8o The Ottawa Naturalist. [June 



son has found out one fact concerniug any mineral, plant or 

 animal, large or small, a fact not known before or disputed, and is 

 certain of it, he contributes to t-he sum of human knowledge by 

 having it printed in some suitable medium of communication 

 between scientific men, or where they can find it. At least let him 

 give his notes to some such person who is able to apply the fruit of 

 his labors to wider usefulness. 



Now, after reading this, some ardent lover of nature who 

 thought of becoming an amateur student of it, may say to himself, 

 well, this rules me out of Nature Study; I have neither the time, 

 nor the money, nor the scientific attainments of the mind to carry 

 it on in this wise. But hold on! The underlying principles here 

 mentioned, namely limitation, concentration, exactness and the 

 making the results of your observations accessible to others, does 

 not necessarily require all one's time, or much money and great 

 scientific knowledge. There are people who have contributed 

 largely to the sum of human knowledge who were busy men and 

 did not have much leisure time and remained in their occupation 

 throughout their life, one, a fellow of the Llnnaean Society, London, 

 remaining a cobbler to the end of his days. Nor must you think 

 that only startling discoveries are valuable to man. No, many 

 little, but correct observations round out the sum total of human 

 knowledge just as surely and effectually. And how many great 

 discoveries etc., have been begun in a small way! Look at James 

 Watt, pondering over the phenomenon of the escaping steam from 

 the tea-kettle lifting up the lid. By following this up, he became 

 the inventor of the steam engine. The lawn in front of your house 

 may harbor an insect new to science. Novices in astronomy have 

 discovered new stars. Tenacity of will-power counts for most 

 here, whether one has little or much time. And even if you can 

 not achieve any results satisfactory to yourself, you will at least get 

 into closer touch with nature, your powers of the senses will be 

 whetted, you will see and hear more beautiful things than people 

 who have no eye or ear for them, though they live right amongst 

 them. It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever to observe the 

 ways of living things in field, woods and meadow; to see the wise 

 adaptation of means to certain ends and to behold the beauty of 

 design and finish in even the minutest specimens of God's handi- 

 work in nature. And then, there is the healthfulness of it! Pure 

 air and sunshine are by far the best preventive and curative medi- 

 cines in the world. And while taking them in, it is better to have 

 some object in view, to eng-age the mind somewhat, else it will 

 soon become tedious. And that something ought then to be one 

 of the fields of Nature Study, even though a much restricted one 

 must be chosen. 



