Nature-Study with Plants 



ALL the so-called natural sciences are con- 

 tributing to the nature-study movement. 



mm 



Plants are so much a part of every landscape, 

 however, we have such constant association with 

 them, and the plant material is so easy to secure, 

 that they afford the very best subjects for nature- 

 study work. One cannot understand the world 

 if he does not know plants. 



The methods in plant-study show a dis- 

 tinct development in pedagogical ideas which it 

 may be well to recapitulate. One can make out 

 four fairly well marked stages in the teaching 

 of plant subjects. 



First, was the effort to know the names of 

 plants and to classify the kinds. This was a 

 direct reflection of the systematic or classifica- 

 tory studies of the botanists. The external 

 world had been unknown as to its details, and 

 botanists necessarily attempted inventories of 

 the plant kingdom. Plants must be collected 



67 



