Le Naturaliste Canadien
Encyclopedia
Le Naturaliste Canadien is a Canadian
French-language
peer-reviewed
scientific journal
published semiannually by the Société Léon-Provancher d'Histoire Naturelle du Canada. The journal publishes articles on all topics of natural science
s with a specific focus on ecology
and conservation biology
in Quebec
. The journal also acts as the official publication of the society. The journal is the oldest scientific publication in French in North America and one of the oldest scientific journals still in publication in Canada.
, an important figure in Quebec
's scientific history. It was aimed to be an organ for the diffusion of scientific findings and vulgarization:
For all his life, Provancher would remain the owner and editor of the journal, as well as its main contributor, although a number of other prominent naturalists of the time also published in it: Dominique-Napoléon Saint-Cyr
, Charles-Eusèbe Dionne
(who also for a time edited a concurrent journal), François-Xavier Bélanger
, Joseph-Alexandre Crevier
, James MacPherson Le Moine
and Jean-Baptiste Meilleur
amongst others. Their combined contribution amount to less than a hundred pages; Provancher providing the vast majority of the journal's content, over 6,000 pages' worth. While many articles treated scientific topics, Provancher also wrote essays on related topics such as public education, the establishment of museums, and a botanical garden
project in Quebec City
. Soon after it was launched, having reached 500 subscription (a rather high rate when 50% of the population couldn't sign their name), it received a government grant to help with publication.
During this whole period, Provancher maintained an overall anti-evolution
ist (particularly anti-Lamarckian) stance; for example, he published several virulent attack on evolution from François-Xavier Burque. However, the naturalist still got into disagreements with the more extreme elements of Quebec ultramontane
s over some theological points. A polemist at heart, he had a particularly violent dispute with journalist Jules-Paul Tardivel
, in which he was defended by Burque, and his University and Archdiocese
. In another instance, he called Lamarckism a theory "serving the self-pride of materialist
French politicians, Bert
, Hugo [probably referring to both Victor Hugo
and his sons], Ferry
, Goblet
, and Clémenceau
." He also launched a crusade in the journal's pages against another journal, the Journal des Campagnes, an agricultural magazine published by the teachers at Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière over a perceived slight. This dispute degenerated to the point of involving MLA
s, minister
s, and finally the Archbishop of Quebec
, who chastised both journal editors.
Despite a number of interruptions, the monthly publication was relatively steady until 1879, when a series of ministers successively canceled and reestablished the grant Provancher depended on to publish his journal. After Provancher refused to retract an article criticizing Premier
Honoré Mercier
in 1890, the grant was definitively canceled and publication stopped with the May 1891 issue. At the time, Provancher was already sick, but kept hope of restarting publication, tasking his self-styled disciple Victor-Alphonse Huard
with it.
's government would be more open, Huard could not secure any grant until 1919, and published the journal himself with very little interruption from 1894 until his death in 1929. Under Huard, it became a more accessible journal devoted to vulgarization, and frequently included reports on curiosities and travel notes. Although neither as virulent nor uncompromising as his predecessor, he was always willing to publish attacks on evolutionary ideas.
While entomology
had a noticeable priority, like it did under Provancher, the journal, under the impetus of its many contributors, published on a much wider variety of topics including ichthyology
, geology
, anatomy
and microbiology
. Also published were articles of regional interests (e.g. "Salmon in Lac Saint-Jean", "Grape harvest in Chicoutimi", "The caterpillars of Saguenay"), reports on national and regional expositions, and various posthumous papers of Provancher that Huard discovered in the papers he recovered. Huard also published extracts of his books and his multi-part biography of Provancher. Before his death he bequeathed, as early as 1925, the journal to Laval University with the two conditions that the title not change, and it not be merged with another publication.
s in both English and French. It remained a monthly until 1942, when it became a bimonthly, then became a quarterly publication in 1976.
By 1991 dwindling numbers of submissions, increasing difficulties with respecting deadlines—several of the later issues were published with a year of delay—, new governmental policies for grants and other factors such as the increasing specialization of publications made discontinuation the obvious outcome. Issue 1 of volume 118 was the last of this run. In 1994 a new departmental journal, Écoscience was launched, edited by mostly the same team that had edited the previous journal. The University announced it would be willing to give out the Naturaliste if its original goals were to be perpetuated. The Société Léon-Provancher d'Histoire Naturelle du Canada and the university came to an agreement where the society would take over publication, the magazine replacing the Society's previous Euskarien.
Although the combined volumes have a single collation
, Provancher, Huard's and Laval's runs are often treated as first, second and third series respectively, with Huard's and Laval's series having collations of their own. This additional collation was abandoned at Laval in 1942. The journal now publishes papers and observations on ecology
and conservation biology
in Quebec, as well as the Society's own news, notably about Basque
history in the province—the Society owns and manages the Île aux Basques archeological site and bird sanctuary. It is a semiannual publication and as of 2007 was indexed by Repères, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts
, and The Zoological Record
. The journal has an unusual policy on reprinting: much like the Creative Commons
attribution license, articles may be reprinted in all or part as long as the source is mentioned.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
French-language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
published semiannually by the Société Léon-Provancher d'Histoire Naturelle du Canada. The journal publishes articles on all topics of natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
s with a specific focus on ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
and conservation biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. The journal also acts as the official publication of the society. The journal is the oldest scientific publication in French in North America and one of the oldest scientific journals still in publication in Canada.
