30 The Nature-Study Exhibition 



the exhibit sent by the West of Scotland Agricultural 

 College. Elementary botany seemed, further, to be gener- 

 ally taught at all the institutions in this group. 



NATURE-KNOWLEDGE AND THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS 



A series of "experiments in progress, suitable for a Nature- 

 knowledge course dealing with plant-life " was shown by the 

 Wye Agricultural College. The apparatus was made from 

 the most ordinary materials, and required no special skill 

 in handicraft. 



As a rule much of the agricultural and horticultural teach- 

 ing illustrated, was applied Nature-knowledge, from which 

 teachers would be able to obtain useful hints, as, for in- 

 stance, from the illustrative collections exhibited by the 

 Biological Laboratory of the Essex County Council, and 

 of which some details are here given. The series included 

 specimens of 



"(i) Weeds that interfere with crop-development. 



(2) Weeds that consume the crop more or less completely. 



(3) Weeds that interfere with crop-feeding by appropriating food- 



making constituents from the soil. 



(4) Weeds that interfere with crop-feeding by preventing the access 



of light to the young crop. 



(5) Weeds that diminish the cropped area. 



(6) Plants that interfere with the root-breathing of the crop by pre- 



venting free access of air. 



(7) Weeds that interfere with seed-produce by rendering the seed 



impure. 



(8) Weeds that lessen the nutritive value of the seed-produce of a 



crop. 



(9) Weeds that interfere with seed - produce by imparting to it 



poisonous properties. " 



This county council also exhibited a series of prospectuses, 

 pamphlets, and instruction-sheets illustrating the training of 

 teachers, to which its Technical Instruction Committee has 

 pre-eminently devoted itself. 



