EDITORIAL AND GENERAL 



6 7 



niunieative, except in the presence of 

 another nature lover, when silence 

 often becomes more emphatic and 

 speaks loncler than much speech. A 

 botanist may hold in his extended hand 

 a minute flower, and without a spoken 

 word, the eyes of his botanical friend 

 will meet his, a smile will illumine each 

 countenance, and their two souls have 

 met, have seen each other, have greeted 

 each other and are happy. It cannot 

 be explained unless you already under- 

 stand, and then you will need no ex- 

 planation. 



Nature study is not a subject to be 

 learned from a human teacher. No 

 matter how much you study books and 

 are told by a teacher, you will not learn 

 until you go into the woods actually to 

 observe and to become so interested 

 that you are carried on almost un- 

 consciously from one thing" to another. 



There is a strong" tendency to move 

 to the city. The attraction is chiefly 

 financial. It is time that we set for 

 ourselves other ideals than money, 

 which at the best is not an end but 

 only a means. People are beginning 

 to realize that the more money there 

 is, the less it will do. Mr. John Rocke- 

 feller has bought everything that 

 money can buy and given away mil- 

 lions but he has said, in a confidential 

 moment, that the greatest pleasure he 

 has is to go into the woods and bring 

 himself in touch with commonplace 

 nature that no amount of money can 

 buy. It is time for us to set up an 

 ideal other than money. 



At first one must devote time to 

 quiet meditation and observation in 

 secluded places. Whenever the stud- 

 ent is out of doors he must be aware 

 of nature. Gradually he forms the 

 habit of leaving cares, work and self- 

 consciousness behind him. With an 

 open mind he goes out under the sky, 

 across the country Or along the streams. 

 He is alert to observe and ready to re- 

 ceive the truth that nature has to im- 

 part. He becomes aware of the deep- 

 ening of his thoughts as well as of the 

 increase of knowledge, for the truths 

 that carry conviction and work lasting 

 changes become clear in solitude. The 

 person who is interested in rocks, 



plants, animals and fields should be 

 able to develop himself as well as his 

 land, and to make a comfortable living 

 from that land. The mind that is sym- 

 pathetic with nature does not need the 

 city for entertainment. 



Nature will be a constant friend, 

 instructor and inspirer if you will al- 

 low her to be so. The elements are al- 

 ways before us but the task is to see 

 them clearly and to understand and use 

 their inexhaustible resourcefulness. 

 To be unable to read the open pages 

 of the world around him should be as 

 great a reproach to any man as to be 

 unable to read the pages of a book be- 

 fore him. 



The professional naturalist, it is true, 

 may be said to live closest to nature 

 for he spends most of his time in study- 

 ing and experimenting with the won- 

 derful, intricate, fascinating ways of 

 nature. He delves so deeply and 

 studies her mysteries so intently that 

 finally he possesses much of the re- 

 sourcefulness. Nature becomes not 

 only an intimate friend to him but a 

 constant source of surprise and delight. 

 He makes exact and arduous studies 

 of natural phenomena, one clue al- 

 ways leading to another and perhaps 

 a greater. There is no end. Nature 

 never says, "Here we stop," but al- 

 ways, "A little further and I will show 

 you something more beautiful, more 

 interesting than all that you have 

 hitherto seen. Come, and let me lead 

 you. 



The poet receives much of his in- 

 spiration as well as his material from 

 nature. Many of his best poems have 

 been written in a quiet spot with nature 

 for his inspirer; his imagination plays 

 freely and he tells in a beautiful yet 

 symbolic w r ay what he sees. His sur- 

 roundings inspire the artist and furnish 

 him with material. The knowledge 

 and inspiration needed in every form of 

 art cannot be obtained from man. It 

 is the special and distinctive contribu- 

 tion of nature. Is the nature lover 

 an exception to the artist and the poet? 

 Although he may never create a mas- 

 terpiece, never make even one discov- 

 ery, never w r rite one essay, is the nature 

 lover an exception ? I tell you, Nay. 



