64 The Ottawa Naturalist , [May 



First came the question of time. The curriculum seemed 

 already crowded. Other work showed results which could be 

 seen ; Nature Study was so entirely a matter of attitude that 

 naturally there was a strong temptation to let it, if anything, be 

 left undone. 



Then, in the teachers themselves some difficulties arose. It 

 was hard for them to forget the habits of years and cease to re- 

 gard knowledge as the chief object of education. They wished 

 to give information and when directed not to tell too much, in 

 some cases went to the opposite extreme and did not even guide, 

 but turned their classes adrift. Their lack of knowledge troubled 

 them, and in a few instances topics were shunned for fear the 

 pupils might ask questions which they could not answer. In spite 

 of these difficulties, however, the teachers have done remarkably 

 well ; and I must express my admiration of the Winnipeg teachers 

 as a body, for having taken up so well, work which was com- 

 pletely foreign to all their traditions. 



Another difficulty arose with the pupils, in a few cases. They 

 thought they knew all about the topics suggested. " Fancy 

 studying a cat !" They had had one in the house for years. A 

 very little trouble showed them how much they really knew. 



Another difficulty was the "parent who didn't believe in such 

 nonsense as studying a butterfly's wing." We heard of a few 

 parents who objected to the work and at the same time showed a 

 consummate ignorance of all about it. However, I am glad to 

 say we received from the parents more encouragement than the 

 reverse. 



Last of all arises the question : "What results have been 

 attained ?" It is too soon to answer such a question when it is 

 remembered that the work has for its end, not the mere acquisi- 

 tion of knowledge, but the development of interest and mental 

 power ; still, I think that results can be seen, for 1 have asked 

 many times : " Do you see any results ?" and have received such 

 answers as: "They see much more;" "They see things they 

 would never have seen before and are always asking questions 

 about something." Surely interest and faculty for observ ition 

 are things worth working for, and, to those who ask for knowledge 

 as a result, many thinjfs can be pointed out as having added to 

 the pupils' stock of facts. We have four months more to work 

 in. If at the end of that time we can feel that the pupils as a 

 whole are a litde more interested, sympathetic, observant and 

 self-reliant ; and if they realize better that in all things, great or 

 small, animate or inanimate, there is something wonderful, some- 

 thing worthy of study, then indeed our work has not been in vain. 



