downing] METHODS IN NA TUKE-STUD Y 223 



methods of procedure may be nearly identical. The sky, the air, 

 the surface features, the physical and chemical phenomena pre- 

 sented at every turn by commercial processes and the industrial 

 operations, present quite as varied if not quite as poetic an 

 environment as has the country child. 



This out-of-door work with its variety of objects and consequent 

 multiplicity of stimuli assures complete sensory training — an end 

 we deem important. The teacher needs to intentionally widen 

 the scope of the work so that this varied stimulation shall be 

 achieved rather than pursue some narrow field only, where the 

 sensory stimuli are necessarily limited both in kind and intensity. 

 The child delights in handling things and the natural objects are 

 sure to provide his tactile end organs with all sorts of thrills. 

 How much of the language of mineralogy is in terms of the muscu- 

 lar sense. Herbs and fruits, as well as the common chemicals 

 handled in the simple experiments, provide a host of experiences 

 for his taste bulbs. The olfactory organs are constantly appealed 

 to by the delicate odors of flower and field, while bird notes will 

 tax the accuracy of ear to hear and of vocal organs to reproduce. 

 The eye acquires skill in measurement, too, as the familiar home 

 region is mapped or contours are traced. Then what a range 

 from the tiny particle in hand to the immensely great that is 

 infinitely distant! And what a wealth of color the rocks and 

 blossoms supply. 



Drawing may well be correlated with the nature-study to culti- 

 vate appreciation of form and color. It is surprising what admir- 

 able results may be achieved by the very little people working 

 with water-colors. They belong to the impressionistic school, 

 but the adeptness they display in discerning and depicting form 

 and color is really surprising to an older bungler v ho has not tried 

 to acquire the art until mature years. It is a tempting digression 

 to point out that such training has its commercial values. Boys 

 are four times as apt to be color-blind as girls, thus imperilling our 

 lives by land and sea until women shall take men's places, too, as 

 locomotive engineers and pilots. This is not an isolated case but 

 a familiar one that points to the fact that sensory training has 

 large commercial values. Instances might readily be multiplied. 



In a preceding article it has been suggested that such material 

 be selected for study as lends itself to problem form. The applica- 

 tion of the idea needs some discussion in considering methods. 



