NATURAL FEATURES AND RESOURCES 35 



Years ago a Mr. Currier, living in a city in Michi- 

 gan, worked in a foundry for two dollars a day, a 

 day's work at that time requiring ten hours. At 

 night he would go home with his hands and face 

 blackened from his toil. But notwithstanding his 

 long day's work, he found time to go about the 

 country just outside of his city and make col- 

 lections of shells. He also found time to carry 

 on a correspondence and exchange the shells for 

 those collected by others in all parts of the world, 

 so that in time his collection equaled that of any 

 in the state with possibly one exception. If a 

 man working for two dollars a day with long hours 

 could accomplish so much, why could not the 

 laborers of the present time with far greater pay 

 and with short working days be able to make a 

 special study of botany, geology, or any natural 

 science, or a study of individual plants or classes 

 of plants, or birds, and by so doing make life more 

 interesting for himself and his family, for cer- 

 tainly if he had such a hobby his wife and children 

 would be interested in it with him. 



With the beauty of the country restored, and that 

 of villages and cities properly developed, there 

 should still remain a large area, varying probably 



