EDITORIAL 



361 



inquirer drew a long breath of relief and 

 said, "Oh, my, you must have to know a 

 big lot to run an Institution of this kind. 

 It almost makes my head ache to think 

 what a lot of study must be needed !" 



I have several times visited schools, 

 where I have been told in advance that I 

 would go into ecstacies over the delight- 

 ful teaching of nature study there pur- 

 sued by a thoroughly skilled instructor. 

 I have found many teachers that met my 

 expectations, though even heightened by 

 the advance eulogy, but in some I have 

 been, alas, sadly disappointed. What do 

 I usually find? A fruit jar, with about 

 an inch and a half of water in it, a little 

 sand, a spray of a green plant, and two 

 sickly tadpoles. On the wall, near the 

 teacher's desk, may be pinned one cocoon, 

 probably of the Cecropia, and one butter- 

 fly, usually the monarch. 



Not a long time ago I found in a school- 

 room a "Collection" — I am spelling this 

 with a capital to do justice to the pride 

 wath which the word was spoken — that 

 consisted, by actual inventory, of one 

 hornet's nest, seven pieces of minerals, 

 and one piece of wood with a fungous 

 growth upon it. When I was told that 

 this was the result of the children's work 

 during one season, I thought of Pip and 

 poor Toe Gargery : 



"When one spells J-O, Joe, how inter- 

 esting reading is !" 



We are told in the recent lamented dis- 

 sension between Mr. Seton and the Boy 

 Scouts, that that organization manifests 

 not enough outdoor interest but too much 

 militarism. We need not enter into the 

 controversy further than to say that the 

 Scouts certainly do not have enough of 

 reading in the book of nature. It is 

 claimed that there is an astronomical re- 

 quirement, and a few others connected 

 with outdoor life, but they bring to mind 

 Joe's assertion. A similar criticism may 

 be made of the Camp Fire Girls, an asso- 

 ciation that bv its very name connotes 

 an outdoor organization. The re-organ- 

 ized order of the Woodcraft Indians I 

 sincerely hope will demand more in their 

 astronomical requirements than the mere 

 ability to recognize the Great Dinper and 

 T^nipris. Ye T^ds ! Think of that! An 

 organization for the living of an outdoor 

 life required to know what even a child 

 is suooosed to know — the Great Dipper, 

 and the nivotal point of the celestial 

 sphere ! We feel sure that that require- 

 ment will be changed for the better in the 



near future. As it is, the requirement 

 should be recorded in two paragraphs 

 and so worded that J will begin the first, 

 and O the second. 



Recently two girls called at our office 

 and requested permission to go into the 

 Agassiz Grove. I found that the call was 

 to meet a school requirement to observe 

 four, or possibly six, birds. I said, 'Come 

 out here. We can get those birds 'right 

 off the bat' — chickens, ducks, English 

 sparrows and starlings. You may see 

 plenty of them out of the back door. If 

 you want to take a postgraduate course in 

 order to become thoroughly erudite in 

 this interesting ornithological reading, 

 look yonder ; spend a moment in the 

 brain-racking process of watching that 

 crow above the golf grounds, and that 

 downy woodpecker eating suet. There 

 you have it — the wdiole requirement." 



Every member realizes that there is 

 nothing superficial in The Agassiz Asso- 

 ciation. We believe that the book of na- 

 ture is interesting reading, and that it is 

 worth while to go beyond the rudiments. 

 J-O, Joe, may be interesting reading, but 

 do not forget that Joe must be followed 

 and completed by a family name. 



Recently our Glenbrook Chapter spent 

 an evening in The Welcome Reception 

 Room. I walked with them from the 

 room to the trolley car. and while en 

 route we learned to recognize the follow- 

 ing, so that every boy can now point them 

 out, and I am sure, will remember them : 

 Orion, Taurus, Gemini, Ursa Major, 

 Ursa Minor, and Perseus. At the time, 

 three planets were conspicuous in the 

 heavens; it took us about half a minute 

 to memorize Jupiter, nearly west ; Saturn, 

 nearly south ; and Mars, nearly east. We 

 also learned in that short walk to the trol- 

 ley car the position and appearance of 

 several stars : Sirius, Procyon, Aldebaran, 

 Castor, Pollux and that great require- 

 ment. Polaris. 



This lesson was really learned by those 

 enthusiastic boys ; the time taken for the 

 whole course was not more than ten min- 

 utes as we sauntered along the road, stop- 

 ping now and then to look upward. 

 E\'eryone enjoyed that walk : not one said, 

 "You must know a big lot. It makes my 

 head ache to hear all those different 

 things." To learn such things is not more 

 difificult than to learn that the names of 

 the vivacious girls whom you meet are 

 Jane. Sue, Sally and Phoebe, or boys 

 whose names are John. James, Phillip 



