226 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



the requisite knowledge and method. All intending to 

 become teachers are now required to attend courses of 

 instruction in botany and zoology. Most attend courses 

 specially designed to aid them as teachers. In Aberdeen 

 these classes are held during the summer session in the 

 university ; and a special aim is to urge on those attending 

 them to base their lessons to their pupils on the common 

 things of the district round the schools. That such instruc- 

 tion, by competent teachers, in the nature and structure of 

 familiar plants and animals will have a valuable result in 

 awakening the interest of children, and in training their 

 senses and hands as instruments towards acquiring informa- 

 tion, cannot be doubted ; though we can scarcely venture to 

 hope that all teachers will use the new methods successfully. 



A very valuable aid to teachers in this work would be 

 accurate notes and lists of the plants, animals, and other 

 natural products and of the physical features of their respective 

 districts. The preparation of such lists for the various 

 parishes would be very helpful to them, and would greatly 

 assist in the preparation of good lists for Scotland as a whole. 



At present the secondary stage of education is largely 

 dominated by the examinations for entrance to and bursaries 

 in the universities. As these examinations allow no value 

 for the training of the hands and senses, the secondary 

 schools naturally make little provision for such training, and 

 students pass from them often worse equipped on that side 

 than they entered them ; but in a few years probably this 

 will be more or less remedied, so as to make the course of 

 instruction from the elementary schools continuous through 

 the secondary schools to the universities. 



In conclusion, much yet remains to be done to advance 

 the study of the Scottish flora ; but the prospect is hopeful 

 of an advance more rapid in future than it has been in the 

 past. An advance should be made along many lines, most 

 of which require for their successful pursuit work both in the 

 field and at home. A knowledge of what has been accom- 

 plished in each elsewhere is most helpful in its study here, 

 and adds much to its interest ; while a comparison of the 

 results obtained here with those recorded from other coun- 

 tries adds greatly to the value of the work. 



