/-%.^x^^^ 



EGLitorieil. ^ 



A short time ago, a prominent educator in Chicago 

 characterized Nature study as a fad and classed it with 

 roller-skating, ping-pong, bicycling and golf. After an^^ 

 particular pastime or fashion has had its day, it is easy 

 enough to decide how much of it was or was not fad, but 

 of those that are still with us, it is almost impossible to 

 make a proper estimate. There is no doubt that to a 

 great many, bicycling was a fad, and now that it has 

 ceased to be the leader in outdoor sports, wdieels that once 

 whirled merrily along boulevard and countr^y lane lie rust- 

 ing in cellar or attic, not because they are out of date or 

 out of repair but because they are out of fashion. But 

 there is still a great army that finds the bicycle absolutely 

 indispensable. It not only fits into the w^orking-man's life 

 as a shortener of distance which allow^shim to live further 

 from his work and therefore in better surroundings, but 

 the student, the scientist and the Nature-lover is by its use 

 enabled to reach fields of study that before were unattain- 

 able because of distance or lack of proper conveyance. 



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It may be questioned whether the interest in Nature 

 study, following so closely upon the vogue of the w^heel 

 may not have been stimulated in great measure by it. 

 Even those who bic3^cled for pleasure almost invariably 

 turned their faces country ward and if the3^ kept their eyes 

 open, as all did who were not bent on making a "record," 

 must have found many objects in nature to excite their 

 curiosity or interest. From this it was but a step to the 

 desire to find out more about them, and thus Nature study 

 gained new votaries. If wheeling is not the natural par- 

 ent of Nature study it is certainly not less than its god- 

 father. 



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When the editor was a boy — not so long ago, either, 

 as measured by ordinary standards — there were no books 



