OHIO .VOTES 13 x 



"The subject of the soil and its relation to plants is taken up partly on 

 account of its fundamental importance in farm practice, and partly be- 

 cause it represents fewer difficulties in the way of experimental study to be 

 carried on by pupils of the grades or of the first year of high school. 

 Furthermore, it is one of the few phases of the subject of agriculture that 

 may be studied to advantage during the winter. Indeed, experience has 

 shown that such work as suggested in the following exercises offers a 

 practical solution for the problem of school management during bad 

 weather." 



The editor of this number of The Review has taken the liberty 

 of publishing the following excerpts from a letter written to him 

 by a prominent educator who, perhaps, as much as any one else in 

 the State has had the opportunity of coming into contact with 

 the nature-work of the rural schools of Ohio: "As to notes con- 

 cerning nature-study in the country schools, I know very little. 

 Judging from my experience with teachers during the past sum- 

 mer I think there is very little if anything done. Some atten- 

 tion is given in many townships to agriculture in the higher 

 grades. * * * In the small cities such as Bellevue, Fremont and 

 Van Wert some attention is given to nature-study. The superin- 

 tendents are in sympathy with the work and urge their teachers 

 to take courses in nature-study in summer schools. Over forty of 

 such students were in my classes last summer. On the whole, 

 judging from my short residence in the state, I should say that 

 the nature-study idea has not reached the country schools not- 

 even the village schools; and that it will come to them under the 

 name of agriculture. They will hardly recognize it under the 

 guise of nature-study. The use of Hodge's "Nature-Study and 

 Life" a few vears ago may have made some impression here and 

 there. I find also that nature-study is a rather popular institute 

 subject. But my experience was that those who were interested 

 were mostly city teachers. * * * These are merely my im- 

 pressions. I shall know more about it in another year." 



AMERICAN NATURE-STUDY SOCIETY 



As a result of a recent communication by mail, with all mem- 

 bers of the A. N.-S. S., the secretary is authorized to announce 

 that the second annual meeting of the Society will be held in 

 Baltimore next December in connection with the meeting of the 

 American Association for the Advancement of Science and other 

 scientific societies; and also to announce that a conference of the 

 Society will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, on July the 3d at 2:30 