Foundation by Provancher
The Naturaliste Canadien was launched in 1868 by Léon Abel ProvancherLéon Abel Provancher
Léon Abel Provancher was a Canadian Catholic parish priest and naturalist. He studied at the College and Seminary of Nicolet, and was ordained 12 September 1844.-Life:He organized two pilgrimages to Jerusalem, one of which he conducted in person...
, an important figure in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's scientific history. It was aimed to be an organ for the diffusion of scientific findings and vulgarization:
For all his life, Provancher would remain the owner and editor of the journal, as well as its main contributor, although a number of other prominent naturalists of the time also published in it: Dominique-Napoléon Saint-Cyr
Dominique-Napoléon Saint-Cyr
Dominique-Napoléon Saint-Cyr was a politician in Quebec, Canada and a two-term Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec .-Early life:He was born on August 4, 1826 in Nicolet, Centre-du-Québec and was an educator.-Political career:...
, Charles-Eusèbe Dionne
Charles-Eusèbe Dionne
Charles-Eusèbe Dionne , also known as Charles Eusebe or C. E. Dionne, was a French Canadian naturalist and taxidermist. He is considered the first professional French Canadian ornithologist...
(who also for a time edited a concurrent journal), François-Xavier Bélanger
François-Xavier Bélanger
François-Xavier Bélanger was a French-Canadian naturalist and museum curator. An autodidact like many naturalists of the time, he specialized in the study of Microlepidoptera...
, Joseph-Alexandre Crevier
Joseph-Alexandre Crevier
Joseph-Alexandre Crevier was a French-Canadian doctor who discovered the microbial transmission of cholera as well as a powerful remedy. He was also a naturalist.-References:**...
, James MacPherson Le Moine
James MacPherson Le Moine
Sir James MacPherson Le Moine was a Canadian author and barrister.He was involved with the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, helping in the development of their natural history museum, and later serving as president in 1871, 1879-1882, and 1902-1903.From 1894 to 1895, he was the president...
and Jean-Baptiste Meilleur
Jean-Baptiste Meilleur
Jean-Baptiste Meilleur was a doctor, educator and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born at Petite-Côte in Saint-Laurent, Lower Canada on the Island of Montreal in 1796, the son of Jean Meilleur, and studied at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal and an English school in Montreal...
amongst others. Their combined contribution amount to less than a hundred pages; Provancher providing the vast majority of the journal's content, over 6,000 pages' worth. While many articles treated scientific topics, Provancher also wrote essays on related topics such as public education, the establishment of museums, and a botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
project in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. Soon after it was launched, having reached 500 subscription (a rather high rate when 50% of the population couldn't sign their name), it received a government grant to help with publication.
During this whole period, Provancher maintained an overall anti-evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ist (particularly anti-Lamarckian) stance; for example, he published several virulent attack on evolution from François-Xavier Burque. However, the naturalist still got into disagreements with the more extreme elements of Quebec ultramontane
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a religious philosophy within the Roman Catholic community that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope...
s over some theological points. A polemist at heart, he had a particularly violent dispute with journalist Jules-Paul Tardivel
Jules-Paul Tardivel
Jules-Paul Tardivel was an American–Québécois writer and a significant promoter of Quebec nationalism....
, in which he was defended by Burque, and his University and Archdiocese
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec
The Archdiocese of Québec is the oldest Catholic see in the New World north of Mexico. The archdiocese was founded as the Apostolic Vicariate of New France in 1658 and was elevated to a Diocese in 1674 and an Archdiocese in 1819...
. In another instance, he called Lamarckism a theory "serving the self-pride of materialist
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
French politicians, Bert
Paul Bert
Paul Bert was a French zoologist, physiologist and politician. He is sometimes given the sobriquet "Father of Aviation Medicine".-Life:Bert was born at Auxerre...
, Hugo [probably referring to both Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
and his sons], Ferry
Jules Ferry
Jules François Camille Ferry was a French statesman and republican. He was a promoter of laicism and colonial expansion.- Early life :Born in Saint-Dié, in the Vosges département, France, he studied law, and was called to the bar at Paris in 1854, but soon went into politics, contributing to...
, Goblet
René Goblet
René Goblet was a French politician, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1886–1887.He was born at Aire-sur-la-Lys, Pas-de-Calais and was trained in law. Under the Second Empire, he helped found a Liberal journal, Le Progrès de la Somme, and in July 1871 he was sent by the département of the...
