-X"X- 



^ NOTE and COMMENT ^ 



Seeing Nature. — I have known teachers who seemed to 

 think that the value of a nature excursion is measureable by a 

 pedometer. "We took a three mile walk this morning, and 

 feel exhilarated." It is that spirit of athleticism crowding 

 out mentality and heart perception that is one of the greatest 

 dangers, especially of Boy Scouts on their marches. They 

 cover miles, but no territory. They strengthen, not the mind 

 and heart, but the legs. They have good eyes, but see nothing. 

 Let us hear from Ruskin a word so frequently quoted as to 

 be almost trite, "The biggest thing in the world is to see some- 

 thing and then tell it." What an exaggeration that seems. 

 Anybody with a pair of eyes can see something, yet the seers 

 are few and the tellers even fewer. The art of keen observation 

 is a rare gift. Because most people are lacking in that faculty, 

 or because they have had it destroyed by searching for freaks, 

 is one reason why nature study is not enjoyed by more people. 

 It is a wise naturalist that knows his own parish. Do not 

 try to go far. There are foreign, undiscovered lands in every 

 bit of grass or moss within a few feet of where you are now 

 standing. Nature is simple in her simplicity. But do not for- 

 get that she is majestic in her majesty, and that she is infinite 

 in her awe and mystery. Wherever you stand has been an 

 infinite past and will be an infinite future. Do not forget that 

 you are at the center of thirty-two points of the compass. You 

 may look every way if you will. — Edw. F. Bigelow in Normal 

 Instructor. 



