If you’re wondering how the zebra got its stripes, ask a freshman at the University of Maine. Since Stephen Jay Gould’s collection of natural history essays, “Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes,” has become a syllabus standard for students enrolled in freshmen composition, fledgling zoologists are evolving on campus.

The informative book, which has an entertaining approach to explaining the natural wonders of the world, is part of a four-year “class book” experiment intended to perk up the intellectual atmosphere on campus.

Designed by UM writing expert Harvey Kail, the project calls for each class, beginning with the class of 1996 and continuing in its initial phase through the next four years, to adopt a text to be assigned in composition courses.

Although required reading can often be the bane of young scholars, many have found — much to their surprise — that Gould’s work is stimulating.

“I’ve used the knowledge that I’ve gained from it in several different classes, in history and especially biology,” said 23-year-old freshman Kevin Simpson. “It’s funny because when we get into class, before the professor gets there, a lot of people say `If I have to read about worms or fish again, I’m going to be sick.’ They’re getting a little worn out on evolution. But as reading material, the book is very interesting. And when we get talking about it, some of the students’ responses are brilliant.”

The project began last spring, when Kail brought the class book proposal before the Academic Affairs Committee, of which he is a member, and found that his colleagues were gung-ho on the idea.

“We hope to establish a common intellectual ground among students and faculty, and lay a base to start a new intellectual tradition at the University of Maine,” said Kail, who is chairman of the English department.

The committee considered several books, including Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” Robert Pirsig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” and Milan Kundera’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being.”

But Gould’s 1983 book won out, precisely because essays such as “How the Zebra Gets Its Stripes” and “Hyena Myths and Realities,” are challenging and have such broad appeal.

The campus bookstore agreed to sell the book at cost, which is $4.80, and a copy was made available though the reserve desk at Fogler Library.

Although it has been used primarily as a discussion piece in composition courses, “Hen’s Teeth,” a bible among Darwinian evolutionary theorists, has also appeared in science courses, and as the topic of forums and lectures last semester.

Gould’s style, which has made him one of the leading writers in his field, combines major scientific theory with persuasive writing and a sense of humor. He generally begins with a non-scientific anecdote, such as a scene from an opera or speculations on the 10 plagues of Moses, and moves deftly to a biological topic.

Sometimes, Gould takes on topics that stretch the boundaries of biology, such as “Phyletic Size Decrease in Hershey Bars,” an essay about the diminishing size of Hershey bars since 1965.

“Consider the Hershey Bar,” writes Gould, “a most worthy standard bearer for the general phenomenon of phyletic size decrease in manufactured goods. It is the unadvertised symbol of American quality. It shares with Band-Aids, Kleenex, Jell-O and the Fridge that rare distinction of attaching its brand name to the generic product. It has also been shrinking fast.”

At the rate of shrinkage that Gould calculates in his clever article, Hershey should be introduing “the weightless bar” by 1998.

Although Gould has been been hailed for making science accessible to the average reader, his sophisticated vocabulary and thinking remain challenging for first-year college students.

Jennifer Pixley, a UM graduate student and teaching assistant in English, said “Hen’s Teeth” proved a difficult book for her composition students, who initially rejected the text as too difficult. Most had never encountered a book as complicated as Gould’s.

So Pixley required students to keep reading notes, analyze sentences, look up words, and paraphrase paragraphs.

“After we had done all of these things, they discovered they really did understand what he was talking about, and many of them really loved it,” said Pixley of her students.

“I’m pleased they chose it,” said Gould, professor and curator at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

Gould had heard of class books being used at small, liberal arts colleges, but agreed that the UM project is unique among universities. On March 25, he will visit campus and address the UM community.

Gould had no views on whether or not his book will increase the intellectual atmosphere at UM. But UM staff hopes the 34 sections of freshman composition this year will foster the class book idea and make it worth developing into a traditon.

Nominations for next year’s classbook are already being considered. Among the choices are “Preparing for the 21st Century,” by Paul Kennedy, “A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes,” by Stephen Hawking, “People’s History of the United States,” by Howard Zinn, and “Never Cry Wolf,” by Farley