222 THE iVATURE-STUDY REVIEW [s:9-dec.. 1909 



him the retiring holder of these offices bespeaks the full measure 

 of the support which in the past five years has been so generously 

 given by several hundred stanch friends of the nature-study 

 movement. M. A. Bigelow. 



NATURE-STUDY AND FIELD WORK IN VICTORIA 



By J. A. LEACH 



[Editor's Note, — This letter concerning the nature-studv movement 

 in Victoria will doubtless surprise many readers who think of nature- 

 study as Hmited to children of elementary-school age. This is the primary 

 meaning and place of nature-study ; but so long' as there are intellignet 

 adults who have not learned to study the common things of nature, so 

 long should there be an extension of the nature-study movement to include 

 the children of larger growth. This letter shows one wav of accomplish- 

 ing this end. Where in the United States and Canada could a field 

 naturaHsts' club organize a group of one thousand or more persons for an 

 excursion designed to make a scientific study of some natural wonder?] 



Nature-study is now being better understood by our teachers 

 and so the work done is improving rapidly. It has been found 

 necessary to draw a distinction between science and nature- 

 study, though I must confess that on a first reading Bailey's 

 "Nature-Study Idea," it seemed that the difference was not great, 

 and that rather much emphasis was placed on it. However, it is 

 more necessary than ever that this difference should be kept in 

 mind. 



In Victoria nature-study is prescribed for classes I, II, and III 

 (average age ten years, six months) and science for classes IV, V 

 and VI, so there is little danger of confusing the aims. One un- 

 desirable result has been though, that, just when the nature- 

 study habit is growing, the work is dropped at school and in too 

 many cases much is lost for lack of a little stimulation. 



On the question of the formal lesson, we hope that it will be 

 possible to dispense with this, and take the work in the incidental 

 manner Bailey has commended. At present with untrained 

 teachers, the formal lesson is very valuable. Preparing one a 

 week is not a serious burden, yet by the end of the year the 

 teacher is acquiring a certain amount of knowledge which will 

 greatly help him in future work. Soon, perhaps the formal 

 lessons may be reduced to one per month. Some, though, will 

 always be worth giving after the children have carefully studied 

 the subject and are prepared with ideas of their own to assist in 

 working out some connected thoughts on an important topic, 

 such as the work of the leaf. 



