68 THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA 



to follow up this general movement with in- 

 struction in definite subject-matter with the 

 teacher. Therefore, about a year ago a course 

 in Home Nature-study was formally established 

 under the general direction of Mrs. Mary Rogers 

 Miller. It was designed to carry on the experi- 

 ment for one year, in order to determine whether 

 such a course would be productive of good results, 

 and to discover the best means of prosecuting it. 

 These experimental results have been gratifying. 

 Nearly 2,000 New York teachers are now 

 regularly enrolled in the Course, the larger part 

 of whom are outside the metropolitan and dis- 

 tinctly urban conditions. Every effort is made 

 to reach the rural teacher. Plans are now mak- 

 ing for the modification of this Course, by means 

 of which it is hoped that the number of teachers 

 receiving definite correspondence instruction will 

 be very largely increased. [The number has now 

 reached nearly 3,000, February 28, 1903.] 



"In order that the work may reach the 

 children it must be greatly popularized and the 

 children must be met on their own ground. 

 The complete or ideal leaflet may have little 

 influence. For example, I prepared a leaflet on 

 ' A Children's Garden ' which several people 

 were kind enough to praise. However, very little 

 direct result was secured from the use of this 

 leaflet until * Uncle John ' began to popularize it 

 and to make appeals to teachers and children by 

 means of personal talks, letters and circulars. So 

 far as possible the appeal to children was made in 



