1905J Nature Study — No. 20. 195 



truth and structural adaptability of this little poem. In com- 

 position, descriptions of journeys in ihe fields and woods, of birds 

 and trees and animals observed, may be found subjects on which 

 the children will write interestingly and naturally. Taken alto- 

 gether, Nature Study need not be considered a new subject, but 

 rather as a vitalizer of the old. 



Here also may properly be mentioned the lectures and field 

 work in gardening conducted by Prof. Hutt, of the College staff. 

 During a spring or summer term this work should be made to 

 constitute one of the most important features of the course. But 

 the nature of the weather this fall seriously interfered with the 

 carrying out of any extensive field work. What was possible, 

 however, was done. Following a series of lectures on the subject, 

 advantage was taken of the first fine day to stake off, level, plant, 

 and label a series of plots, each student having one in charge. 

 The lateness of the season prevented the germination ot the seeds, 

 but this work was carried on within doors by means of germinating 

 boxes and blotting pads, a series of drawings being made to illus- 

 trate the stages of development in the plants. 



Roughly speaking, the work in the laboratory was divided 

 into three parts: (i) an examination into the stages of plant 

 evolution as revealed by the common algee, fungi, lichens, mosses, 

 ferns, etc., of the locality ; (2) experiment in plant physiology, 

 elementary physics, and organic chemistry ; and (3) elementary 

 entomology. 



If to any subject, surely the old adage that " seeing is 

 believing " is applicable to Nature Study. Here, if never before, 

 the child must get rid of books and hearsay, and reach down to 

 the very facts of Nature itself. The pictured object which some 

 one else has seen and depicted, will not suffice here ; much less 

 the word description. The child must come in contact with the 

 actual object and develop through his experiences with that. And 

 yet, how much of the teaching of the past has practically been 

 hearsay, those who have passed through our elementary and high 

 schools within comparatively recent years can sadly testify 



It was Plato, I believe, who instanced the position of a man 

 who had grown to maturity in some dark place and then been 

 brought suddenly forth to the light of day and the world of nature 

 around him. He pictures the wonder of that man, his realization 

 of the facts before him. He has not seen these thin«;-s pictured in 

 books and grown up with them. To him they are new, and real, 

 and divine. In a somewhat similar position is the child who has 

 grown up in personal contact with Nature. How does the crude 

 sap in the soil rise in the stems of plants ? The child knows it 

 does rise, for he has seen the watery juice in the stems and leaves. 



