104 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [i. 3, may 1905 



a lesson which was to appear in print would be a valuable dis- 

 cipline for the more ambitious of our young' teachers. I should 

 like to see the preparation of new nature-studies organized a 

 little. 



FLOWER SHOWS IN CITY SCHOOLS 



BY ALICE R. NORTHROP 

 Lecturer on Botany and Nature-Study, New York City 



In many parts of New York City are children who never see 

 any growing thing — children to whom the world of trees and 

 birds, flowers and brooks, is a sealed book. Nature-study has 

 finally won a place in the school-curriculum, but where to g"et the 

 " nature " to study is often a most difficult problem. The ideal 

 way is to take the children to the woods and fields ; but except 

 in a few instances, this cannot be done under existing conditions. 

 The work briefly described below suggests one way in which the 

 gap between the children and nature may be bridged, at least 

 occasionally. 



While visiting a " Wild-Flower Show," given by the Storm- 

 King Club of Cornwall, N. Y., in 1893, it occurred to the writer 

 that here was a plan that might be profitably transported to the 

 city. Accordingly, the following spring a wild-flower show was 

 given in the library of the New York City Normal College by 

 the Natural Science Committee of the Associate Alumnae, of 

 which committee the writer was then chairman. The members 

 of the committee and their friends collected the flowers, of which 

 over one hundred species were on exhibition, all classified and 

 labelled. This we believe was the first wild-flower show ever 

 given in New York City. The College students, the children of 

 the adjoining Training School, the pupils of neighboring schools, 

 and many adult visitors greatly enjoyed the exhibition. It was 

 so successful that six more were given under the same auspices 

 between 1894 and 1900. 



As the exhibitions became better known, many more teachers 

 wanted to bring their children, even from distant parts of the city. 

 But the children to whom the flowers would be the greatest revela- 

 tion were just those who could not afford the necessary car-fare. 

 In order to reach these, permission was secured from the proper 



