200 The Field Natttralist 's Quarterly August 



awaken the interest of children in this world that lies 

 outside of themselves, and in the life which surrounds them. 

 This lore cannot be gained through occasional hasty and 

 indiscriminate glances, for correct impressions of common 

 objects can only be gained by frequent and repeated in- 

 spection. A course in nature lore must develop the faculty 

 of observation, and, therefore, though it is not the primary 

 object of nature study, yet it is its inherent quality, and this 

 must be emphasised if the pedagogue is to be gained over. 



There is really nothing new in nature study. Genera- 

 tions have been charmed by the music of the words, 

 " tongues in trees, books in the babbling brooks, sermons 

 in stones," but little has been done to realise their meaning, 

 or to give them a meaning ; yet, after all, nature study 

 is only a rejuvenescence of the natural history of the 

 ancients, a return to the methods of Gilbert White. 

 The problem is — -How are we to get children in school 

 interested in field natural history ? They must first of 

 all, we believe, be encouraged to make outdoor observa- 

 tions only. If this is made a sine qua non, much of the 

 object lesson teaching and natural science teaching in 

 schools, now paraded as nature study, will fall back into 

 their true position. To analyse structures, separate fibres, 

 or count feathers, is not the type of work a student of 

 nature undertakes, for he can study nature without being 

 seized with the modern scientific spirit, which, according 

 to Mr. Wells, means a burning desire to dissect and analyse 

 entrails. Object lessons and science teaching in schools 

 have their own merits and functions, and should be taught 

 as such, and not disguised under another name, though the 

 latter be more attractive. We shall have made some pro- 

 gress if we agree that nature study should only be referred 

 to incidentally and informally during school hours, that it 

 is not concerned with the object lesson teaching of natural 

 phenomena or with the natural science teaching given in the 

 school, and that the observation it requires and inculcates 

 must be made mainly out of doors. There are still other 

 points to be formulated if it is to be presented and 

 advocated as an educational factor. 

 {To be continued.) 



