136 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
into the habits and characteristics of each, making his collection of nests or 
eggs by which to identify them, exchanging information with others, writing 
his experiences, etc., will find little time to form the bad habits of smoking, 
chewing, drinking, etc. He will not be tempted to leave home in search of a 
“good time.’ The girl who finds food for thought in learning the names. 
and habits of the various forms of plant life, seeing fresh beauty every day 
and something new to learn, will not have her head filled with vain fancies 
and be able only to retail gossip. No! This boy and girl will have thoughts. 
that will place them on a level with the true culture of the world. Taught 
to observe, to enjoy the companionship of the unlimited number of objects. 
of interest surrounding them, they will find too much of interest, too much 
to love about the old home, to get far away. Nothing can be done for those 
who have already strayed away, but the work can be taken up with the little 
ones just starting to school. It will have to be introduced and carried on 
through the co-operation of the school teacher. The center from which 
the methods must come for carrying on the movement is the agricultural 
school. The impetus for starting the movement, arousing public sentiment, 
may largely be made the life work of women. Naturally understanding the 
needs of children quickly, they can set the ball in motion and do much to- 
ward bringing about a reform. 
Is Nature Study practical? Has it been tried? Yes! The Cornell Uni- 
versity College of Agriculture took it up and issued their first pamphlet in 
December, 1896, as an experiment. Here is what the authorities say of it— 
“The demand for aid in Nature Study teaching is so pressing that we are 
now expecting to issue a regular quarterly bulletin devoted to the subject.” 
Let me enumerate the titles of the leaflets: 
How a Squash Plant Gets Out of the Seed. 
How a Candle Burns. 
Four Apple Twigs. 
A Children’s Garden. 
Some Tent-makers. 
What is Nature Study? 
Hints on Making Collections of Insects. 
The Leaves and Acorns of our Common Oaks. 
The Life History of the Toad. 
The Birds and I. 
Life in an Aquarium. 
How the Trees Look in Winter. 
Nature Study “simply trains the eye and the mind to see and to compre- 
hend the common things of life; and the result is not directly the acquire- 
ment of science, but the establishing of a living sympathy with everything 
that is.” 
It is teaching the child to observe, to furnish it with food for thought, 
to understand the relationship between the little things of life, and its own 
heaven born intellect. The child is taught to realize that there is some- 
thing more in life than the simple amassing of wealth; that it is but one of 
the many links between the past and the future, and, comprehending this, 
it will knowingly reach out a helping hand to guide others along the path- 
way of right knowledge. 
