148 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Nov. 



weary traveller when beholding those flowers; and to the 

 station agent and his family, in many an out of the way place, 

 in tending and caring for them. If the C.P.R. is alive to the 

 necessity of those things, surely we, the teachers of this province, 

 should not be left behind. What an opportunity there is to 

 give such a training by raising flowers in connection with our 

 schools! Perhaps the most valuable lesson that has been 

 given in this city in this connection was that given last fall by 

 His Excellency, Earl Grey, when he had some hundreds of the 

 school boys take part in the planting of bulbs at Rockcliffe. 

 The animal nature is evident in us all; let us check it by cul- 

 tivating the emotional and aesthetic side. For this purpose 

 nature study has the same claim on our curriculum as art, 

 music, or even good literature. 



While the educational value of the subject is pretty freely 

 admitted tliere are some imaginary objections to its universal 

 adoption. Tlie chief of these is the lack of time; it is quite true 

 that teachers are, as a rule, pretty busy. So far, however, as 

 our urban schools are concerned I need scarcely remind you 

 that overteaching is one of our greatest weaknesses. Too much 

 is done by the teacher and too little self-eftbrt or self-investiga- 

 tion is demanded from the pupil. I am old-fashioned enough 

 to champion the three R's. These, in my opinion, must continue 

 to form the basis of our school work. Is it not possible, however, 

 that we are spending too much tim.e in grinding them and that 

 equally good results might be obtained in a shorter period? 

 I have every faith too in giving our boys and girls a taste for 

 the right kind of reading ; and the teacher, who is succeeding in 

 doing this, is doing a work of the highest educational value. 

 I am well aware that some of the advocates of nature study are 

 apt to speak slightingly of books and to maintain that our 

 pupils must become original investigators. While it is important 

 that we, as teachers, should encourage, as far as lies in our power, 

 the spirit of self-discovery, the great majority of mankind mtist 

 ever depend upon books for the bulk of their knowledge. There 

 is, however, no quarrel between nature study and the three R's. 

 Those teachers who fly in the face of nature study in defence 

 of the three R's are not always the ones who are doing the best 

 work in the latter; as a rule, the teacher who does the three R's 

 best will also do nature study best and will find time to do it. 

 Let me repeat, nature study, if properly taken up, will prove 

 an assistance to the rest of the schoolwork; and the three- 

 quarters of an hour or hour devoted to it each week will prove 

 a delightful recreation from the ordinary school grind. I am 

 satisfied too that manv of the lessons we give in nature studv 



