NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



animals, birds, and reptiles are due to utter lack of 

 the proper kind of instruction. 



Until economic Natural History is taught in 

 schools, in the lecture hall, and in popular writings, 

 the country will go on suffering from the effects of the 

 indiscriminate destruction of our native birds and 

 other useful fauna. 



What we need is more education of the heart, or, 

 in other words, humane education. What is humane 

 education ? It means the careful, systematic training 

 and development of the brain centres which give rise 

 to feelings of pity, unselfishness, and sympathy with 

 all suffering creatures ; a desire to prevent cruelty 

 and to make the lot of others, both human and animal, 

 as happy as it is humanly possible, by kind acts, words, 

 thoughts, and sympathy. The man or woman who 

 lives entirely for the gratification of selfish desires is 

 a parasite upon a community — an ever-present evil 

 example to the young. Longfellow fully realised this 

 when he wrote: — 



" How can I teach your children gentleness, 

 And mercy to the weak, and reverence for life, 

 When by your laws, your actions, and your speech 

 You contradict the very things I teach ? " 



America is far in the lead in her efforts to teach 

 her children their duty towards the animal folk. 

 The educational authorities in that country are rapidly 

 realising that cramming a child's brain with a quantity 

 of dry facts is not education. It is certainly necessary 

 to educate the intellectual lobes of the brain in certain 



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