bigelow] XATCRE-STUDY SOCIETY 69 



study workers who are associated in the national meetings for 

 science and education, few know each other. Personal contact, 

 even in an annual one-session meeting, would be helpful. We 

 need an organization which will bring groups of nature-study 

 workers together, probably in at the annual meeting's of the 

 national science and education societies, but not under their 

 organizations. Moreover, we need an annual directory showing 

 the location and work of each serious worker with nature-study 

 problems. 



Another fact indicating need of organization is that few peo- 

 ple realize how widespread the nature-study movement has be- 

 come. Many people, especially those from abroad, seem to think 

 that nature-study is chiefly an interesting experiment under the 

 direction of the former students of three or four colleges which 

 have given special attention to the subject. Even principals of 

 certain training schools have made remarks showing that they 

 have failed to grasp the idea that nature-study is no longer 

 limited to the few localities made well known by some of the 

 pioneer work. In all such cases, and my experience is that they 

 are far from rare, the influence of a strong organization would 

 certainly be of great value in advancing nature-study. 



Another argument for organization is that it would dispel 

 rapidly the still-too-common belief that there is little agreement 

 concerning nature-study. The careful reader of the first two 

 volumes of this magazine will not find serious disagreement con- 

 cerning fundamentally important questions discussed by the 

 leaders in nature-study. Organization would go far towards 

 demonstrating to those who do not read or who have failed to 

 understand the leading literature on nature-study that agreement 

 on essentials has been reached and that nature-study is now on 

 a sound basis. 



And still another argument : It is not necessary to do more 

 than mention the well-known fact that the societies for teachers 

 of history, languages, mathematics, manual training, etc., have 

 done a great work for the advancement of these subjects in edu- 

 cation. It ought to be possible to do as much for nature-study, 

 for during the past three years we have built up a sort of infor- 

 mal organization through our friendly co-operative work with 



