1 902 Editorial 1 6 1 



over ten years of age in your school took part in any excur- 

 sions whatever beyond the school walls ? In how many of 

 the schools examined did any pupils take part in practical 

 work, including the collecting and mounting of specimens ? 

 What proportion does this number of children bear to the 

 whole under Nature Study instruction ? In how many 

 schools was Nature Study made the subject of examination? 

 That this branch of national education is deserving of 

 most serious attention hardly needs to be restated ; utili- 

 tarian, sanitary, aesthetic, and ethical considerations all 

 weigh in its favour, and the fact that it has been put in the 

 code curriculum is evidence that elsewhere it has proved of 

 value. 



What about the future ? The child has to be made to 

 feel himself a citizen of his native land, that he is the heir 

 to historical facts, that as a man he has a duty to perform to 

 his race ; that bird, beast, and flower stand similarly related 

 to their common native land. And in order that the indi- 

 vidual may correct and readjust his relation to things ex- 

 ternal, a wide range of sympathy and knowledge of living 

 nature is essential : from the home to the locality, from 

 county to country ; from pets and things of aesthetic value 

 to biology with reference to economics; from the position 

 of isolated unity to that of citizenship of the world, — this is 

 "concentric" method. 



It is with every sympathy with the arduous task of the 

 teacher that we pen these words ; and it is also with the 

 hope of aiding a little towards better co-ordination of the 

 abundant energy that exists in teachers themselves, intelli- 

 gent parents, Field Naturalist Clubs, and the keen ardour 

 of young life. We first want an inspectorate thoroughly in 

 sympathy with the Education Department's ideas, with the 

 work itself, and with the limitations and opportunities at- 

 tending the carrying on of the work ; and along with this 

 a class of teachers who have had some chance of realising 

 what Nature Study is and can be made, and who appreciate 

 the fact that we live in an age of new ideas and great 

 thoughts, and who will apply their intellect to the best 

 method of imbuing scholars with their own enthusiasm. 



And that the blame for the cold harvest of result in 



