292 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



NATURE INTEREST OF A "BUSINESS" 

 MAX. 



BY K. EART. DUBOIS, oOl >K X SIU ' RC,, NEW 

 YORK. 



Dr. Bigelow has asked me to write a 

 brief sketch telling "how I became in- 

 terested in nature and why that interest 

 continues." 



The first of these questions I cannot 

 answer because I cannot remember a 



E. EARL DUBOIS. 



time in my early life when I was not, in 

 some way, interested in nature. 1 was 

 born in that beautiful section of northern 

 Xew \ ork known to modern romance 

 as the "North Country." My home was 

 on a farm in a somewhat secluded spot 

 about ten miles from the city of Ogdens- 

 burg, my present home. On one side 

 one could see the cloud capped Adiron- 

 dack Mountains whose forests, lakes and 

 rivers are ever a delight and inspiration. 

 On the other side, only a few miles away, 

 was the Saint Lawrence River with its 

 picturesque islands and rapids. On our 

 own home farm were woods and creeks 

 and ponds and everything a naturalist 

 could wish. Not living near enough to 

 a city or a village to have verv much 

 society and having my attention turned 

 nature- ward, almost unconsciously, by 

 observing parents, 1 could scared v help 

 becoming a nature student and forming 



in childhood a background for my life 

 which will never disappear. 



Me fore 1 was very old I had named 

 almost every plant which grew within 

 several miles of my home and identi- 

 fied about one hundred species of wild 

 birds. As soon as the extension work 

 in nature study was started by Cornell 

 University I became interested in it and 

 have, ever since, received a great deal 

 of benefit from the study of their publi- 

 cations and the personal aid and ac- 

 quaintance of their force of teachers. 

 Later on in school work these tendencies 

 led me to specialize in botany and the 

 physical sciences. The impressions of 

 my early life thus became determining 

 factors in my education. 



The continuance of my interest in na- 

 ture is a natural result of my view of 

 life and that view, as I have just indi- 

 cated, has been determined by environ- 

 ment and early training. There is one 

 object or aim in life which I believe 

 to be of supreme importance; that is. to 

 put one's life in harmony with environ- 

 ment, with nature, and only bv working 

 toward tin's ideal can we get the most 

 out of life and do our best work 

 in any special field. To put his life in 

 harmony with nature, a man must be 

 familiar with natural things, must be a 

 nature student and have a working 

 knowledge of the forces that surround 

 and control his life. In view of these 

 facts, I believe that nature study is a 

 practical thing, rather than an esthetic 

 fad; a study for the masses, rather than 

 for the few. When J was on my father's 

 farm I found in nature study an aid to 

 intelligent farming. When I was in 

 school it deepened my interest in litera- 

 ture and natural science subjects. Later 

 when I, somewhat reluctantly, took up a 

 business career I feared I w< >uld lose my 

 interest in nature but 1 have not. After 

 spending three years in active business I 

 have just as much interest in nature as 

 I ever had and do a great deal of nature 

 study work. These experiences lead me 

 to believe that nature study is just as 

 valuable to the practical man as to any 

 other. 



And yet 1 would not place too much 

 emphasis on the practical side of nature 

 study. In even sphere of life we often 



