The answer to this question is plain. If the study of biology will give us a better understanding of our own bodies and their care, then it certainly is of use to us. That phase of biology known as _physiology_ deals with the uses of the parts of a plant or animal; human physiology and hygiene deal with the uses and care of the parts of the human animal. The prevention of sickness is due in a large part to the study of hygiene. It is estimated that over twenty-five per cent of the deaths that occur yearly in this country could be averted if _all_ people lived in a hygienic manner. In its application to the lives of each of us, as a member of our family, as a member of the school we attend, and as a future citizen, a knowledge of hygiene is of the greatest importance.