44 The Nature-Study Idea 



Query: Are all stones in brooks rounded? 

 Numberless applications and suggestions can be 

 made from this simple lesson. What becomes 

 of the particles that are worn away? How has 

 soil been formed? How has the surface of the 

 fields been shaped and molded? 



It is not necessary that the teacher always 

 know the reason. He may propose that they 

 all find out and report. It is the strong 

 teacher who can say: "I do not know." If a 

 problem had been sent to Agassiz or Asa Gray 

 and he had not understood it, would he have 

 dissimulated or have evaded in the answer? 

 Would he not have said unhesitatingly, "I do 

 not know"? Such men delve for knowledge, 

 but for every fact that they discover they turn 

 up a dozen mysteries. Knowledge begins in 

 wonder. The consciousness of ignorance is the 

 first result of wonder, and it leads the pupil on 

 and on : it is the spirit of inquiry. 



These illustrations are given merely as exam- 

 ples. They may not be ideal, but they show 

 what can be done with very common material. 

 In fact, the surprise and interest is often all the 



