\yo THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



science of botany into a school for the children of the lowest classes. 

 Prof. Ilenslow's object was to break in upon the slavish and stupefying 

 routine of the schoolroom, and to substitute, for the endless drudgery 

 of mere lesson-learning from books, the exercise of the childish facul- 

 ties upon Nature itself. His object was to awaken the mind to spon- 

 taneous action, to open the observant faculties, and expand the reason- 

 ing powers, rather than to impart second-hand knowledge, and to load 

 the memory with the contents of books. And this he succeeded in 

 doing. He introduced a study which excited their interest, and " fur- 

 nished them with innocent and rational amusement in those leisure 

 hours which so many servants and poor idly throw away when their 

 required work is done;" which "tends to raise their thoughts to the 

 contemplation of the Creator, and to make them mindful as well as 

 observant of that infinite wisdom and goodness of which they see 

 everywhere around them such abundant proofs," and which, moreover, 

 taught them the use of their minds in inquiring, comparing, judging, 

 and thinking for themselves. 



It is to be observed that Prof. Henslow did not, by any means, un- 

 dertake to establish a botanical school ; in fact, but a very small por- 

 tion of the time was given to the subject. His habit was to attend 

 the school regularly every Monday afternoon, for the purpose of giving 

 a lesson in botany from an hour and a half to two hours in length, the 

 main work of the pupils being by themselves and out of school. The 

 pupils varied in age from eight to eighteen, and the class was limited 

 to 42 in number. Into the details of his teaching we have no 

 space here to enter. The whole essence and value of it consisted in 

 the regular and constant study of plants themselves. The pupils 

 ranged the woods and fields of Hitcham for specimens, and their work 

 consisted in dissecting, analyzing, and classifying them. The class 

 was graded ; the older jjupils became teachers, and the younger were 

 promoted as they became proficient in their work. The children made 

 herbariums of dried plants, and one pupil-teacher " actually collected 

 in rural strolls, and afterward dried and correctly named, more than 

 250 specimens of plants." The children brought their botanical ac- 

 quirements to bear to enrich the horticultural show, to which reference 

 has been made. They brought their dried collections and fresh, wild- 

 flower nosegays, and competed for the prizes offered for the largest 

 collections, the most tasteful arrangements, and the most accurate de- 

 scriptions. In 1858, at the July show, 50 children competed for the 

 " wild-flower nosegay," and 26 received prizes. 



It is almost superfluous to say that this invaluable experiment in 

 education was not an example of " compulsory education." Compul- 

 sion implies resistance ; a resort to brute force, when higher forces fail, 

 or are not tried. But the coercive system forces the question upon us, 

 Is anybody fit to teach who cannot wield the higher agencies of con- 

 trol ? Should not the very first qualification of a teacher of the young 



