Phillips] BURROUGHS NATURE CLUB 153 



the little school-house where they were packed and forwarded to 

 their city cousins. Evergreens, labeled and classified; deserted 

 birds' wasps' and hornets' nests; twigs, berries, and, in the spring- 

 time the early flowers — all Nature's gifts were as far as possible 

 sent to these children of the East Side of N. Y. City who were 

 hungering for them. 



From these small beginnings there sprang up a live interest 

 in Nature-Study in this school. It soon came in touch with the 

 National Plant, Fruit and Flower Guild, the science committee 

 of the Normal College Alumnae Association, and various private 

 and public schools in suburban districts, as well as with social 

 societies and individuals who realized that the love of nature is 

 in every child's heart, and that in our crowded cities it needs 

 nurturing. 



Last spring barrels of daisies were sent by the children 

 in the schools of New Rochelle. Every one of the 2500 girls re- 

 ceived a bunch of daisies. The barrels were unpacked in front 

 of the children, each class in turn coming forward to receive its 

 daisies. When the children had received the flowers they were 

 asked to sing a daisy song and wave the bunch of flowers. 



This little human meadow with the waving flowers gave the 

 children some idea of how a field of daisies appeared "dancing 

 in the sunlight." 



While teaching in schools of a congested section of a big city, 

 the teacher nature-lovers cast about for a way of bringing to their 

 children not only this nature material but also such an intimate 

 knowledge of it as would cause the child in later life to go and 

 seek Nature for himself. They found the Burroughs Nature 

 Club. It had been organized by Mr. Albert Pratt. The plan 

 was simple; a series of one hundred questions was arranged in 

 groups of ten, the answers to all of which were to be found in the 

 the fifteen volumes of John Burroughs' works. When an ans- 

 wer had been found and illustrated by all the live materials the 

 teacher could secure, the children were led to write their answers, 

 thus giving opportunity for self-expression along lines heretofore 

 unknown to East Side city children. They knew little of John 

 Burroughs then, yet such was the interest created by the first 

 ten questions that within a month they were eagerly reading 

 "Signs and Seasons," "Winter Sunshine," "Birds and Poets," 

 "Fresh Fields," etc. and the interest has never died. Teachers 