, and Clémenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
." He also launched a crusade in the journal's pages against another journal, the Journal des Campagnes, an agricultural magazine published by the teachers at Collège de Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière over a perceived slight. This dispute degenerated to the point of involving MLA
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...
s, minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
s, and finally the Archbishop of Quebec
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec
The Archdiocese of Québec is the oldest Catholic see in the New World north of Mexico. The archdiocese was founded as the Apostolic Vicariate of New France in 1658 and was elevated to a Diocese in 1674 and an Archdiocese in 1819...
, who chastised both journal editors.
Despite a number of interruptions, the monthly publication was relatively steady until 1879, when a series of ministers successively canceled and reestablished the grant Provancher depended on to publish his journal. After Provancher refused to retract an article criticizing Premier
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
Honoré Mercier
Honoré Mercier
Honoré Mercier was a lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the ninth Premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887 to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Liberal Party ....
in 1890, the grant was definitively canceled and publication stopped with the May 1891 issue. At the time, Provancher was already sick, but kept hope of restarting publication, tasking his self-styled disciple Victor-Alphonse Huard
Victor-Alphonse Huard
Victor-Alphonse Huard was a French-Canadian churchman, naturalist, writer and editor. He was a popular educator and promoter of the natural sciences, although his anti-evolutionist stance garnered him criticism both in Quebec and elsewhere...
with it.
Huard's continuation
Despite Provancher's hopes that Charles Boucher de BouchervilleCharles Boucher de Boucherville
Sir Charles-Eugène-Napoléon Boucher de Boucherville, KCMG was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He twice served as the third Premier of Quebec....
's government would be more open, Huard could not secure any grant until 1919, and published the journal himself with very little interruption from 1894 until his death in 1929. Under Huard, it became a more accessible journal devoted to vulgarization, and frequently included reports on curiosities and travel notes. Although neither as virulent nor uncompromising as his predecessor, he was always willing to publish attacks on evolutionary ideas.
While entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
had a noticeable priority, like it did under Provancher, the journal, under the impetus of its many contributors, published on a much wider variety of topics including ichthyology
Ichthyology
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. This includes skeletal fish , cartilaginous fish , and jawless fish...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
and microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
. Also published were articles of regional interests (e.g. "Salmon in Lac Saint-Jean", "Grape harvest in Chicoutimi", "The caterpillars of Saguenay"), reports on national and regional expositions, and various posthumous papers of Provancher that Huard discovered in the papers he recovered. Huard also published extracts of his books and his multi-part biography of Provancher. Before his death he bequeathed, as early as 1925, the journal to Laval University with the two conditions that the title not change, and it not be merged with another publication.
Laval and modern incarnations
The University took over the journal and its publication (which was also for a time the official publication of the newly founded Linnean Society of Quebec) from 1930 onward, making it the official publications of the department of biology. The format and editorial policies—only original material—were revised, attracting criticism from both its original public and the scientific community as the editorial committee attempted to satisfy both. As early as 1931 it was one of the most circulated French-Canadian publications, its 600 copies going to individuals and institutions in 18 countries, but changes in leadership and editorial problems left the journal wobbly until the 60s. With the subtitle "revue d'écology et de systématique" ("journal of ecology and systematics"), a clearer policy and a proper peer review system, the magazine acquired an unprecedented circulation, and was published in French with abstractAbstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
s in both English and French. It remained a monthly until 1942, when it became a bimonthly, then became a quarterly publication in 1976.
By 1991 dwindling numbers of submissions, increasing difficulties with respecting deadlines—several of the later issues were published with a year of delay—, new governmental policies for grants and other factors such as the increasing specialization of publications made discontinuation the obvious outcome. Issue 1 of volume 118 was the last of this run. In 1994 a new departmental journal, Écoscience was launched, edited by mostly the same team that had edited the previous journal. The University announced it would be willing to give out the Naturaliste if its original goals were to be perpetuated. The Société Léon-Provancher d'Histoire Naturelle du Canada and the university came to an agreement where the society would take over publication, the magazine replacing the Society's previous Euskarien.
Although the combined volumes have a single collation
Collation
Collation is the assembly of written information into a standard order. One common type of collation is called alphabetization, though collation is not limited to ordering letters of the alphabet...
, Provancher, Huard's and Laval's runs are often treated as first, second and third series respectively, with Huard's and Laval's series having collations of their own. This additional collation was abandoned at Laval in 1942. The journal now publishes papers and observations on ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
and conservation biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
in Quebec, as well as the Society's own news, notably about Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
history in the province—the Society owns and manages the Île aux Basques archeological site and bird sanctuary. It is a semiannual publication and as of 2007 was indexed by Repères, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts
CSA (database company)
CSA Illumina is a provider of online databases, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is now a division of ProQuest, which in turn is now a subsidiary of the Cambridge Information Group...
, and The Zoological Record
The Zoological Record
The Zoological Record is a print and electronic index of zoological literature that also serves as the unofficial register of scientific names in zoology....
. The journal has an unusual policy on reprinting: much like the Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
attribution license, articles may be reprinted in all or part as long as the source is mentioned.