The Opening Ceremony 95 



Marischal College at Aberdeen on the other. Again, the scheme 

 has the active support of influential members of every political 

 party and every religious denomination. No less interest has 

 been taken by the Colonies and the United States; the New 

 York education authorities commissioned Dr. Bickmore, director 

 of their Natural History Museum, to bring an exhibit, and to 

 attend and speak; the Philadelphia Normal School has tele- 

 graphed for its collective exhibit to be sent from Charleston, 

 where it is now on view, direct to us; Dr. True, of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture at Washington, is endeavouring to procure 

 every paper upon the subject issued by every agricultural 

 college and experiment station in the United States ; Professor 

 Robertson, Commissioner of Agriculture at Ottawa, will send 

 all he can at the expense of the Dominion Government from 

 Canada, where, thanks to the generosity of Sir William Mac- 

 donald, the whole system of rural education will shortly be 

 remodelled. Exhibits are also promised from Australia. Our 

 object is wholly educational. We have two dangers to guard 

 against. We do not want it to be thought that by emphasizing 

 the value of the study of Nature we depreciate the value of 

 literary culture, or that we have any desire to deprive country 

 children of any educational advantages. At the same time, we 

 do not want, by drawing attention to this particular subject, and 

 hearing the views of scientific experts, to appear to be seeking 

 to introduce some highly specialized form of instruction. Such 

 an idea would be fatal. We are anxious to show that for every 

 child of every rank and age, in every grade of school, urban 

 and rural, Nature-study, quite apart from any possible bearing 

 which it may have upon rural pursuits, or for its botanical or 

 scientific importance, affords one of the most reliable means of 

 developing certain faculties, upon the development of which 

 education in its fullest sense and success in life must be based." 



I conceive that the idea which underlies this move- 

 ment and this new departure is, that while we know 

 there is much, indeed a vast amount, to be learned 

 from books, and while it would be foolish I may say 

 idiotic on our part to neglect those stores of know- 



