658 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



"Of the wild bees' morning chase. 

 Of the wild flower's time and place, 

 Flight of fowl, and habitude, 

 Of the tenants of the wood; 

 How the tortoise bears his shell, 

 How the woodchuck digs his cell. 

 And the ground-mole sinks his well. 



"How the robin feeds her young. 

 How the oriole's nest is hung; 

 Where the whitest lilies blow, 

 Where the freshest berries grow, 

 Where the ground-nut trails its vine, 

 Where the wood-grape's clusters shine. 



"Of the black wasp's cunning way, 

 Mason of his walls of clay; 

 And the architectural plans 

 Of gray hornet artisans! 

 Nature answers all he asks; 

 Hand in hand with her he walks. 

 Face to face .with her he talks." 



Send botii buys lu college. The city boy may have more book 

 knowledge, but the country boy, having a stronger physique and a 

 more practical knowledge of what he has already learned, may be- 

 come the better -all-round college man. He is usually more self- 

 reliant. He has hardened himself to the biting cold of a frosty morn- 

 ing as he husked corn in the field or cut wood in the forest, and has 

 learned to endure long stretches of hard work during the hottest 

 summer days. He has broken colts and learned to manage other 

 animals. He has w^alked and driven long distances. He has de- 

 lighted to struggle through huge drifts of snow every winter of his 

 life. Long tramps over snow-covered fields, with a gun on his shoul- 

 der, have trained him to quickness of eye and alertness of movement. 

 He mav even have tracked a deer or a bear. All this has awakened 

 powers in him which in the city boy lie dormant, and this training 

 is what enables many a country boy to lead in school and in col- 

 lege. It has been noticed that when boys enter a town school from 

 the country they are often head and shoulders above the other pupils 

 in their ability to work anji th^nk. 



From a moral standpoint, country life is uplifting and purifying. 

 Several years ago the inmates of the Boys' House of Refuge were 

 removed from Philadelphia to a large farm near the city, whert 

 they now live, and are taught all branches of farming. Their out- 

 door life an^ contact with nature have so raised the moral tone of 

 the boys that arrangements have been made to remove the girls 

 from the Philadelphia House of Refuge to another farm where they 

 will be taught the lighter forms of farm work, dairying, chicken 

 raising, gardening, etc. No man is so debased that he cannot, when 

 surrounded by the beauties of nature, be drawn nearer to nature's 

 God. Froebel, the great educator, who spent more time in the moun- 

 tains and woods than he did in school, says: 



'The spirit of God rests in nature, lives and reigns in nature, is 

 expressed in nature, is communicated by nature." 



''Every contact with nature elevates, strengthens, purifies." 



He tells of a little five-year-old child who, on a glorious summer 

 day, reveled in the delight of fluttering leaf, floating cloud, hum- 

 ming bee. waving grass and all the myriad sights and sounds of 

 nature, until her little heart overflowed, and she said with reverent 

 sweetness, "Thank you, God." 



