NATURE-STUDY—ITS OBJECT AND RULES 5 
discounts the value of many an observation or even 
renders it worthless until it is repeated and perhaps 
corrected too. 
The student should carry with him a note-book 
in which he should write down his observation on the 
spot and at once, instead of five minutes or half an 
hour later on, or the next day ; furthermore he should 
always record the time and the exact date in full— 
day, month, and year—as well as the name of the 
parish and the kind of place, such as a wood, a 
meadow or a garden, damp or dry, sunny or shady : 
faithful observance of this rule is a great deal more 
profitable than the beginner is likely to realize. 
Curiosity, enthusiasm, patience, faith, accuracy, 
thoroughness, and method, all these are as necessary 
for Nature-study as they are for other things, and as 
sure of their reward in the fullness of time. They 
are the muscles and strength of the student, while 
his tools, so to speak, are observation, experiment, 
and quiet thought, for he must reason and ponder 
in order to be able to interpret his observations and 
experiments aright. 
Nature-study does not, of course, interest every- 
body : its appeal, happily, is not universal nor should 
we allow it to become exclusive. Most sensible people, 
including naturalists, find interest and treasure in 
more subjects than one, some of which are more 
immediately useful and remunerative; nevertheless, 
quite apart from practical utility, actual and potential, 
Nature- study is of very great value in the training 
and education of character. 
I propose, by way of helping the reader to know 
what to observe and what experiments to make, to 
bring before his notice what we mean when we talk 
