2 ADVANTAGES OF THE STUDY OF 



whereon to use them. The study of pure science possesses un- 

 common fascinations for many minds ; it enables the student 

 to abstract himself entirely from the external world, to find 

 pleasures in himself and by himself, and as encouraging the 

 faculty of concentrating the attention upon any particular 

 subject is a Yery desirable study for the young. Fen- habits 

 are more desirable of cultivation than a habit of attention. 



The study of Nature has hitherto been placed too much 

 beyond the pale of ordinary education ; yet it, too, has its 

 fascinations for the young, and we hope the time is not dis- 

 tant when those in whom this bias exists will have it culti- 

 vated, instead of repressed, by those who have the superin- 

 tendence of their education. 



One great advantage of this study is, that it is one not to 

 be obtained to any considerable extent from books alone — it 

 compels us to seek the objects themselves ; we thus obtain a 

 knowledge of the subject for ourselves quite independent of 

 the instrumentality of another person, and this is a very im- 

 portant matter ; when we thus examine and observe for our- 

 selves we feel a far greater ownership in the knowledge so 

 obtained than we can ever feel in any information we derive 

 from learning a passage in a book by heart. A person may 

 learn a great deal from books, and yet, from a want of ob- 

 servation, may be unable to read the pages of the book of 

 nature, daily spread out before us, ever fresh and ever inter- 

 esting. 



The child who has learnt to distinguish a swallow from a 

 marten and from a swift, is not likely to remain contentedly 

 in ionorance of the distinctions by which other closely allied 

 species are distinguished. To him the sight or sound of a 

 troup of swifts will convey pleasurable sensations, to which 

 he who looks on them merely as birds, or as swallows, must 

 ever remain a stranger. 



The child who, from studying Botany, has learnt not only 



