THE OR GA NIZA TIOA ' OF A NATL r RA L HIS TOR Y CLUB 217 



ticular department of natural history he should be given ample opportunity to 

 make reports at meetings. It is suggested that the son of a druggist might be 

 interested in giving accounts of medicinal herbs ; the son of a doctor in doing 

 likewise with bacterial diseases. A boy who is merely an out-and-out nature 

 lover may be encouraged to tell of the haunts and ways of wild animals, etc. 

 Any member especially interested in a certain line of work should be made 

 the club's representative to look after and be responsible for that department. 

 The success of the club depends largely on making use of all the native interest 

 found in the members. 



One of the most valuable features of the work is excursions by the club 

 for the study of living things in their natural environment. Each trip should 

 be for some special object, and if possible in charge of some member who is 

 to represent the topic. Pond life, stream life, life under stones, in and on 

 rotten logs, bird trips, tree trips, and wild flower trips are some of the fields 

 of useful investigation. 



The aim of these trips should be not collection but recognition. Attention 

 should be centered on remembering something definite rather than on seeing 

 how manv different kinds of things may be gotten. However, every school 

 should have a museum and the surplus energy of the members may well be 

 used in having them look for and collect such materials as may subserve some 

 useful end in the museum. To this end the club should have a curator who 

 shall be responsible for this department and at the meetings report on donors 

 and donations as well as desirable additions to the collections. 



The second class of work will occupy most of the time, and will be the 

 principal part of the work. A list of available magazines should be' made, 

 and thev should then be apportioned among the various members. The 

 members are to give talks on the interesting biological items or accounts which 

 have appeared since the last meeting. This plan makes it possible for the 

 society to keep in touch with biological activities in the world with compara- 

 tively little work on the part of individuals. 



One rule, the transgression of which means sure death to the club, is laid 

 down — Never, under any circumstances, permit a written report to be read. 

 This is the one thing that is paramount in such an organization. Everything 

 savoring of the literary or musical society must be rigidly excluded. The 

 reports must be brief and pithy. 



The teacher should act only in the capacity of adviser and under no cir- 

 cumstances should he accept office. If the club leans on the teacher for 

 support it will defeat its own ends. 



