"If you speak of a stone," says St. Basil, one of the Fathers of the Church, "if you 

 speak of a fly, a gnat, or a bee, your conversation will be a sort of demonstration of His 

 power whose hand formed them, for the wisdom of the workman is commonly perceived 

 in that which is of little size. He who has stretched out the heavens, and dug up the 

 bottom of the sea, is also He who has pierced a passage through the sting of the bee for 

 the ejection of its poison." 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



EDUCATION AND RECREATION 



VOL. Ill 



OCTOBER 1910 



No. 6 



OUTDOOR WORLD 



Natural History for a Community 



By EDWARD F. BIGELOW, Arcadia: Sound Beach, Connecticut 



HE city of Pittsfield, Massa- 

 chusetts, with the sur- 

 rounding country is to be 

 congratulated upon the 

 possession of an ideal mu- 

 seum of natural history 

 and art, built and equipped 

 by Mr. Zenas Crane of Dalton, Mass. 

 Many years ago Mr. Crane conceived 

 the idea that he could no better express 

 his love for the home county than by 

 the establishment in it of a large head- 

 quarters for the study of nature and 

 art. 



Thousands of other people, in fact 

 almost everybody, believe in the 

 beauty, the interest and the uplift of 

 nature ; but, sad to say, comparatively 

 few put that belief actively and finan- 

 cially into practice. 



All parents believe that an interest 

 in nature "is good for the children" 

 and for other parents, especially for 

 "those who like that sort of thing," 

 and particularly for teachers. 



But Mr. Crane not only held the 

 belief that an interest in nature was 

 good for everybody, but he put that 

 belief into practice to the extent, it is 

 said, of about half a million dollars. 



Mr. Zenas Crane is not a specialist 

 in nature studies, but is generally 

 interested in nature and natural 

 science. He is an efficient, successful 

 business man, thoroughly understand- 

 ing the needs of a business and of a 

 community. It was, therefore, not to 

 exploit a hobby but to educate and up- 

 lift the community that he established 

 the museum. He has always felt that 



Copyright 1910 by The Aeassiz Association, Arcadia: Sound Beach, Conn, 



